Virtual instruction is big right now. Twelve states have established online high schools. Twenty-five states have cyber charter schools. Thirty-two states have e-learning initiatives underway.

Over-crowded classrooms, budget shortfalls and teacher shortages are contributing to this increase in virtual school programs. These Internet-based schools allow students to take more control over the learning process by allowing them to set their own schedules, communicate with teachers via phone, e-mail or instant messaging.

Students complete all coursework, including tests, virtually via the Internet. Once students finish their assigned tasks, they e-mail them to the teacher. The teacher looks at the student assignments and provides feedback to students via e-mail, instant messaging or by phone. Virtual schools offer a more personalized type of instruction.

Benefits of Virtual Schools & Online Learning

While the benefits of virtual schools vary from community to community, here are some components that are consistent among most programs:

Enhanced Course Selection: An online learning program provides students with access to courses not always available in traditional schools. For example, many rural schools often cannot offer AP courses or even electives such as foreign language, business education and computer science. Offering such courses virtually provides a welcomed educational benefit to students.

Course Delivery: As the delivery of instruction is via the Internet, courses can include multimedia content and real-time news updates.

Flexible Schedules: Graduating seniors, student athletes, performers as well as homebound students can access courses virtually and complete course work at their own pace.

Individualized Instruction: Online learning creates an environment where student and teacher interactions are one-to-one. This personalized attention is invaluable to students who are challenged with understanding difficult concepts.

Access to Qualified Teachers: Virtual schools can be a solution for schools and school districts that have a shortage of teachers, especially teachers who have an area of specialization.

Virtual schools are here and available. They open up huge worlds of educational opportunities. With annual reviews of the content of these programs, virtual schools are great extensions to the traditional classroom.

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Math teachers are notorious about introducing a concept with abstraction before explaining the relation it has with real life.  Take the first day of a typical college Analytical Geometry class; the teacher introduces the class by drawing a graph on the board and asking, “Is that a relation or a function?” Relations and functions have different properties and the question is legitimate, but ‘you lost your audience professor’ – except for the top 3%.  This is because most of the students have no concrete concept of functional or non-functional graphs. First, explain what function vs. relation means and then let the class try and create both.

A great rule of thumb in getting your point across to people is to draw a picture of what you are talking about. I thought I knew this completely until I ran across an Algebra problem given to us by a good Math teacher in Freshman College.  I usually whipped through the Math homework with ease but I found myself stuck on this problem.  It was a simultaneous solution of only three equations but composing the last equation was not happening!  So, after an hour of getting nowhere, I said, “This is one for the teacher.”

Mister ‘Math’ could not solve this one and it was frustrating!  I was getting a taste of what a lot of students dealt with every day.  What really made an impression on me was what the teacher said at the next meet, “If you did not draw this problem, you can not solve it!”  He, then, proceeded to draw each object in the problem and, visually, add and subtract material from each while writing the appropriate equations.  I sat there thinking how simple this problem is when you can see it and how difficult it is when you cannot!

This is why we lose our audience when teaching Math, whether it is grade school, high school, college or advanced problems.  If you do not first teach your class to draw and visualize concepts, they will never get it! The best Math students have the ability or have trained themselves to visualize what is being asked in real time and real space.  As an example, if you asked even a third year Math college student what the third integral of a closed graph would be, they might be at a loss to answer unless they were trained in special visualization of concepts.

If teachers really want to jump start their classes in Math and get most of the class on board, the school should make it mandatory to take conceptual visualization classes before ever starting rote Mathematics.  This teaching concept should be implemented at the earliest levels and carried on throughout college.  If students were shown how to visualize abstraction at an early age, they would not only feel more competent in Math but they would eventually free up their cognitive abilities and synthesize new concepts.

After all, the main difference between Sir Isaac Newton and the average student is that Newton visualized physics and Mathematics as a natural practice while most students don’t know how.  If you truly want to teach Mathematics or any subject, properly, first train your audience in the art of visualization.

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Online schools are quickly becoming a mainstay in quality home-education. Homebound students who are being taught away from public school campuses, can now couple their home-schooling with comprehensive online courses that are especially designed so that students may obtain their electronic high school diploma without stepping foot into a public classroom. [2]

While public education has taken a proactive stance in online school programming, other industries, such as business organizations have also joined the e-learning bandwagon. Small and large businesses have fast adapted to offering online school training to employees; which is not only cost effective, but less time consuming as well.

The future of high-tech academics is now. What we are seeing is a rapidly increasing trend of accredited online schools that offer more than just short classes and public education; it’s a whole new breed of Internet technologies that have evolved with the times so students can earn valuable skills and training to enter the workforce. This has been demonstrated in many of today’s online schools, which extend in-depth coursework; including online degree programs in a vast assortment of subjects. Whether you’re intrigued by information technology, medical technology or even psychology; today’s virtual campus can accommodate you with proven tools of success to make it in these modern times.

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But is it for you? Perhaps you have already gone to college, but it seems so distant and foreign now that you wonder if you can get back into the learning mode again. Or perhaps you were never able to attend college because “life happened” and your chance just passed you by. No matter what your experience, you are older and wiser now, and you see a value in education that you may not have seen before.

