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Classrooms are virtual, but diplomas are real: Half of high-school courses to go online by 2019(Daily Press (Victorville, CA) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 1--High school classrooms will undergo vast makeovers in the next decade -- and you'll have to visit cyberspace to check out the updated looks. By 2019, 50 percent of all high-school courses will be taken online, according to a report published in the summer issue of Education Next by researchers from Stanford University's Hoover Institution. "The economy and necessity have driven virtual high schools all across the nation," said Michael Smith, chair of the educational technology department at Victor Valley College. At $200 to $600 per class, a virtual course can be much cheaper -- and easier to tailor to individuals -- than its traditional classroom counterpart. That's why more than 25 states offer online courses for high-school students. In 2007, 1 million students enrolled in online virtual classes, 22 times the amount recorded in 2000, according to the North American Council for Online Learning. Beginning this fall, the So-Cal Virtual High School program is available for Southern California residents -- including San Bernardino County -- through a partnership between Advanced Academies, Inc. and Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. Few High Desert high schools offer full online courses, but various forms of online learning are integrated in nearly every district at every level, from 12th grade to kindergarten. This year Victor Elementary School District is exploring setting up virtual classrooms for the elementary level that would supplement regular class lessons, according to Deputy Superintendent Dale Marsden. "I could see it reinforcing everything that's taught in the classroom. I don't know that we'll see anytime soon really young kids having complete virtual learning," Marsden said. Sixth Street Prep School Principal Linda Mikels subscribes to two Internet-based resources: United Streaming through Discovery Education, which offers high-quality videos and digital lesson plans, and Brainpop, which uses animated movies to teach core subjects. "They love it -- they beg for Brainpop," said Sixth Street Prep School teacher Heidi Anderson about her first-graders. Victor Valley College, which has offered degrees and certificates through online courses since 1998, is developing a podcast training program for K-12 and college teachers that demonstrates how to plan effective online lessons, according to Smith. Online classes can benefit students who have health problems, need flexible schedules or have dropped out and want to finish school. Virtual programs allow schools to offer more Advanced Placement courses and cater to the increasingly techsavvy, younger generations. "They're so used to technology that they're not going to learn from a book the way I did," said Snowline Joint School District Director of Technology Hamilton McDermott. To see more of the Daily Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.vvdailypress.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |