On your game parents

Just a final post of the month to inspire parents of cyber school kids!?

So I have learned over time to get in the game and stay in this game. Otherwise I'll be outsmarted by the kid! This means to keep track, even a log, of my child's work daily and to check on the progress reports provided at least once a week, even if I don't understand them. While you may get some resistance in the beginning, in the long run it will serve as a safety net and indicate that you care.

What weekends are like now

Chillin' as we approach a new school week because it's o.k. for the laundry to need washing. She always has something to wear the first day back, a robe.  She even slid by today without playing catch-up on earth science. She did catch up on sleep. This is what a teen weekend is like in cyber-high.

Official day off: No school

Sike, she still had a chance to follow the lessons because of the 24 hour access!  In the world of cyber-high school is never closed (as long as you can log in to your account).  I just enjoyed the fact that she could play catch-up in 2 of the courses she had fallen behind in. By email both teachers let me know the scoop about her progress.

Cyber games kids play - (when they s/be working)

The game my child plays is hiding her progress from me and herself to a degree. Remember the classes that you disliked so much that you waited until the last minute to do the work? I find her doing this a lot. Not sure yet how to help. I hope that her teachers will have some insight. One factor that has not changed even with online education is that teachers are still needed as communicators. The parents need to be in communication with them to know their child's true progress.

What's a class schedule like in cyber high school?

If you have guessed that not much is different between a "cyber" school and a regular public school as far as the curriculum, well that is a correct guess. For a typical sophomore schedule it may include up to 6 courses. My child's schedule is computers, english, geometry, history, earth science and gaming. She's free to manage her time in each course. She spends about an hour for each class starting in the morning. She doesn't take breaks like a lunch period. She likes to get done so that she can do a hobby or socialize. Since she never has to leave home she is usually dressed in her pj's. Must be nice. tata :)

Parent steps up in action - for homework

Just to reinforce that although it's the weekend (cyber) school is still "in session". That's because access is available 24/7! I did have to step up in action and require that the concept of homework be revisited. It really didn't go too well though because I have to have a life too. Child claims she has been working on writing her paper for Earth Science since this afternoon. I have yet to see proof. But I trust we will get to that part soon this week when I check her progress report online. One bad thing is that you can't tell what assignments have been turned in until the teacher records the grades for each one. There has to be follow up, otherwise kids will be kids. On with my life before the next school day....

Value-added: homework (homerun!)

My experience as a parent of a cyberspace student is one that is pretty detached from the online experience itself. This experience is solely the child's. She is really in her own world. When you were a kid did you use  blankets as tents with other kids and play kid games? As the parent I feel like she's away in her pretend tent in her own pretend world. I have found it best to let her alone.

On the other hand, I do get involved too. When I became aware of her progress report in Earth Science it was time to get involved. The "value-added" benefit of class online is that it is available 24/7!!! It's the perfect way to reinstitute homework. Does anyone out there remember the days of homework? This is certainly not the case now-a-days. I feel she hasn't had to do homework for the last few years! Now she can be online in the evening too doing her work and getting ahead. By the way, another benefit of online class is that the entire semester of assignments is at the child's fingertips. The child can choose to work in line with the rest of the class or move ahead. Without schoolwork some evenings she was procastinating. This is when I shout my "bases loaded, batter-up, homerun" cheer, hurray!  Homework is back! 

Looking back

It's been one semester since I have embraced cyberspace high school for my child. The start was a bumpy ride. One of her issues has been proscratination. I searched a bit to know what others think about this adventure. I found a discussion from 2006 that was an honest one about the perks of attending school like for socializing. Procrastination was mentioned in the discussion:  http://www.knowledgesutra.com/forums/topic/37583-online-high-school/.  When my child looks back on this experience I wonder what she'll think.

Her first semester was using the Elluminate software as the online tool. The second semester the school has switched to another system called Blackboard (yes from the blackboard to the whiteboard and back to the blackboard again, haha). Her classes include the usual curriculum plus earth science and computer gaming (not playing them, but writing them). I'm proud of her courageous soul to take on such an adventure in life.

Cyberspace.....a virtual experience...no homework, no books?

Here is a tough one for me to accept about the new information age education: In the new cyberspace classroom there seems to be no homework or books.

So what is a typical school day like for a child in cyberspace? First you have to login.  But there is no attendance taken. Course material is online and available 24/7. So some serious flexibility is there. There is really no lecture taking place with few exceptions. Because of this format the student gets to study at their own pace. There are assignments, quizzes and unit exams. All coursework can be handed in electronically. This is when I get uncomfortable after realizing there are no physical books, novels or in-depth discussions. I mean, I remember hating to have to read the book the Catcher In the Rye. But it's still a lasting memory and I enjoyed talking about it in class.  My daughter has never been one to talk about school a lot. So it comes as no shock that she talks less about it now. Her experience seems to be virtual to me.

A Charter school in cyberspace

About my experience as a parent when I decided to switch my teen child from traditional public school to an online charter public school.

It all started in the fall 2010. A new school opened in my city, the first of its kind they say. It's not exactly 100% online. Students have the option of physical attendance or to stay as far away from the campus as possible. As long as there is Internet access they never have to play hooky. That is what makes it unique. Although it has been an uphill battle. During the first semester the students had to physically attend classes in a newly reconstructed building because the online program was not up and running. So, in the beginning it was more like traditional classroom settings, including the student disruptions. Conflicts continued to arise I think because the students expected to get the 'perks' they were told about in the beginning like a laptop. So far that has not happened. Furthermore, the students experienced administrative changes which added to an uphill experience (rollercoasting along).

On with the program...
The software program used once the computers were up and running was Elluminate. I'll spare the details because I really did not get familiar with it until much later in the term and then only briefly. Elluminate is a classroom that takes place live online. Rather than watch the teacher teach at the blackboard the students watch a whiteboard on the monitor. They don't see the teacher in-person because teaching is done from the teacher's computer. The students can hear the teacher through headphones, see the writing on a whiteboard and are encouraged to participate online. This system is fairly complex and takes time to explain so I'll just provide a link to explain (click here --> http://www.elluminate.com/).

I would like to learn of other parents' experiences in school cyberspace. Leave me a comment if you'd had one.

thanks

A parent's experience after "sending" teen to school in cyberspace?

What have I done? Some may say that it's risky.  No, I didn't send my teenage daughter to outerspace in frustration with her performance in school. But I did decide to give the (Jetson's) cyber high school a try for my teenager Judy Jetson. No, I was not hoodwinked by my teen into making this choice. This is a new experience for us that I decided and she agreed to.

It's been 6 months so far and I still have my hair on my head! It's the weekend. Of course if I want to know her progress I can just login to her account and look for myself.  I can check all of her classes. Actually, I just usually make her show me because it's easier! :-)

She's good at hiding things though from me. Like the time that she almost got away with hiding from me that her semester progress was at 57% completion in English class versus 2% completion in Earth Science! Sure, I freaked out as this was the day before parent / teacher conferences. Yes, this almost slid by me. But she explained to me that she had been reading the lessons but waiting to complete the assignments. She has caught up, glad to say (phew).  But that was one rollercoaster ride she had me on and not the first this year. 

So my experience so far has been, yes, an amusement park experience :->

Presently, the ride's a merry-go-round.