Janeway Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 People here have said how much they like Jetta's class, so I thought it would be great for my children to do it. She is full, but I got on her mailing list for the next year. 14 yr old is almost 15 and has ASD and always balks at trying new things. I planned for him doing Jetta's class. He is already telling me "online?!?!?! No!" What do you think? I am thinking being able to work online is a valuable skill. I was also thinking Jetta's class might be a good experience to start with. Or do you think taking an online class is not a skill I need to concern myself with if the child is not interested? He has said he wants to take Dual Enrollment so I could just do that with him instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 One suggestion is to get his feet wet with a low-stakes option: find an MOOC he's interested in and work toward completing that. If it meshes with one of your credit courses at home, count the work toward that. Less pressure and it still gives him practice in the format. Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 One suggestion is to get his feet wet with a low-stakes option: find an MOOC he's interested in and work toward completing that. If it meshes with one of your credit courses at home, count the work toward that. Less pressure and it still gives him practice in the format. Erica in OR What is an MOOC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 What is an MOOC? Massive Open Online Course. Wikipedia article I've used Coursera , but I've never paid for a verified certificate. The Coursea courses I've taken have a schedule of a certain number of weeks (different for each course) with videos and weekly assignments, plus 1 or 2 exams. I like the weekly schedule which motivates me to keep up and finish the course. Best wishes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 Massive Open Online Course. Wikipedia article I've used Coursera , but I've never paid for a verified certificate. The Coursea courses I've taken have a schedule of a certain number of weeks (different for each course) with videos and weekly assignments, plus 1 or 2 exams. I like the weekly schedule which motivates me to keep up and finish the course. Best wishes. We have Great Courses Plus and he enjoys that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 People here have said how much they like Jetta's class, so I thought it would be great for my children to do it. She is full, but I got on her mailing list for the next year. 14 yr old is almost 15 and has ASD and always balks at trying new things. I planned for him doing Jetta's class. He is already telling me "online?!?!?! No!" What do you think? I am thinking being able to work online is a valuable skill. I was also thinking Jetta's class might be a good experience to start with. Or do you think taking an online class is not a skill I need to concern myself with if the child is not interested? He has said he wants to take Dual Enrollment so I could just do that with him instead. I don't think that it's necessary to do an online course. And I DO think that the format is good for some, ok for some, and not good at all for others. With an in-person class, there is in-person contact with the other students and with the teacher. The class gets the student out of the house, seeing new people, experiencing a new locations, etc. It gives the opportunity to explore some independence - things like navigating the campus to find offices and classrooms, figuring out solutions to things like a forgotten lunch, and using the cafe to buy a snack. There is also the opportunity to participate in on-campus events - or to at least feel like they could, if they wanted to. It's a good step away from mom, and gives all kinds of small experiences that will help later on in university, in a new job, etc. If your ds is interested in doing DE, and especially if he has ASD, I'd jump on the opportunity for him to expand his horizons a bit at the CC. Online courses can come later if he is interested. I have two college graduates who never did an online course; while it's a useful option, I don't think it's a necessity. On the other hand, in-person courses are pretty foundational for the vast majority of educational paths, and involve skills of their own that take some experience to develop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Not important but useful. Community colleges here have courses in hybrid and online format. My former neighbor did most of her classes online or hybrid so she cuts down her commuting time by a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 I don't think it's necessary at all. I only did it when it seemed necessary for what we wanted to cover and was the best option. Some of my kids took online and some didn't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 (edited) I do not consider taking an online class necessary at all, and don't consider it a skill students need to learn in high school. Neither of my students took and online class in high school, and DD has not taken any in college either. A student who has adequate executive functioning skills can figure out how to use an online class when he has to; it is not rocket science. One has to be literate and follow directions (which are usually plentiful). I would have my student take an online class if that was the best way to fill an instructional need. Edited July 16, 2016 by regentrude 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 I don't consider it at all necessary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I think it depends on the colleges your looking at for the future, too. My husband's nephew is in college now, and a few of his class are offered online ONLY. One is a chem lab (seriously?!). He was at our house and commented that my kid's experience in managing an online class will help them a lot in the future. Lots of his classmates were struggling with more ethereal, less concrete due dates, etc. I think it is valuable, but it doesn't need to be a high stakes class to get the experience and learn the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 (edited) I do not consider taking an online class necessary at all, and don't consider it a skill students need to learn in high school. Neither of my students took and online class in high school, and DD has not taken any in college either. A student who has adequate executive functioning skills can figure out how to use an online class when he has to; it is not rocket science. One has to be literate and follow directions (which are usually plentiful). I would have my student take an online class if that was the best way to fill an instructional need. :iagree: I don't think that you must have experience with an online class at graduation. Most public school students won't have had an online course. And while my kids have used online courses, the formats have varied widely. Some used live webconferencing software that allowed the teacher to present slides and others to comment in a sidebar. Some used massive video conferencing sessions where all 25+ students were on screen at once. Some were videos and assignments presented online in an asynchronous format. Some courses had online assignments, others had chat boards with required numbers of comments each week, others were instruction and project assignments that were completed in a different website. I think online courses can be a great way of getting in content. I'm so thankful for the ability to tap into the expert instruction that we used. But I wouldn't seek out an online course for its own sake. ETA: What I would try to include is opportunities for meeting hard deadlines, a few group type classes where there was give and take with other students, and some non-family members for teachers/mentors. This last one was especially important when it was time for DS to come up with some recommendation letters for college applications. An online course might provide some of these experiences and connections, but not all online formats