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Online Classes for High School Students

Advantages and Disadvantages to Distance Learning Courses for Kids

Sep 21, 2008

An Online Student's Classroom, Steve Woods, Stock Xchange

For some students, online high school students provide a helpful alternative to the traditional classroom environment. Here are the pros and cons of these courses.

Most people have heard of online college courses, but did you know that online high school courses are available as well? Yes, distance learning programs for high school kids are becoming more and more common. Many of these programs are created by private companies for use by public, private, or homeschooled students.

Who Takes Online High School Courses?

Online courses make more sense for some students than others. These are some of the groups of students who are customers for these classes:

Homeschooled students. Parents of these students can choose courses in areas where they lack familiarity.
Athletes and other students who are away from the school building a significant percentage of the time. Online classes can be taken "on the road."
Students who are ill and away from school.
Students who have trouble in a traditional high school classroom setting.
Students who failed a class and need to make up a requirement.

Do Online Courses Meet State Educational Standards?

Courses should meet the state standards, and if they do not, this probably isn't a class you want to take. When selecting a class, the standards the class meets should be part of the information the company provides you. If this information isn't provided, be sure to ask, along with any questions you have about specifically what the course does to fulfill state standards. If the company isn't able to answer these questions easily and satisfactorily, that's a red flag that you should look elsewhere.

Advantages to Online Classes for High School Students

As with all online classes, an advantage of this kind of course is that students can take them according to their own schedule. For students with scheduling needs that aren't typical, this might be a great option.

Another advantage of online high school courses is that these classes can easily take advantage of the resources on the web. For example, if an online course is about art, the course can include links to websites that feature this art. If the course is about American history after World War II, the course can link to YouTube videos of JFK's inaugural address or old episodes of I Love Lucy.

In addition, online courses can be very interactive. By taking advantage of technology, these courses can include interactive quizzes, polls, timelines, and exercises to help keep students engaged and interested.

Finally, online courses can potentially provide an alternative for students who don't function well in a traditional high school classroom environment. They aren't the solution for all students with learning problems, but for some, this is an excellent alternative.

Disadvantages of Online High School Classes

Like all online classes, a problem with online high school classes is that they require students to be very disciplined. It's easy to goof off when you have an online course, so if a student doesn't have the best concentration or study habits, an online course can potentially be a disaster.

In addition, a problem with online high school courses is that students often look for "short cuts" and skip over some of the built in interactive activities that are designed to help them learn. Well-written online classes make it difficult for students to skip over material, but since the students are learning independently, this can be difficult to monitor.

Of course, online courses only work for students who are literate when it comes to using technology. No, the courses don't require advanced computer knowledge, but they do require that students know the basics on going online.

Online High School Classes as an Emerging Trend

Distance learning at the high school level is a relatively new trend, so it's still a bit experimental. If you think this experiment might be right for your child, do some investigating. Talk to companies that write online courses and get all the details you can. Talk to a school guidance counselor to see how the course will fit into the curriculum. And try a course or two before deciding to pursue this full time. You just might find that an online course has quite a bit to offer.

The copyright of the article Online Classes for High School Students in High School is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish Online Classes for High School Students in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.