Distance Education

1. Identify and briefly discuss at least 5 pros and 5 cons of having virtual schools.
2. Discuss some of the key skills teachers need to have to be successful when teaching a virtual school.
3. Discuss your findings on one other key issue that you found interesting (from those listed above).
4. Think 2-3 years from now and discuss how virtual schools and online courses might impact your teaching.

There are many different aspects of online schools that are both positive and negative. Some of the negatives include students will miss out on the socialization they get in schools. They may not feel connected to the school or community because there is no sense of belonging. You have no wya of knowing how much information your students are absorbing. When taking tests they might just be coyping from another source and not retaining the information. If students want to play sprots or be involved in other clubs/activites it may be hard to find enough people in your area to meet up with. Also, if you want studetns to practice a skill but are not requiring them to turn in anything, you would never know how much effort they put into the activity.
Some pros include that the cirriculum can be more individualized. Locations doesn't matter, as well as the time at which the student decides to complete assignments. Students that have other responsibilities such as provinding money for their family or taking care of a family member. High is not made for all students, so some do not need the face-to-face interactions and therefore this type of envirnment may be a better fit for them.
For teachers to be successful in the virtual schools they need to know technology and understand how to teach through technology. Since they will not be aboe to actually show the students a skill, they need to be able to explain things over email, phone calls and in lesson plans.
Some of the things I found to be interesting was the number of employees for these schools. There were more adminstrators and other faculty members than actual teachers. Another thing I found intersting was the steps they were taking to try and connect students to each other such as virtual field trips, dances ect.
Being in the health and fitness area, I don't really see virtual schools having a huge impact on my content area. Especially in the physical education area because P.E. is something that needs to be taught in person and the only way to learn is by performing these skills over and over again.