The BBC News website has published an article about the first ever online school, where pupils attend virtual classes by simply logging on.
The school is aimed at children who have had problems with attending a regular school, such as those bullied, suffering from certain conditions or those used to home schooling. The online classroom has more than a few perks for would-be-students, such as no uniform, shorter days and a shorter working week.
It does however rely on the honesty of the student and the persuasiveness of the parents to ensure children "attend" the £594-per-term school which has 22 pupils.
Let-downs include the lack of physical excercise classes, and lack of eye-contact between pupils and teachers. It is also not the average school experience, which for many children (regardless of school or subjects) is all about meeting friends, physical contact and other things a computer screen cannot provide.
View: BBC News - Virtual School \"beats real thing\"
The school is aimed at children who have had problems with attending a regular school, such as those bullied, suffering from certain conditions or those used to home schooling. The online classroom has more than a few perks for would-be-students, such as no uniform, shorter days and a shorter working week.
It does however rely on the honesty of the student and the persuasiveness of the parents to ensure children "attend" the £594-per-term school which has 22 pupils.
Let-downs include the lack of physical excercise classes, and lack of eye-contact between pupils and teachers. It is also not the average school experience, which for many children (regardless of school or subjects) is all about meeting friends, physical contact and other things a computer screen cannot provide.
View: BBC News - Virtual School \"beats real thing\"
Is that supposed to be a typo or funny? I can't tell.
i agree
*throws the PE note in the bin*
This sounds like a great idea, were can i start
That quote sums up exactly what is wrong with the concept, as does this one from the article:
That is exactly what is wrong with this idea. High school isn't just about learning the curriculum and getting "sky high" marks. In retrospect, the most important lessons I learned from high school were not the ones I could learn from reading a book or email. They were the lessons in life and difficult social situations which you would rather skip.
Having to deal with "regular high school crap" like peer pressure builds strength of character. Learning to stand up in front of a group of peers and present a potentially unpopular opinion takes balls and may be stressful or intimidating to some. This is exactly why it needs to be practiced and why it is a vital part of one's education. The people who learn to transgress their fears and passionately articulate their visions in front of demanding crowds will be the ones who move the world. Not the ones who cannot feel confident unless communicating via an artificial medium which filters out eye contact.
So far though, these have been met with some resistance by students, happier quietly texting and retreating from the pressures of speaking up in class.
Wow. Another quote which shows how this system has deprived the students. As if general aversion to social interraction wasn't enough, these kids believe they can learn LANGUAGES without opening their mouths.
(Note: I'm not saying online courses are always inferior and have no place - just that they can only be treated as complementary to real schools, not a substitute for them).
Last edited by Zone-MR on 28 Sep 2006 - 20:25
It's very sad that you believe that "real" schools are the be-all end -all for everyone. Just like we should all have one religion or God forbid, one brand of computer, it's the same logic. The truth is, "virtual" schools are best suited for some students while traditional classrooms are better suited for others. For me, this was the best scenario. For others it would be the worst scenario. Open your midn just a tiny bit.
And believe me, I got a lot more social growth and character building working, learning, speaking, and presenting during my 4 years at University (a "real" one, not a virtual one) which I believe was a much richer experience than anything I could have got from the traditional high school social scene.
How about: to each their own?
Having to deal with "regular high school crap" like peer pressure builds strength of character."
Sounds to me like you're a middle class white boy with absolutely no grasp of what's going on in the "real" world.
In the "real" world of our inner cities, kids are stuck in classrooms with up to 50 kids, have to contend with guns, drugs, robbery, molestation, assault, and even murder. Their curriculum and textbooks are out of date (if they even get textbooks), and the teachers are underpaid timeservers that are afraid of their students and can't wait to get out of there and go home.
And that's just for starters.
Builds character? Maybe for the biggest and strongest and toughest. For everyone else all it does is build timidity and defeatism.
**honesty of the student** (except the hard stuff)
I could think of a few things, such as hire out a smart math wiz to take my tests. I'll go with the steriotypical asian heh.
