Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Public Online Schools (WSJ article)

Actually, I've done it-- throwing up a discussion board does nothing unless it's monitored by the teacher. Nobody will use it unless it's graded, and then if it's graded, the teacher is reading and commenting on, and keeping on track something the size of War and Peace (but more fragmented) weekly.

There are ways to do this well, but many more ways to do it poorly.

DeeDee

Of this, I have no doubt!

Doesn't CTY have a method for this, since they do provide you with a teacher and they do programs for schools. They must have some knowledge bank on how to do it well.

Couldn't you have it like the online comment boards where the students highlight the best and worst responses. The computer separates by votes. Everybody who makes it into the highlights gets an A, everybody else gets a B, comments voted not helpful gets a D.

La Tex: If you could trust k-12 students to be able to distinguish fruitful discussion from useless blather, you could do it that way. But even college student discussion degenerates pretty fast without guidance. It turns out that an expert teacher really does... teach.

DeeDee

I searched "Connections Academy" and found this thread.

There is an office nearby and I dropped in to get a packet of information.

They say that they "streamline and compress lessons when appropriate." However, their Gifted and Talented program starts in grade 3. They do say that, "when appropriate, younger students can benefit from advanced coursework and even have the opportunity to work at a higher grade level."

"Even have the opportunity to work at a higher grade level"? That sounds a bit condescending to me. Like we should somehow be incredibly grateful for that.

Am I just being touchy?

My son is 4.9 years old and, best as I can tell, he's reading at a fifth grade level and is at around a second/third grade level in math. (He's not been formally tested.) So I'm skeptical about it being superior to a brick-and-mortar school in this area. Seems to me that their curriculum isn't all that different.

Am I wrong?

I'm a bit discouraged by their description of Kindergarten, to say the least!

I came on Davidson to find out if anyone here has gone into Connections Academy and what their experience with their G&T program has been. (For very young learners, specifically.)

Well, that's a point. But that might be good too. Learning isn't about being right, it's about making progress. The teacher would get a real good idea of where the kids heads were at. But you're right. A good teacher could already do that. I think a major point was that by transferring to a digital classroom the good teachers could have access to more students and we would have less reason to maintain the quantity of teachers, rather giving more people access to the quality teachers.

Edit:
I'm not saying that this is the answer to education. I'm summerizing this one answer the best way I understand it.

that is perfect.



This expert teacher usually can adapt to many situations very quickly and get back on track pretty much on cue.

I would not trade the personal relationship my son had with his 2nd grade teacher (last year) for anything. Looking back its easy.

I'm pleased to have this option available in my state. I don't think it's a panacea, but it's my failsafe. Right now it doesn't look like we need it. DD is a very self-directed learner and I think she would do fabulously with it; however, I would need to be driving her hither and yon all day to meet her social needs.

I know several families through our inclusive homeschool group who use K12 or Connections. Many use it as a "spine" but still supplement with private or co-op classes, book clubs, etc. The majority are engaged in private music lessons, sports, book clubs, etc.

Soapbox alert We have multiple opportunities to socialize every day. We have considerably more field trips than the students in public school. Sorry, but when someone starts talking about "socialization" it raises my hackles.

I will say this: Online school or homeschool--done correctly--requires an enormous amount of time and effort on a parent's part. They should call it car-schooling because you spend half your day in the car escorting your child to his various classes, clubs, and lessons. A website or boxed curriculum is not sufficient. Face time, a real science lab, making a mess that //I// don't have to clean up...it's all important.

I researched Connections Academy in August -- even went to an information night and considered enrolling DS11. In the end, it just didn't look rigorous enough for me. I get concerned when I look at the English curriculum and see that they only cover 1 novel in a semester, and the boy has already read them.

We are going to experiment with online learning later this winter with an AOPS math course. I'm looking forward to seeing how he likes it. I suspect it will be a big hit. He's already so wired in that he's practically a cyborg. He loves to chat, email, forum surf, listen to music, watch youtube, research homework help ------- all at the same time :P