Week 13 Second Blog Post

One of the myths listed that surprised me slightly was "virtual schools are about technology". I think it was initially surprising because I tend to think about all of the various technology tools I have been using in my own online classes and the focus that I put on technology. After giving this idea more consideration, it does make sense that technology is just the delivery system for the content and not the actual focus of the content for many online courses. 

I don't believe I posted anything that was a myth in my initial post. There was another myth that I initially surprised me a little and that was "a student is more likely to cheat online". I don't think that students take online courses to cheat, but I think it would be more likely if there was a test offered online for a student to use their text book or the internet to find answers. I suppose this concern could be reduced by structuring tests to have time limits (with the hope that students wouldn't have time to look for answers in other places) or not having traditional, multiple choice tests and having projects instead. There are ways to structure an any online class in a way that will reduce the myths that may be believed about online courses.

I'm sure I have a lot to learn about virtual schooling. My understanding of virtual schooling is that courses are offered and students can enroll in these for credit in their district. I believe in some states students can take the courses for free, but in other states they must pay tuition. There are teachers who facilitate the courses and students take them in an entirely online format. I think that any students can enroll in online courses, such as Math and English, and I think that there may be many students enrolled for purposes of credit recovery. Students who are not struggling can also enroll, but I believe many are students who need to make up credits. Overall, virtual schooling offers flexibility to students and teachers who are facilitating the courses.