Online Courses – Not Just For Home Learners

Mention the term “online course” and most people immediately assume one of the following: online courses for distance learners, online courses for adults and mature students, or courses in line are followed outside or after school hours. These are true with many courses online, but not all …

According to a report published on augustachronicle.com, a local school in Aiken (USA) has developed an excellent method for combining traditional high school education with the technologies of the future, more closely associated with distance education. South Aiken High School in South Carolina allows students to enroll in the Virtual School Program, a program set up by the state to give students more opportunities in high school.

The program works by offering students 60 additional online courses as well as typical secondary subjects completed with homework and at their own pace. Therefore, this means that if a student needs to study another language to attend a particular university, he can do so by attending the computer suite of the school library, while others stay in class.

The program generated a lot of interest: 16,000 applications were received at the beginning of the 2008/2009 financial year and 13,000 were approved. When students apply, they must prove that they are ready to work independently and that they have the means to do so. This helps coordinators ensure that no one is applying and may be looking for an easier way to skip a course.

The program is not only available in schools, however, distance learners and home-schooled children can also apply, allowing impressive accessibility for all students in the state. Now that the virtual school program is well established, I wonder how many subjects will begin to be taught in this way, and whether the more expensive traditional class may gradually decline.

I am also eager to see when such a project will arrive in the UK. It seems that, so far, the popularity of home schooling may have been affected by the fact that local authorities have had difficulty controlling what is taught. But if programs were implemented at the county or regional level, for both schools and home-based learners, this could be the beginning of an offer that offers students equally accessible courses and apprenticeships. of equal quality.