If you are considering going back to school, then it is certainly the right thing to do-and now is definitely the right time to do it. With the proliferation of virtual degree courses, there is no reason why you can’t enroll in an online school at this very moment, no matter what’s going on with your job, family and social commitments. Online education allows you to get the most out of life by giving you the opportunity to get educated without having to stop life in its tracks. E-learning programs offered by hundreds of colleges in the U.S. and worldwide now make it easier than ever for you to get your degree.

Going to school online is ideal for just about anyone, regardless of whether it’s for fun, self-improvement, a first degree, job certification, or an advanced degree.

Should you do it just for fun or self-improvement, there are many courses available for that purpose, such as learning a new language, taking a literature appreciation course, or picking up a specific skill such as website development. Maybe you’re looking to finally earn that first degree that you never got around to finishing. There is a wide range of degree programs now available online for the undergraduate student, and if it’s a recognized degree program, it’s probably offered online by a school somewhere.

Perhaps you are out of college and have already earned you degree, but now you need professional certification to keep your education up to date for your current position. Fortunately, there are many e-learning programs in place for that very purpose. With an abundance of schools around the web that offer all sorts of certification programs, there should be no problem getting the certification that you need.

If you currently have a degree but you would like to take it to the next level, there are many online advanced degree programs to help you get there. These programs are designed so you can move to the next level of your education while still maintaining your current job position uninterrupted. You can go to class, earn your advanced degree, and all the while perform your job duties without missing a beat.

In conclusion, no matter what your current education level there is most likely an online distance program offered by a school that will suit your educational needs. E-degree programs are designed from the beginning of the educational cycle through many levels- from GED’s and high school diplomas, up to advanced doctorate and PhD degrees. There is virtually something for everyone. And perhaps even better than the cornucopia of online educational choice is the fact that now you do not have to disrupt your life to make it happen.

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Classes Offered Through Distance Learning Online Education

Almost any curriculum can be pursued online. Students can seek programs that result in certification, advanced technical skills, associates degrees, bachelors degrees, graduate degrees and even doctorates. Even continuing education classes for licensed professionals and high school equivalence courses can be completed through virtual classrooms.

Methods for Distance Learning Online Education

Online education is usually web-based with a specific web site designated for the course. Supplemental materials, such as software, may also be part of certain online courses. Students visit the course web site to complete the posted assignments and take tests. Instructors and students communicate through email and chat rooms. Sometimes virtual lectures and discussions are part of online coursework. Students can attend virtual classrooms to complete their education and some colleges even have virtual graduation ceremonies.

Types of Students Who Pursue Distance Learning Online Education

Many different students from all over the world participate in distance learning online education opportunities. Some students work and attend classes online during their free time. Other students live in remote areas where local colleges do not exist. Still other students choose to combine online courses with traditional classes for what is known as a blended learning experience. Student who pursue distance education do not fit a particular mold, but should possess the following qualities:

self-motivation;

well-organized;

independent learner;

computer literate;

good time management skills; and

excellent communication skills.

Validity of Distance Learning Online Education: Research from the Sloan Consortium states that online learning is comparable to education obtained in a traditional setting, based upon a poll of academic leaders. Academic leader James Sherwood, Ph.D. and dean of University Extension, the continuing education branch of The University of California at Berkley states that, “Coming out of World War II and getting into the 60′s and 70′s there was a kind of stigma associated with distance education. That has certainly changed.” Because of technological advances and online resources, distance education has improved and offers an equivalent opportunity to traditional education.

Faculty Perspective of Distance Learning Online Education. Dr. Michael Otaigbe of Strayer University in Virginia has taught courses both in person and online at the same college. His opinion is that online classes generate an unexpected level of motivation, saying, “Online, I have the freedom to require contributions. Every week, my students have to submit essays and participate in group discussions. I get a better sense of the learning process.” He also finds that online students come from all over the world and have unique contributions that benefit the other students.

Online Education Distance Learning Association in the US. Several distance learning associations exist within the United States that offer additional information about taking classes online for prospective students.

The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). The USDLA is a non-profit association that promotes the development and application of online distance learning for education and training purposes. The USDLA encourages distance learning for grades K-12, college and higher education, corporate training, continuing education, government training and military training. Further, the USDLA supported the implementation of the Snowe-Rockefeller Amendment to the 1996 Telecommunications Act, as well as other legislation in 1997 that was introduced by Kennedy and Snowe.

The Distance and Education Training Council (DETC). The DETC is a non-profit educational association that is a central hub of information about distance study and the correspondence learning field.

Federal Government Distance Learning Association (FGDLA). The FGDLA is also a non-profit association. The FGDLA was formed to promote development and application of distance learning programs. The Association also acts to foster understanding and collaboration among the people involved in education and training within the federal government.

Covering Costs for Distance Learning Online Education Programs
Financial aid is available to online students, just as it is for traditional students. Online students can apply for applicable state and government financial aid, Stafford loans, student loans, tuition reimbursement and scholarships to cover costs for cyber classes. Also, virtual students save money on transportation and housing. Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, said, “The College Board continues to advocate for need-based aid, so that students can have the opportunity to benefit from college education.”

National and international strides are being made everyday in distance learning online education. Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers, R-Mich., introduced legislation to scientifically scrutinize online learning. The Independent Study of Distance Education Act of 2007 directs the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study that would compare classroom instruction with distance learning programs. Colleges such as the University of Wyoming are experimenting with gaming as a form of teaching online education. Consider that the dynamic nature and convenience of online education has attracted about 3.2 million people to take a distance learning course in the past year. Distance learning online education programs are an effective way to achieve higher education

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