By Ruthanne Johnson
Kendra Fiddler was home-schooled through much of her education. But, after moving to Colorado and attending her freshman year at Dougherty High School in Colorado Springs, she wanted to give cyber school a try.
“I work faster than most people in class and found myself waiting while everyone else finished assignments and tests,” she said.
Fiddler also remembered her home school schedule being less restrictive than at Dougherty, where she attended school all day, played on the volleyball team, and came home to more school work.
“Sometimes I would be up till midnight trying to finish all my homework,” she said. “I figured it would be nice to work at my own pace, because with online classes you can do assignments any time of the day.”
Dougherty High contracts with Colorado Virtual Academy, so Fiddler simply filled out an application, had her transcript sent over, interviewed with academy advisors and presto – she was plugged into cyber school. She took five online classes during her sophomore year: English, U.S. History, Chemistry, French and Latin. Being in an online program still allowed her to participate in Dougherty’s extracurricular activities, which meant she could continue to play on the volleyball team, she said. Since the Virtual Academy is an accredited charter school, Fiddler’s grades were submitted to Dougherty after she finished the courses. The school then added the grades to her official transcript.
Fiddler joins a growing number of students enrolling in cyber school, which some estimates put at more than 30,000 children in 17 states attending public schools via home computers. A survey conducted during the 2005-2006 school year by a group called the Sloan Consortium estimated approximately 700,000 pre-collegiate students were enrolled in at least one online or blended course in a public, charter or private school. Blended courses are defined as those in which between 30 percent and 80 percent of the content is delivered online. An online class dictates that 80 percent or more of the class occurs strictly online.
Even with the growing popularity of online schooling, critics and many teachers continue to question the quality of classes through the Internet. As the World Wide Web hurtled Americans into the 21st century, most colleges having made the mighty leap into online courses while many primary and secondary schools – public, charter and private – still balk at the idea of younger students learning via computer.
Education traditionalists argue that children need more direction than offered in online classes and that cyber school will separate children from their peers – a step experts say is detrimental to a child’s social development. Some conservatives argue that online education is still in its fledgling state and therefore of questionable quality, while many public school teachers argue that set up costs, equipment, maintenance, and teacher training will overburden the already stretched public education budget.
Despite the criticisms, however, online education programs proliferate. The trickle of online programs that began in the mid-1990s has swelled into a virtual surge, with cyber classes growing at the exponential rate of 50 percent student base per year in some states. It’s speculated that by 2008 many public schools will be able to take a child from kindergarten through high school completely online. Currently, there is a wide variety of charter and private schools such as Colorado Virtual Academy in Colorado that already offer online for grades K-12.
Proponents of online learning argue that excluding cyber classes from education creates a disadvantage for graduates stepping beyond their school’s brick and mortar walls and into the Internet savvy world, especially since most colleges offer online courses. The already difficult transition from high school to college may include an additional learning curve for students taking online courses, if not given the opportunity to take one in high school. In Michigan, for example, a law recently passed requiring every public high school student to take at least one online class before graduating.
Proponents say other benefits include the fact that online classes open up education for students who, for whatever reason, have a difficult time with the traditional school schedule and classroom rules. Online classes allow students who have learning difficulties or who learn faster than other students to move through the curriculum at their own pace, they say, and visual learners flourish in an online setting unlike in a classroom, where audio learners tend to do better.
“Online programs allow teen parents, serious athletes, advanced learners, bullied or shy students, fully employed students, kids with medical or mental health issues, and many others unable to attend regular school a quality education,” said Mike Clem, site leader, teacher and advisor of DPS Online High School.
The Online High has been offering courses to Denver Public Schools students since 2001, and has grown from just six students in their first year to over 160 in 2007. Clem said the school has assisted numerous students, many of whom may have dropped out or had to put their education on hold had online classes not been available.
“We are a recognized high school and have five full-time and five part-time state-certified teachers who are available to students, face-to-face two hours a week at the drop-in center or anytime by e-mail, telephone, or text messaging,” he said. “Unlike other online programs, our teachers have to live in the Denver metro area to be available for one-on-ones with students.”
Clem explained that DPS uses the charter school Denver Connections Academy for online kindergarten through 9th grade, and contracts with Colorado Online and Aventa Learning for high school classes not offered through their program. He pointed out that potential cyber students go through a thorough interview process before admittance, to ensure they know all the pros and cons of online classes.
“In the interview, we stress that self-motivation and parental involvement are important for the online curriculum,” he said, adding the program is not for students looking for the easiest way out.
Although DPS Online High has a computer lab, students are also required to have a home computer, printer, and Internet access.
In addition to high schoolers taking advantage of cyber school, many parents are turning to online classes for their younger children, especially those wanting to home school. Parents like the fact that online lessons are planned, and they don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Colorado Virtual Academy Executive Director Stephen B. Martin said his charter school uses the acclaimed curriculum developed by K12, which includes lessons in the traditional subjects of math, language arts/English, science, history, art, and music. The school provides textbooks, a loaner computer and printer, and a monthly stipend to help pay for the Internet provider. The online school currently has more than 3,000 enrolled students and more than 85 state-certified teachers on staff.
Like Clem, Martin emphasizes the importance of parental involvement in the learning process, especially with younger students.
“You can’t put a kindergartener on a computer and expect them to learn,” he said “Parents of online students have to understand the time commitment involved.”
Martin said in addition to traditional courses, the academy offers advanced placement classes, including science and chemistry that utilize a virtual lab in lieu of a hands-on lab.
Fiddler, the academy student enrolled through her Colorado Springs high school, said her online chemistry class was difficult because the lab was not as student-friendly as one in a classroom setting. After finishing 10th grade, Fiddler returned to the traditional brick and mortar setting at Dougherty High because she said it offered a greater variety than the online school.
“I wanted to take interior design, which wasn’t offered though COVA,” she said.
Despite the change, both Fiddler and her mother Carol spoke highly of her virtual 10th-grade experience. Carol believes the early years of home schooling helped her daughter develop the self-motivation needed to succeed in an online curriculum.
“Kendra usually finished her work early, which left the rest of her day open,” Carol said. “Her time was always so limited in traditional school, but she had more time for quilting, violin, and sports.”
There are at least seven online K-12 schools operating in Colorado. Online options are also offered for adults wanting to obtain a high school diploma instead of a G.E.D., the general equivalency degree that can be earned in place of a diploma. Many times, listing a high school diploma rather than a G.E.D. on a job application or resume can mean higher pay. People interested in online education can call their local school district for more information.
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