Reflection #10: High School at Your Convenience

What: The other day I was watching T.V. and, I was surprised to see a commercial for a complete online school. What really intrigued me was the way that they advertised it: School at your convenience. They had flashing pictures of students studying in coffee shops and having jobs as well as getting together with friends to do school on "their own time." It is now possible to get a high school diploma completely online and on your own terms for free.

So What: Well, I just began to think as the commercial came to a close: how is the world are high school students going to be motivated to complete their entire education online? For me personally, online classes seen to be the worst possible option. I already despise spending long periods of time on the computer and really what makes school important to me is interaction with my peers and my professors. However, I am also aware that in this day and age, many students respond best on the computer. Also, this option could be ideal for students pursuing things such as art, sports and careers that require a lot of time and training as a high school student. For example, if an athlete wanted to train for the olympics or a dancer wanted to join a company now it is possible to do school work at their convenience.

Now What: This is interesting because this may influence our jobs as teachers in the future. If more and more students choose to do online schools, we may find ourselves teaching to a virtual community rather then a real one. I really do hope, however, that this does not become the majority. I think that there are some things about interacting with peers and doing hands on activities in a classroom that cannot be recreated on a computer ( especially with younger children). I am interested to see how popular online school becomes and also if online classes begin to be geared at younger and younger grades.