5 Ways Online schooling Is Not the Same as Traditional Schools

The syllabus of an online school is almost similar to that of a traditional school. However, the online learning environment and the methodology is pretty different from that of a traditional school.

Here are the top 5 ways online schooling is not the same as traditional schools:

Involvement of parents

Usually, it is recommended that parents should be partly involved in their child’s education, no matter whichever school their child is enrolled in. However, still, the level of parental involvement is one area in which traditional and online schools can vary to a great extent. At a brick-and-mortar school, parental involvement is limited. This is because the learning schedule and the learning pace is already pre-established. There is no scope of altering these features! Parents of traditional school kids can review homework and attend parent-teacher conferences. That is the most they can be involved, in general. There are some schools that may have opportunities to volunteer or to organize field trips. But, from an overall perspective, parents cannot really monitor or guide their child’s education the way they want. They absolutely have no control over their child’s education in this traditional education system.

On the other hand, in an online school environment, parents have many options for being involved in their children’s education. They can even play the role of Learning Coaches if they wish to be that involved! It is totally up to the parents. They may choose to support learning by structuring the student’s regular routine. They can review lessons and grades as often as they wish. Also, they have the chance to consult with teachers in regular meetings. Online school kids’ parents can monitor their child’s attendance and academic progress on a weekly basis. They can play an active role by helping their children maintain organization and time management. Also, they can encourage students. However, if they are working, they might not want to get involved much. In that case, the online school teachers take the entire responsibility. So, online learning can be highly convenient for every type of parent!

Degree of flexibility

It is quite evident that online school schedule is highly flexible. It certainly is more flexible than traditional schools. In an online school environment, parents can actually set the daily routine. Thus, they can create an effective and challenging learning atmosphere for their children. This is much unlike that of the rigid conventional education system.

Due to the rigid traditional school schedule, most of the traditional school students do not get enough time to focus on their other interests. They are compelled to find time for personal interests around the school’s schedule. This gets pretty hectic! In the case of an online school, students might have to attend certain events that are fixed like real-time lessons. But, in most cases, they have a much higher degree of flexibility about where and when they finish off their studies. Thus, they get ample time to enjoy family time, hobbies, travel, etc. They can pretty much juggle their family duties with their online learning schedule. Thus, it is a win-win situation for the child as well as the family!

Level of personalization

The traditional system of education is anything but personalized! Hard-hit truth, right? The truth is that traditional school teachers are not able to give one-to-one attention to every student due to the large size of the class. Thus, they are forced to follow a generic pace, a generic learning schedule, and a generic learning pattern. This often makes learning boring for most traditional students. When every child is different and is a definite type of learner, this form of education is of no help! This "one size fits all" approach to education can be detrimental to the student’s personal as well as academic growth. This never leads to wholesome learning. It is all just wishy-washy!

When it comes to an online school, however, students have customization options. Since the sizes of the classes are small, online teachers are able to provide extra support to strengthen specific skills and interests. Teachers try to understand the specific abilities, interests, and learning patterns of each child. This is what the present-day student craves for! This one-on-one instruction is usually provided by telephone, by email, and by many other online platforms. Thus, students have the liberty to follow their own pace and even regulate their pace. They can pause if they come across a difficult topic. They can then dig deeper to bolster their knowledge on that topic.

Also, in a top accredited online high school, students can participate in online clubs and activities. Also, they can choose a vast variety of electives. This helps them to sharpen their learning as well as other skills and run after their interests. Parents need to go for the right online program that will be suitable for their children in the best possible manner.

Learning Environment

Most of the online schools offer parents have the liberty to control their child’s learning environment. In an online learning environment, parents can rest assured that their student is learning in a safe and sound atmosphere that is conducive to absolute success. Most importantly, the good thing is that this online learning environment is free from bullying, peer pressure, bad teacher behavior, partiality etc. With fewer distractions, online students can focus better. All they need to do is to fix a study place and make sure they have a computer and a strong internet connection.

Thus, many online school parents reckon online school environment to be highly rewarding. Parents themselves get to learn a lot of new topics while being involved in their child’s education.

A higher level of accessibility

Prominently, online resources are available all the time. This includes human resources such as online teachers, Admissions Counselor etc. The online tools are available full-time as well. Virtual lessons, audio-books etc. are all available online all the time. Thus, the student can log in anytime and get to work! On the contrary, in a traditional school, the child is forced to follow the school’s calendar.

Ashley Wright works as a marketing manager at Forest Trail Academy. He loves to write blog content for the website