Distance Education and Virtual Schools

Distance Education and Virtual Schools
1. Pro’s of having a virtual school
§ The student teacher ratio is much more manageable
§ Able to get lots of help if needed
§ Free laptop and money given
§ Allows student to get a good feel for how to use technology in the learning process
§ Allows for flexibility and personalization, can work at their own pace
Con’s of having a virtual school
§ Not having student to student interaction and help on work
§ Parents must have good background knowledge, and be very active with their child’s learning process
§ Student is unable to socialize with others their age
§ Their texts are limited to what their parent chose to purchase
§ Might have limited resources (ex. Don’t have a library in their house)

2. There are many skills that a teacher needs to have to be successful when teaching a virtual school.
§ Hold a Bachelor's degree
§ Flexible schedule
§ Ability to travel throughout the state
§ Appropriate state certification
§ Proficiency in MS Excel, MS Word, MS Outlook, and the Internet

3. I found it interesting that the enrollment for the Florida Virtual School is almost 60% Females and 40% Males. I’m curious to why majority of the students are female rather than males. Would the numbers be different for a different state located let’s say on the west coast?

4. Two to three years from now, virtual schools and online courses could very well become much more popular. Assuming I will have a job and be in a classroom by then, I feel that keeping track of the books and resources that the virtual classrooms are providing and recommending for the parents to teach would be a good idea. This way you could possibly get more ideas of what and how to teach a particular subject area.