So you "attend[ed] virtual classes by simply logging on." This seems to be a little different than the average, mom and dad teach me at home. You had to log on for your HS classes?
It used the honor system, you had to create work out sheets and your parents had to sign that you did in fact run the distances/lift the weights/stretch for such amount of time, and you'd fax it over to your "teacher".
Check out http://www.flvs.net
It used the honor system, you had to create work out sheets and your parents had to sign that you did in fact run the distances/lift the weights/stretch for such amount of time, and you'd fax it over to your "teacher".
Check out http://www.flvs.net
So you aren't attending a phys-ed class online and you didnt need to use a computer to turn in your work?
How is this online?
It used the honor system, you had to create work out sheets and your parents had to sign that you did in fact run the distances/lift the weights/stretch for such amount of time, and you'd fax it over to your "teacher".
Check out http://www.flvs.net
So you aren't attending a phys-ed class online and you didnt need to use a computer to turn in your work?
How is this online?
I'm wondering the same thing, hwo to hell you can take physical education online?
no wonder our country is full of fat ass people
It used the honor system, you had to create work out sheets and your parents had to sign that you did in fact run the distances/lift the weights/stretch for such amount of time, and you'd fax it over to your "teacher".
Check out http://www.flvs.net
So you aren't attending a phys-ed class online and you didnt need to use a computer to turn in your work?
How is this online?
MOST of it was online, there were several chapters about stretching, nutrition, careers in phys ed, dangers of sodium/fat//trans fat/etc and worksheets and crap that had to be done and submitted online.
The faxing only came into the picture when proof of parent signature came in.
So since ~1996?
Faxed in-tests and satellite feed = Online? I guess my dad has been online since the 80's. predating his first computer.
unless you meant Sata-Lite. Must be some new HDD technology.
Then, once you've done high school through a computer, do college the same way! Just think, from about 11-12 years old until 22-24 years old you've been at home, the whole time!
and then! once you graduate college, lets just hope you can get a job where you don't have to deal with real live people....
Whether you go to a cirtual or "real" school you can still have friends, family, jobs, sports, and hobbies. You can still hang out, go to the movies, shop, join clubs, go to church, work, play (in other words, interact) with others in your community.
Virtual school is not isolation camp for anti-socials.
'The reversal of Evolution....Kids start the evolution back to Primate'
Year 3534....an Ape with a Ipod and a online education
Last edited by jwjw1 on 28 Sep 2006 - 22:24
But computers ARE my friends.
Boo at this article for trying to convice me that my only friend isnt even a friend.
[/joke]
This would be useful as something complementary, not really a substitute for attending classes.
-Low-demand classes. In my school system, foreign languages went to 4 or 5 years (depending on the language) but there was a massive drop-off after 2nd year (state college minimum requirement), and another after 3rd year.
Instead of dropping Spanish 4 or 5 for under-subscription, why not offer one combined session for the entire school district-- 3 or 4 students at every high school equals one full class.
-Accelerated / Night School / GED students who aren't keen on the "attendance" needs of a regular school. If I can see the pre-recorded lecture at 3AM-- or even do a term's worth of work in a week-- why shouldn't I?
-The "test the teachers into submission" crowd will love the archiveability of it... record the streaming video and log the chats, and you can play-by-play and figure out exactly when Timmy's fate on the standardized test was sealed.
When I went to school back in the 80's if someone bullied you you throw a punch - problem solved, everyone's cool with you all of after that, you have proved your point. Now kids either go crying home or get a gun and start school rampage.
As a qualified teacher, I should add that no online education can substitute the quality of the one in the classroom - there are too many reasons to back that up, so I won't even bother.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3590872.stm
"CompuHigh" in the US claims to be the first - opened 1994.
Also, in the UK there are www.nisai-education.co.uk and www.briteschool.co.uk
for example see the links at Briteschool / Briteniteschool:
http://www.briteschool.co.uk/Links'other.htm
Maybe it's the first that Tim Brookes has heard of
It seems to me that until we require, expect, and ensure civilized behavior by the student body, protect those who cannot learn in the present threatening enviornment ,we should offer as many varied solutions for success for every child.
Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!
Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.