Jennie Said:

Has anyone else used the K12 virtual online school program?

We Answered:

We've used K12 the curriculum (not as part of a VA/VSP) for 5.5 years and LOVE it. I also worked for two K12 virtual schools.

K12's curriculum is highly engaging, broad and deep.

I assume you're the student, correct? Make sure you start slowly into the program (while maintaining attendance). Don't try to dive in all at once. It takes awhile to get used to the OLS and the set up.

Play around with your schedule until you find a good one that works. You may want to do a block schedule where you can. You might want to do stuff away from home now and then to lesson distractions, etc.

Make sure to attend any training sessions about the OLS, whether online or IRL. At the very least, watch the online tutorials in the OLS help section. They'll help make the whole process less intimidating. Make sure your parents/mentor also knows how to move around in the program.

Attend any Elluminate sessions K12 or your virtual school has, so you can connect with other students, and get some good insight into your learning.

Most of all, have fun!

Amber Said:

Has anyone ever used the K12 Virtual Online School?

We Answered:

I have used K12 with my 9 year-old son for the past two years, and I do recommend it. I have experience with brick-and-mortar schools, traditional homeschooling and K12. I enjoy the freedom of traditional homeschooling, but we tend to get carried away with certain projects and subjects at the expense of others, so K12 gives us the accountability we need to make sure our son is getting a well-rounded education.

It is a rigorous curriculum and requires dedication and focus to progress as expected. But you do have some leeway in how you use it and in meeting objectives. For instance, the curriculum sets students up to rotate science and history lessons every other day. My son does much better if we can focus on one unit of history until we’re done; then do a unit of Science and see it through, so that’s the way we handle those subjects. My son (who has a diagnosis of Asperger’s, Tourette’s and dysgraphia) also struggles with math. He does best with a lot of hands-on practice, so we often use a different curriculum to teach the objectives in this subject. As long as the student is able to pass the assessment test at the end of each lesson, it doesn’t matter how the learning is accomplished—you’re free to use videos, projects, manipulatives—whatever works to teach the lesson.

There’s not as much computer time as you would expect with a cyber school. Science and history texts are usually read online, but most everything else is done through textbooks. When you finish a lesson, you record online that it has been done, or you enter the score from the assessment at the end. Students are encouraged to attend online classes conducted by their teachers through Elluminate (virtual classroom). In my son’s grade (4), only two classes are provided per week—one is math, the other rotates the subjects of science, history and language arts. This is a big help to me, and he really enjoys interacting with the teacher and other students online. We also have field trips and meet and greet socials throughout the school year.

Right now, we’re in the middle of CRCT “blast,” which is fairly stressful (like any other school, I suppose). My son has three virtual classes of CRCT review per day in addition to making regular progress, and most of the classes require him to go online and take a mastery test. (This is probably why you don't have any answers to your Q yet...I'm just giving my son a little break after a long day of classes and tests). We’ll definitely be relieved when next week’s testing is over!

Hope that helps! If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me—although the rest of this week is going to be very busy. If I don’t get back to you right away, I will soon!

Joe Said:

what would be better, Florida Virtual School Online or actually going to my school?

We Answered:

I go 2 regular high school and also take the Florida Virtual School Online and the online school is WAY easier. For each class you usually have to do 3-4 assignments per week so you can just do them in an hour or 2 and your done for the week.

Jennifer Said:

Does anyone know about homeschooling or online virtual schools for Georgia?

We Answered:

Georgia Virtual School is a k12 virtual academy. They have become very popular due to the fact that they have a great curriculum. You don't have to pay anything to enroll due to the fact that it is a public charter school. Don't let anyone tell you that it isn't a "real" school or that you won't get a good education. As long as you're willing to do the work, the potential to receive an excellent education is there. Best of luck!

Nicole Said:

online virtual high school in los angeles?

We Answered:

You've asked this three times now. Here's my same answer. Check into CAVA. It's probably too late to enroll for this semester, though:

http://caliva.org/