Virtual school

A virtual school is simply a school where students of all ages can do their coursework online. Most states in the United States have their own virtual school, and many of them have students numbering in the thousands. By providing a students social security number the person is then entered into a database where they can chose which classes they want to take.

Many schools have over 100 classes, and faculty reaching in the hundreds A typical class can have around 100 students, but can reach anywhere up to 200. Students keep in contact with teachers through email, chat rooms, and a program called the whiteboard, along with phone calls. To help with communication many virtual schools have implemented their own system programs to help build courses and maintain student profiles. One such program is called UCompass Educator , and has been used in the development of the Florida Virtual School and many others. There are also many books and training manuals to aid in the development of such schools and courses.

History

The first virtual school was founded in 1997, but has since closed. Since that time, many popular schools have sprung up throughout the US. One of those, the Florida Virtual School, has over 30,000 students, that number growing every day.

Virtual Schools now exist all around the world, but are used primarily in the United States. The schools have now been integrated into public schools, where students sit in computer labs and do their work online. In other situations, students can be completely home schooled, or they can take classes after they come home from their public schooling.

Pricing and location

Virtual schools are generally free if you live in the correct state, but materials along with other things can be costly. In order to apply for a free membership to a virtual school, you must first live in the assigned state, and you must also provide your social security number, as mentioned above. If you live outside of the host state, you can still apply for courses, but a fee of up to $300 may be charged per course.

Materials can also add up. Most courses will provide electronic materials free of cost, but others require some shopping on the students part. Textbooks are not required but can be used as an aid for coursework.

Materials

As mentioned earlier, many materials are provided free of cost. Some schools provide high quality programs, usually for web design classes. Some popular materials include Adobe products, Jasc products, and products from Macromedia. Other schools may use Corel products as a cheaper alternative. These products are usually free. You usually recieve the full version of the selected program, with a limited license, usually 1 year or so. These programs are key in the success of virtual schools, and help them to improve each year. Many schools will also provide a brand new computer for all students in need of one. Generally, these computers run using the Microsoft operating system, Windows XP, but depending on your needs and coursework the school may also use Linux based computers or Apple Computers

See also

• Online learning

External links

• Florida Virtual School
• UCompass Educator System