On Video: Richard McKenna Charter High School

Richard McKenna Charter High School

Get your school in the book!

I am in the final stages of creating the database that will be used for the second edition of our online high schools book. If you are an online school, high school or not, please send us an email for possible inclusion in this book or other books to be published in 2012.

Different types of free online high schools

Someone just asked me about the  different types of free online schools. Click on the link.

Free Online High Schools #2

So what else do you need to know about your free online high school?

 

#2: Who creates the curriculum? What the course looks like can vary significantly from school to school. Do they purchase curriculum from K12.com, from another company, or do they create their own?

Free Online High Schools #1

Over the next week or so, I am going to tell you what you need to know to find and use a free online high school. And here we go:

#1: Which state do you live in? Seems a simple question, but free online high schools vary considerably by state. Some states have none and others have more than you can imagine. You need to know where you live. :-)

 

Day in the life of a Connections Academy Family

I like this video because it gives you the opportunity to look inside what life can be like for a real family with online students. Enjoy!

Note: Connections Academies were purchased last week by publishing giant Pearson (who also owns NovaNet and Pearson Virtual Learning).

Which is the best online high school?

This must be the most common question that I receive. Unfortunately, it is also the question that is the most difficult to answer. Can I give you an answer? Sure, but first you need to tell me:

  1. In which state do you live?
  2. Do you prefer working in groups or alone?
  3. Are you able to pay to attend?
  4. Are you comfortable with technology?
  5. Do you prefer to do more of your work online or off-line?
  6. Is your preference for 100% online or is some face-to-face acceptable?
  7. How much interaction do you want with other students?
  8. How much interaction do you want with teachers?
  9. Will you need additional support in order to be successful?
  10. How available are your parents to support your efforts?

And on. And on. And on and on. You get the point.

Importantly, even if I had the answers to all of those questions, I still could not tell you the name of the best online high school. What I might be able to do is tell you the name of the best online high school for you.

And that should be more than enough. Because, of course, unless you are doing a study of online high schools, you really only need to know which is the best option for you.

All of that being said, I am going to showcase a few schools this week to give you an idea of what is available out there.