Virtual Middle School Programs: Ameliorating a Child’s Potential

The escalating trend of virtual school has made far reaching changes in how education is envisaged. With whole curriculum shifting to the online sphere, students now have an opportunity to earn credits in their field of interest which they can encash for their graduation programs or for excelling through next grade.

Such an example is online middle school programs. These programs proffer quintessential learning interface that diverge from traditional classroom teachings and learnings and opens up a new dimension of new age learning that no more requires attending conventional classes, compiling projects and assignments for semester’s grade. It’s all up to students how and when they choose to learn.

Online Middle School classes – a better form of learning.

There is no denying to the fact that online learning unfolds new scope of education as students get a chance to explore new prospects which otherwise were not accessible due to conventional classroom setting. Here is why – 

Investigate and learn concepts which you want to:

Unlike traditional middle school classes, students are not bound to encapsulate their learnings around the curriculum brochure. That means, students won’t have to limit their learnings, they can look out for diverse course work which can augment their craving to learn and assimilate. Another benefit of virtual middle school classes is that students can schedule their classes according to their convenience, balancing their other activities.

Schedule your middle school classes when you want to:

Daily school routine running from 7 in the morning till 3 in the evening may not be convenient for every child. Like Kate Perry many children want to pursue their love for singing, theatre, music or arts and want to devote their maximum time towards it. The virtual middle school classes allows children to follow their passion without any time constraint hindering their path. Doesn’t matter if it’s midnight or a practice session of performing arts in an auditorium.

Virtual learning lets student set their own pace:

A student who is made to learn from a predetermined and pre-designed curriculum may find it tough to keep up with the pace and comprehend the coursework. Also, if there is a mismatch in the grasping power of a student and knowledge dispensing rate of a conventional classroom, may create bumps in the process of learning. To tackle these issues, a student enrolled in an online virtual high school can set his own pace for thoroughly learning the subject.

The standards are maintained throughout:

The high point of a virtual high school experience is that it holds a constant set of standards and proficiencies, unlike an experience of a traditional classroom that on few occasions is riddled with substandard quality of teaching and lesser motivation levels of teachers.

Summer Programs : The Next High School ‘Cool Thing’ that you can’t Miss

Summer is the best loved time of the high school students. While things slow down for the office people and families think about vacations, students gear up to explore their hidden potentials. High school summer programs offer a platform to students where they can examine their ability to create new ideas, to volunteer for various services, explore new academic dimensions as well as to explore a perfect opportunity to think about their options of further studies or professional career.

The career and admission counselors promote the idea of pushing the high school goers to do anything except what lies in their comfort zone and High school summer programs are all about exploring new dimensions of knowledge and education. From the beginning of the term, educators at high schools instigate their students with a positive idea of exploring their limits and testing what they can achieve academically and in-person. Such excursions test an individual’s leadership skills.

Summer Programs - Benefits:

Summer programs are not the make-up classes for students who lagged behind in the academics. Instead these programs lend a helping hand to students so that they can –

• ·         Traverse through their area of interests
• ·         Evolve new skill sets
• ·         Get a practical exposure on classroom fundamentals
• ·         Get a hint of what college life is all about
• ·         Get a sneak – peak into college classes
• ·         Earn credit points for college (if offered in chosen summer program)

Apart from practical learning and exposure to the classroom teachings, students also get a hand on learning experience on many off-beat (which are generally not part of school programs) carrier options like 3 Dimensional (3D) game design, language immersion (an exciting method to learn second language, which offers all the classroom teachings of subjects like science, mathematics etc. in the language that learner opted for) and creative writing for different platforms.

Where these programs are available

From applied arts to philosophy, from fundamentals of physics to athletics – multifarious nature of summer programs offers almost every area of study to students. These programs may be offered at exuberant college campus sites, museums, theatres, performing arts centers. High school summer programs are also offered in day boarding and residential setups in which, students can share housing facilities offered by the institute with fellow students.

How to begin:

First of all, you need to zero in your interests and goals. Why you want to enroll in a summer programs –to explore your interests, meet a distinctive career goal, or to communicate with other students from across the world who share the same interests. You can always ask a counselor for advice, thoroughly research about the various programs. After you have decided which high school summer program you will enroll in, find out the requirements and enrollment criteria and prepare yourself for it( you can always ask your school teacher or parents for guidance).

Online High School Programs: How Are They Benefiting The Rural Schooling?

In the last century, around 150,000 schools were shut down in the U.S. in the wake of mishandled budgets. In the conventional sense, schools with a bigger premises and lavish classrooms were associated with impeccable education. Such a though process didn’t turn out too well and resulted in diseconomies of scale due to an increased non-instructional staff (Not requiring the teacher’s licensure), resulting in a declining teaching quality.

The rural schooling has been bearing the brunt of shrinking local tax bases, a disrupted chain of funding between the federal and state education, a frail recruitment process that has incapacitated the retention of quality teachers, and the out-migration of young people and professionals. Despite such difficulties, online high school programs are helping rural schools to flourish. 

These programs are providing a level playing field for students in rural areas. They are proving their worth to principals in seeking out highly trained faculty for the popular subjects including advanced math, physical sciences, foreign languages and computer science. The integrated online classrooms allows the rural schools to widen their pool of courses and expose rural students to an impeccable and well-knitted content.  Rural high schools are increasingly collaborating with statewide virtual high schools, and are working with national providers as well.  

Online learning allows teachers an access to the most sophisticated technology and tools to communicate with students as well as senior teachers or subject experts anytime and anywhere. Moreover, students can take their own time for coming to the terms with course intricacies, simultaneously prepping up their technical and literary competencies.

Many rural schools are also going for the flex model in which the essential instructions are propagated online with on-site theoretical support, application of knowledge, and extracurricular activities. In some courses, particularly those with teachers at a distance, they may remain part of a virtual cohort. 

The overall broadband access is improving but still hasn’t penetrated enough in rural areas. The 11 percent of rural residents in Ohio don’t have access to home broadband service that hampers the streaming of classroom lectures. Expediting the process of broadband adoption and technology use for education can facilitate a wider variety of courses, virtual schools, and collaborative learning opportunities outside of their immediate communities to rural students.