virtual++school

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Virtual School = Virtual school =

** " cyberschool " describes an institution that teaches courses entirely or primarily through online methods. the term "virtual school" is generally reserved for accredited schools that teach a full-time (or nearly full-time) course of instruction designed to lead to a degree. Virtual public and private schools serving every grade level including graduate programs may elect to pursue accreditation through various regional and national organizations. ** ** All student services are conducted through Internet technology. The virtual school differ/contrasts from the traditional school through the physical media that links administrators, teachers and students and is an alliance of public distance learning schools. Many states in theUnited States have their own virtual school, and many of them have students numbering in the thousands. By providing a student's social security number the person is then entered into a database where they can choose which classes they want to take. ** **There are many different virtual school instructional and enrollment models. Instructional models range from fully independent self paced courses to semester based, teacher facilitated courses. Class sizes range widely with anywhere from 25 students to as many as 200 students in each class section. Students keep in contact with teachers and collaborate with other students through web communication tools provided in the course delivery platforms like** [|BlackBoard]**or** [|Desire2learn]

** Virtual schools may be free if the state pays for the courses, otherwise, there will be a course fee to be paid for by the student, parents or student's home school. Other materials would be purchased by the student, such as books. **
 * An example of a public onlight high school is Insight Schools. They exist in 9 states, including Insight Washington, Insight Oregon, Insight - Bay Area, Insight - Los Angeles, Insight Colorado, Insight Kansas, Insight Minnesota, and Insight Wisconsin. **

**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.**

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 * In some cases students communicate by phone with instructors. To help with communication many virtual schools have implemented their own system programs to help build courses and maintain student profiles. There are also many books and training manuals to aid in the development of such schools and courses . **

= Pricing and location =

** Virtual schools may be free if the state pays for the courses, otherwise, there will be a course fee to be paid for by the student, parents or student's home school. Other materials would be purchased by the student, such as books. An example of a public onlight high school is Insight Schools. They exist in 9 states, including Insight Washington, Insight Oregon, Insight - Bay Area, Insight - Los Angeles, Insight Colorado, Insight Kansas, Insight Minnesota, and Insight Wisconsin. **
 * 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 . **

= Advantages and Disadvantages =

** the virtual schools hold advantages including: not being required to attend and travel to face-to-face classes and the integration digital media into the curricula. Some virtual schools include online study groups in which students interact with each other online.

Unlike traditional education delivery methods, students at virtual schools do not directly interact with professors. Hence, virtual education is considered by many to be equivalent to a directed-learning program. Because students do not interact with their instructors or peers face-to-face, "lack of socialization" is often quoted, **** as a disadvantage by detractors. Recent anecdotal evidence provided by one virtual school ** from one live cyberschool indicates that, while socialization may be different, it is not necessarily lacking. It is also recommended that students enrolled in virtual schools be involved in social activities outside school, much like homeschooled children. Many students are drawn to online learning for a variety of reasons; particularly, the ability to avoid the requirement of traveling to a physical location, which may be impossible for some non-traditional learners. Critics argue that for online education to be taken seriously, online programs must adhere to generally accepted educational standards. To reduce this criticism, The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) has developed a set of standards released on February 21, 2008. Some believe that this is an important first step in monitoring online programs, but it should be noted that while every provider of education must be accredited, the quality of accreditation varies significantly. For instance, the non-profit AACSB ** is the most prestigious accreditation agency for business schools and no virtual schools have received accreditation by the agency ****

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= See also = Virtual Eduction = External Links = ==

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