There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding massive open online courses at the college level -classes taught online, but the state of Virginia is moving full-speed ahead with an online program for high school students.
Last year, more than 12,000 high school students in Virginia took one or more classes online. The state employs 66 teachers who instruct kids. Many of the courses are for advanced placement - things like art history, computer science, calculus or Chinese, but Cheri Kelleher, Director of the Virtual Virginia Program, says the department of education will soon add 13 core subjects, making it possible for kids to take all of their high school courses online.
“Virtual learning isn’t for every student. It’s for a motivated student who enjoys being able to advance and progress at their own pace. What we’re doing here is we’re just providing another option.”
Students sign up through their local high school and will be monitored by a designated adult to make sure they’re the ones watching classes and taking tests. What’s more, teachers will check in with each student weekly.
“The teacher physically has to talk to the student on the phone and have a conversation in French or Spanish or talk about AP computer science, just to make sure that we’re all staying on track.”
The program can provide a single class at a cost of just over $400 per student, and that worries Meg Gruber, head of the Virginia Education Association, which represents public school teachers.
“An online teacher certainly can carry a much bigger student load, because they don’t have that personal interaction with those students, so it could unfortunately be looked at as a cost-cutting measure.”
She says kids may learn subject matter but graduate lacking important skills gained when they interact with their teachers and other students.
“I think we shouldn’t be looking at our public schools as simply a knowledge factory. Businesses are looking for people not only who are creative and critical thinkers but are able to work in teams.”
Gruber adds that while online courses may work well for adults, many kids lack the discipline to study at home.
“You could be sitting in front of your computer all day in your jammies and every once in a while popping onto a website or playing a game and not really focused on your education.”
And she hopes private, for-profit companies will not be employed to do the teaching. The three-year pilot program gets underway this fall. Director Cheri Kelleher says she got 200 calls in the first three days after announcing that Virtual Virginia would expand.
