A totally free index of Internet resources for the K-12 Community.
Virtual Schools
Online delivery has been quite popular at the university level. We are now seeing offering at the high school and even grade school levels.
Many offerings augment traditional face-to-face learning and/or provide professional development for teachers. Some are designed to replace traditional classrooms for select student populations.
Online courseware is especially useful in settings where content expertise is not available at all sites. One school district may not be able to offer advanced placement courses via a “real” teacher at all secondary schools because student enrollment numbers would not be high enough to support the cost of a staff member. This limitation occurs in rural areas often or in districts suffering budget losses.
Arizona Virtual Academy is an example of the free-to-students on-line schools now available. With individualized learning approaches, their goal is to provide a quality education, and encourage interaction with other nearby students and families. They also offer K12 Blended Learning, a tuition-free program that combines the best of online learning with a structured classroom environment… learn more
The California Virtual Campus provides complete, timely, and accurate information about online courses and programs in California higher education. They offer a Associate Degree for Transfer that guarantees admission to the California State University (CSU) system with junior standing. learn more
The Concord Consortium has over 35 active projects, covering a wide variety of areas, including free interactive, visual heat transfer simulation software for the classroom, providing an easy-to-use web-based data analysis platform, geared toward middle and high school students, & investigating how incorporating elements of gaming into science curricula could help increase students' engagement &… learn more
Open School BC designs, develops and distributes educational resources and services to public sector clients and K–12 schools in Canada. It operates on a cost-recovery basis within the Ministry of Education. Most of these learning resources include videos with reflection prompts and activities. Educators may work through on their own, but we recommend sharing the… learn more
Bob Tinker, founder of the Concord Consortium, has pioneered the use of remote sensing devices, linked to computers, and hands-on physics experiments. (Activities for both these approaches are available from Concord as well as TERC, where Bob prototyped these projects.). Now he and his colleagues have turned their attention to the use of handheld computers… learn more
The Virtual High School provides a way for schools and school districts to augment their local offerings with additional classes for students and professional development for teachers. learn more
Virtual University is the oldest e-learning community on the Internet, and one of the earliest sites built on the Web, launched in 1994. VU is now transitioning from a content producer to a gateway for global e-learning resources, connecting users to thousands of free and low-cost courses now available on the Web. They are also… learn more
Olin Virtual Academy 's list of questions can give you a idea of why on-line high schools have become an alternative. Do you like to work independently and at your own pace? Are you involved in a sports program or in the entertainment industry that requires traveling? Are you falling behind in school and are afraid that you're not going to graduate on time? Would you like to graduate early and receive your high school diploma before your friends? Do you have a job and need a more flexible school schedule?… learn more
