The idea of online school isn’t new. Online schooling has been around for some time and many parents have taken advantage of it. Other parents have thought about it from time to time and briefly considered looking into it but never got around to it.
The pandemic has pushed the concept of online schooling to the forefront of everyone’s mind. Some schools have even opted entirely do away with in-classroom learning and devote all of their resources to virtual education.
How Online Schooling Differs from Home Schooling
It’s important to understand that online schooling and homeschooling aren’t exactly the same thing.
Homeschooling is a type of schooling where the parents have total control over their child’s education. In some cases, the parent works with a group of like-minded parents, an organization that has created a curriculum, or even tutors. In other instances, the parent does all the teaching themselves.
Students who partake with online schooling are still connected to the school’s curriculum. Teachers who are employed by the school handle the student’s educational needs.
Advantages of Online Schooling
Prior to the outbreak, the biggest advantages connected to online schooling was that students who didn’t do well in a traditional classroom setting still enjoyed a high level of education. The set up was ideal for students who were in living situations that required them to learn from different locations, such as a parent’s house one day, a grandparent’s house in a different county, or during a commute. Online schooling was also good for the children who didn’t have a reliable means of getting to school every single day.
Parents often like online schooling because it is designed in such a way that parents are able to be involved in their child’s education without having to worry about doing the actual teaching.
Students who do best when they’re able to work at their own pace generally excel when they’re removed from the traditional classroom and enrolled in an online schooling program.
Disadvantages of Online Schooling
The simple reality is that while online schooling is wonderful for some students, other students struggle with it.
The disadvantages of online schooling include:
- It limits the child’s ability to socialize with people their own age
- Students who lack self-discipline struggle
- Students don’t connect as well with the teacher which makes them reluctant to ask for additional help
One of the biggest disadvantages connected to online learning is that it eliminates a sense of competition that many students require before they’ll push their limits and strive to excel.
If your child is taking advantage of online schooling this year, it’s important that you make an effort to connect to the school and go over the rules for logging in each day, know when homework needs to be completed, and have a plan to make sure that you can take the steps needed to help your child thrive in an at-home learning environment.