Advantages of Online Learning
One of the ironies of homeschooling is that students struggling in school and falling behind often find themselves trapped in a formal, structured setting yet are worried about moving to homeschooling without a structured environment.By using a flexible, individualized curriculum that allows students (and families) to have some structure and support combined with the ability to customize the materials to meet the needs of the student is a great way to break out of the dilemma; and online learning is about as structured, yet flexible, as it gets.
Because of the nature of the Internet students can access material 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to fit their own schedule; at the same time it also allows for a structure to be built into the process.
We spoke with Nan Cullins, founder of Ablaze Academy, to discuss some of the advantages of enrolling in an online program, and she reiterated the idea of combining structure with flexibility to best meet the needs of the student.
"Since the program is online 12 months a year, students can take off a month at Christmas or in the summer and still have access to their classes when they need them," says Cullins.
"They can take classes if they are overseas, or on a trip. They can take classes anywhere, anytime, as long as they have access to an Internet-ready computer. Older computers even work, since online programs are based on the Internet; the student does not have to store anything in their own computer."
In addition to the accessibility, the format of the program is also flexible in an online environment. If a student is good at math, for instance, they can move as quickly as they want to through those areas and move more slowly through areas of concern. For example, a student might be in 6th grade history, 10th grade math and 8th grade reading at the same time.
According to Ms. Cullins, "This is difficult in schools because they try to keep everyone to be at the same level so that the fast kids don't get bored and the slower kids don't get lost. But with online homeschooling, the children get to work at their own level for each subject."
She believes that school should mirror life and in life "No one eats the same; some eat one thing first, say mashed potatoes before steak. But other people like to eat a little bit of everything on their plate for variety. With online schooling, students can approach their education in the same way; they can choose a schedule and format that works for them and allows them to work to the best of their ability.
Therefore, students do not have to study all the subjects every day. It depends on the child. Some students want to knock out all their math and then go on to English and history. Some kids like the variety of doing a different subject each day. The objective is to keep students excited about the things that THEY like."
We've covered the flexibility but what about the structure of online schooling? How do homeschoolers make sure they are in the right courses and on track to meet their needs? In online programs, it depends on the format.
For example, Ablaze Academy's philosophy is that "On any given day anyone can test well" and so they have students work with the curriculum as a means of assessment. They have them study and take the review tests. If they score well on all areas, they can change the curriculum. However, if there are some areas where they do poorly, the student can focus on that material only and then move forward once she or he has mastered the missing areas.
The program does not work with a pass or fail mentality; it allows students to restudy and retake tests so that they fully understand the material and are genuinely not left behind.
The program also provides feedback to parents. Says Cullins, "We provide automatic grading, which means that a parent can even be at work and see what their child is doing, and how they're doing. As soon as they take a test, they know immediately whether they mastered it or not."
Progress reports are also an important piece of the support and structure in an online program. Some programs emphasize grades but parents also need to be able to receive a detailed report, with the amount of study times, how long a student took to take a test, etc. This will allow parents to see where the problem is if a child is receiving 70s but only studying for 3 minutes, for example.
Another important element of support is to have access to experts that can help parents with the homeschooling process.
"No parent, as smart as they may be, knows everything," says Cullins. "Most people don't have 5 master's degrees. We all need a little help." So, when a student has a question where do they go for the answer?
Ablaze Academy has addressed this issue by providing online tutors that are instantly accessible within the online environment. The tutors are specific to grade level and subject, which means that a 9th grader needing help with algebra does not have to talk to someone not an expert in that subject.
And, according to Cullins, this allows "parents to be cheerleaders instead of the bad guys. They can continue their role as the parent and nurture and support their children" rather than being a taskmaster.
But does having this peace of mind, as well as the structure and flexibility, come with a high price? As a rule, homeschooling costs more than public schools and less than private schools but online learning can actually be less than a car payment.
For example, Ablaze Academy structures its price as all-inclusive, which means that the cost includes all curriculum materials, including access to the online Rosetta Stone courses, for all classes (not a per course price), as well as access to online tutors (in upper grades) for a monthly price of $179 per month (grades 1-3) and $269 per month (grades 4-12).
Parents only need to pay for the months that their student is enrolled, whether a student finishes in 6 months or 10 months. If a student needs to take a break they become deactivated and then are re-activated where they left off, and not charged for the time of deactivation.
Not all online programs do this so parents need to familiarize themselves with the pricing structures as well as extras offered by the programs such as audio curriculum for lower grades as offered by Ablaze Academy.
Nan Cullins wants parents to know that they don't need to feel stressed about providing a quality homeschool education for their children or to be embarrassed about asking for help. As she stated, "No one can do it all. We all need help sometimes."
The key is to find a program that allows you to still have control over your child's schooling, be flexible enough to meet the needs of your family, and provide the support to help you fill in the missing pieces. Online learning can do all that.
Ablaze Academy is accredited with the Georgia Accrediting Commission (G.A.C.), which is the oldest accrediting commission in the nation for grades K-12. For more information please visit the school's Web site located at http://www.ablazeacademy.com/ or contact them via email: administratorablazelearning@tds.net or toll-free via phone: 1-877-899-9985.