Parents/Coach/Skater opinions for online education

Parents/Coach/Skater opinions for online education

I'd like to hear opinions from parents of skaters, coaches, skaters themselves, and anyone else that knows of high-school age skaters who are currently taking online education in order to graduate (high school only).

I'm interested in knowing from FIRST-HAND experience the up's and down's of this mode of education as well any other pertinent information.

Online education vs. Classroom?

While everyone may have an opinion, I'd like to reiterate that I'm only interested in those with first-hand knowledge and/or experience.

Re: Parents/Coach/Skater opinions for online education

Paula:

I work for a University/College, and I know you did <em>specify</em> high school only, but some of our courses are on-line courses. I cannot testify to the success or failure of learning in this method, since I am not a student. However, it is convenient for some albeit a challenge as well. I think the classroom is the best way of learning and interacting with other students and teachers. Learning on-line would be isolating and one does not have the convenience of talking directly to an instructor.

I am not sure if this is the information you are after, but I think in this fast-paced world we live in we will see more of this kind of instruction. I think for some it will work (those students who are motivated) while for others it will not (some students need the stimulation of others).

Ladskater

Just a few thoughts...

Paula,
I am far too old to have completed high school in this manner, however I am a teaching assistant for a professor that uses online courses often. Many of our students are out of high school and I know their concerns and comments. Many of them expressed lack of direction that they had in "normal" classroom settings. However, they are not trained atheletes that are required to maintain daily training schedules. The learning curve for getting the most out of online courses is pretty much the same for everyone, both kids and adults. You have to get used to a different structure of learning. All this is also contingent on the support tools offered for the online course. Some require that you keep in touch with the sitting professor, some have computer interfaces, such as WebCT(TM) that "deliver" a far more structured cirriculum for the course through the use of chatrooms, posting boards, calanders, weblinks, and a host of other available tools built into the computer program.

I've found that this method works best at indoctrinating our new freshmen into online learning. They are able to have a "mental model" of what is expected of them because they have a calander in front of them that lets them know about deadlines and assignments. They can arrange "study groups" online at a agreed upon time. In this way, students feel less isolated than if they are just instructed to read pages 'A-M' and turn in an assingment on 'Y' date. Quizzes and test are usually proctored and often times often instant feedback by grading the test immediately after the student submits it.

For more information about High School online studies and what is out there visit
<a href="http://wwww.highschoolhub.org" target="top">High School Hub</a>

Thanks for the input - I await more