At the school where I work, one of our graduation requirements is that students must have two years of a foreign language. In the past, we have only offered two years of Spanish for our students. We were only able to afford to hire one teacher for foreign language study, and he could only teach Spanish. However, we had students who wanted to take other languages, or who wanted to take more than two years of a language, but we have not been able to offer that. So we investigated the option of offering these courses through an online course provider.
For the past two years, we have used online work for all of our foreign language courses. Students are able to take Spanish, Latin, French, German, and Chinese for two years, and can take a third year of Spanish, Latin, French, and German if they wish. Let me tell you some of the benefits.
So what have been the results?
For the past two years, we have used online work for all of our foreign language courses. Students are able to take Spanish, Latin, French, German, and Chinese for two years, and can take a third year of Spanish, Latin, French, and German if they wish. Let me tell you some of the benefits.
- We now have the capability of offering more languages as mentioned. We had one student who has a particular personal interest in Chinese, and so he has been able to take two years of Chinese - something he would not be able to do in most other schools.
- The online course made this affordable for the school. We would never have been able to hire personnel to teach these five languages, but offering them through the online provider saves us money.
- Students are increasingly being required to take online courses when they go to college. Many colleges provide some of their core curriculum solely through online work. Having students take online courses in high school get them used to working in that type of program.
- Many states are beginning to require students to take at least one online course for high school graduation. These online foreign language courses will meet that requirement.
- Online courses provide a great deal of flexibility for the students. They are able to work on their class at any time of the day, wherever they have internet access. For example, we have students on our basketball teams who have been able to work ahead in their online course, freeing up time to work on other classes when they have time pressures from basketball practices and games. One student completed his whole first year of Spanish by mid-January, and is going to begin Spanish 2 in a few weeks, planning on completing it this summer. That will mean he finishes two years of a course in just one year, freeing up time in his senior year.
- Related to this, students don't have to let absences from school hinder their learning. As I write this, the Atlanta area is practically shut down due to a snow storm. Our school dismissed early yesterday (Tuesday) and we are closed today and tomorrow. As long as students have internet access at home, they can continue to work on their foreign language. In fact, I have contacted them to work ahead on their language while they cannot do work for any of their other classes.
- It has also helped with scheduling other classes. Previously, when we only had one or two sections of Spanish 1 (for example), we had to try to arrange all other classes around that class. If a student wanted an elective course which happened to be at the same time as Spanish, he couldn't take the elective. But the online courses enable us to schedule students into other courses and have them work on their foreign language during whatever class period they have available.
- Our online provider (Sevenstar) is a Christian organization and has integrated Scripture with all the courses they offer. This is especially important as we consider adding courses like AP Biology, in which evolution is a major part of the course requirements. Sevenstar provides the students with a lot of Biblical teaching to help address the false views of evolution.
So what have been the results?
- Students have been learning how to be more active in their education. When students are in a traditional on-site class, it is far too easy for them to become passive in their learning. "You're the teacher. You tell me what I need to know, you figure out when I don't understand, you figure out what will help me, you hold me accountable for doing all my work, you fuss at me when I don't work. I'll do what you tell me to do, but not a bit more." Online courses don't work that way. The content is presented online, but students need to read (or watch) it, study it, learn it, memorize what they need to memorize, etc. If they complete an exercise and don't do well, the students need to go back and study it again - no one is going to force them to do it. If they decide they would rather goof off than work on their language for a day (or three), no one is going to fuss at them - until they fall significantly behind and start being penalized for late work. If students don't understand some concept, they need to re-read the course content, or look up other sources of information, until they understand it. The end result? Students learn to take more responsibility for their education and not just wait passively for someone else to tell them what they need to do.
- As for grades, I have noticed that students generally have gotten about the same grades in their online classes as they get in their on-site classes. Students who normally get all "A"s are also getting "A"s in their online course; students who are getting "B"s and "C"s in their online work generally also get the same grades in their on-site courses. This tells me that the online courses are of appropriate difficulty. Otherwise "B" and "C" students might be getting easy "A"s in online work, or "A" students would be getting low grades in online courses.
- Do students "like" this approach? Some do, and some don't. I see that most of the "A" students do like it. They are used to working hard and taking responsibility for the learning, and they like the flexibility to work ahead when they can. The "C" students typically don't like online learning, because they are used to being passive and waiting for the teacher to figure out what they don't understand; when they have to think about that for themselves, it forces them to work harder than they want to work.