will. There are also many other ways of having these experiences. Edited July 17, 2016 by Sebastian (a lady) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I don't consider it necessary. I tried it with both my kids and it was a mistake for both. Neither of mine liked or did well in the online format. My ASD guy in particular really hated online classes. Both have done much better in college classrooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 My kids never did an online class in high school. I didn't think it was very important. I did encourage my son not to start with online classes in college--get his feet wet first and then try one. He did a Hybrid class in the spring and did fine (and he's my one that doesn't like change and tends to need lots of coaching when going through new things). I do think I'd find out more about why your son is so resistant though. Many homeschool kids have a "secret fear" that maybe they don't quite measure up. They may have fears about being in classes with other students, or that are run by someone other than a homeschool mom. If he's resistant for one of those reasons, you may want to find ways for him to ease into classes with other kids. OTOH, if he's open to dual enrollment, maybe he just doesn't like the idea of not having an in-person teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebbS Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I don't think that it's necessary to do an online course. And I DO think that the format is good for some, ok for some, and not good at all for others. With an in-person class, there is in-person contact with the other students and with the teacher. The class gets the student out of the house, seeing new people, experiencing a new locations, etc. It gives the opportunity to explore some independence - things like navigating the campus to find offices and classrooms, figuring out solutions to things like a forgotten lunch, and using the cafe to buy a snack. There is also the opportunity to participate in on-campus events - or to at least feel like they could, if they wanted to. It's a good step away from mom, and gives all kinds of small experiences that will help later on in university, in a new job, etc. If your ds is interested in doing DE, and especially if he has ASD, I'd jump on the opportunity for him to expand his horizons a bit at the CC. Online courses can come later if he is interested. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 (edited) Not important but useful. Community colleges here have courses in hybrid and online format. My former neighbor did most of her classes online or hybrid so she cuts down her commuting time by a lot. I agree as an online instructor. There are some useful skills to be gained with having to work with the online format. My oldest did both homeschool and college online classes before graduation, and he has commented several times that he feels like it prepared him for college where a good amount of the logistics and course material are online. He's had at least one completely online course and one hybrid a semester because of scheduling and location issues, and that was no biggie for him at all. If you can't swing it, of course it's not a must. Even when I was teaching face-to-face though, I put a lot of my material online because it's just a great tool to make sure students have what they need 24/7. Over the years I added links to a lot of help forums and tutorials too. I will note though that online is NOT for everyone. In the online college course that I teach now, fully 70% of them wash out because it's a tough sophomore-level course with a lot of homework. Having the schedule and discipline to keep up with an online course can be an issue. Edited July 17, 2016 by G5052 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 It isn't a must. Two of mine will have entered college without taking a single online course. My oldest took one, but ended up dropping it because the format just does. not. work. for her. She just does much better in a face to face environment. I've taken several online courses the past two years for college. It is something that takes a lot of self-motivation, and it really isn't the best format for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I do think I'd find out more about why your son is so resistant though. Many homeschool kids have a "secret fear" that maybe they don't quite measure up. They may have fears about being in classes with other students, or that are run by someone other than a homeschool mom. If he's resistant for one of those reasons, you may want to find ways for him to ease into classes with other kids. OTOH, if he's open to dual enrollment, maybe he just doesn't like the idea of not having an in-person teacher. Yes, both of my kids simply don't like the format. My oldest did have to take an online DE course due to scheduling, and she said it did not compare to the in-class experience. I think it depends on the colleges your looking at for the future, too. My husband's nephew is in college now, and a few of his class are offered online ONLY. One is a chem lab (seriously?!). He was at our house and commented that my kid's experience in managing an online class will help them a lot in the future. Lots of his classmates were struggling with more ethereal, less concrete due dates, etc. I think it is valuable, but it doesn't need to be a high stakes class to get the experience and learn the process. I honestly do not see how a chem lab can possibly be online only?? There are virtual labs, but I wouldn't think they would be acceptable for college. As far as less concrete due dates, I don't see why that would go hand-in-hand with an online class. DD's deadlines in her online class were no different than any other class. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I will note though that online is NOT for everyone. In the online college course that I teach now, fully 70% of them wash out because it's a tough sophomore-level course with a lot of homework. Having the schedule and discipline to keep up with an online course can be an issue. I have observed that there is a certain self selection going on. Some students choose the online option of a class that is also available in an in-seat format because they mistakenly think not having to go to class will be easier. I find that the students who are inclined to do as little work as possible feel themselves drawn to the online section - with unfortunate outcomes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I have observed that there is a certain self selection going on. Some students choose the online option of a class that is also available in an in-seat format because they mistakenly think not having to go to class will be easier. I find that the students who are inclined to do as little work as possible feel themselves drawn to the online section - with unfortunate outcomes. Yes, the school I work for now is has the largest online component at the community college level in the U.S. And they warn and warn and warn that online is HARDER. There is an orientation module they must complete for each online class no matter how many times they've done it that goes over how online is different and gives tips for time management, etc. We also administratively withdraw students if they don't keep up. If they don't complete this first week of assignments, they're withdrawn and get a full refund. After that there are more checkpoints, and at each one I have to send in a list of students to be removed from the course. At a certain point they get an "F" and are withdrawn if they are behind. Tough, I know, but it sets a serious tone and keeps only those who are engaged in the online class. The downside for professors in such a strict program of course is that I have to deal with a lot of unhappy students emailing when they're booted. It gets pretty ugly, but thankfully at this point I have a pretty thick skin that way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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