The rapid spread of online learning at the secondary level is now creating “anywhere, anytime” convenience for summer students.
While the total numbers are still small, nnany hundreds of students around the country will have the learning opportunity in the next week or two for everything from US history to human space exploration. In California, Graham Petersen, who just finished his junior year in Palo Alto, will study math through the online branch of Oregon’s Salem Keizer school district while working as a teacher’s assistant in a children’s programe. “This is no short cut (捷径)-it’s the full course. But you can work at 11 o’clock at night,” says Robert Currie, executive director of Michigan Virtual High School, whose courses, like most, are available nationally.
Beyond convenience, there are other reasons to consider the virtual (虚拟的) classroom. Those who have struggled in a course during the year often fib that the online style makes it easier to master the course. “Mosf students finish with A’s and B’s, because teachers don’t let them go through with D’s,” says Jan Bleek, principal of the Internet Academy, a branch of the Federal Way district near Seattle that is offering 45 summer courses at $ 180 each. “There’s lots of revision, a lot of work that goes on in depth between teachers and students aften work has been submitted(提交) “While grading(评分) policies vary. kids often are free to retake exams or to work through several practice exams until they’re ready to be tested. “l got a B--the highest grade in math I’ve ever got since sixth grade” says Petersen, who took the first half of Salem Keizer’s online Algebra II class this spring after failing the course in the first term.
Success depends largely on actually dealing with the content. It’s important to be realistic about whether online study is a good fit with a teenager’s learning style “The No, 1 thing is, are you able to Work on your own?” says Kathy Armstrong, an English teacher at Harris County High in Hamilton, who is also an instructor for Virtual High School, Since material is presented as text rather than by lecture, being an excellent reader is a must.