On-line Learning at SVHS
for
Credit Recovery or
Course Enhancement
Q: Why would my student want to take on-line high school courses?
If your student needs to make up missed high school credits (ie. Credit recovery),
needs a class that is currently not on the schedule, or wants to take a course that is
currently not being offered at SVHS (ie. Credit enhancement), then a student may
want to consider taking a course on-line.
Q: Are on-line courses for everyone?
No. Not all students will succeed in on-line education. Many students are initially
attracted to the on-line format because they think it will resemble a computer or
video game. This is simply wishful thinking! Although most on-line courses are
visually rich with video clips, photos, and color, their basic content is still academic in
nature and will contain the amount of reading and math that’s dictated by the
course content. Academic courses also naturally contain problem solving and
practice opportunities to help students master course skills.
Similarly, whatever a student’s challenges in a live classroom (ex. Staying on task,
time management, reading, organization, discipline) will likely be the same
challenges for an on-line course. In fact, this problem could be magnified by the fact
that no teacher is sitting over the student’s shoulder watching them!
Q: What kinds of skills are required for a student to succeed in on-line education?
Successful on-line students are disciplined and self-motivated. They need to be
independent learners, capable of meeting deadlines on their own and budgeting
their time wisely with a minimum of oversight. They need to be willing to encounter
questions about the material that might not get answered immediately; sometimes
they will need to research the answers on their own. They need to stay focused to
complete the course. The on-line course will keep a pace set by a distant teacher
who is not able to slow down for an individual student who is having a bad week.
Parent Handout, 5/23/2012
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Q: What are the benefits of on-line education?
 An on-line version of a course might be a student’s only access to this course
due to scheduling constraints in a small school.
 A student may take half a course on-line. This is useful if a student wants to
recover the credit lost for failing half a class. The companies Keystone, Apex and
BYU offer all required high school courses in two parts, and students may take
either or both of those halves.
 An on-line version of a course taken for credit recovery will give the student a
second chance to master the material, and perhaps this alternative
presentation will reach a student when the first teacher/format did not.
 On-line courses offer flexibility of schedule because they are available anytime
and anywhere a student has access to the Internet.
 Within the framework of a larger semester schedule, an on-line course allows a
student to work at their own pace.
 Even at a small school like SVHS, a student can enhance their education by
selecting one of the literally hundreds of on-line high school courses available to
them. Topics include AP classes, foreign languages, child development, culinary
skills, trades, and agriculture.
Q: Where can I find INDIVIDUAL high school courses?
Below is a list of organizations that offer individual courses for those students who
only need/want to take a few courses for credit recovery or course enhancement.
Company
Description
Odysseyware
A private company, based in Arizona, whose goal is to offer
on-line education for credit recovery and accelerated learning.
Odysseyware offers a full curriculum for students in grades 3-12
and includes core subjects of math, history, and geography,
science and language arts. All materials are correlated to state
standards and customizable.
BYU High School Part of the independent study program out of BYU that offers online high school courses for credit recovery or enhancement.
Parent Handout, 5/23/2012
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Apex
Pass or
Cyber High
BYU sells their courses in semester units.
A private company out of Washington that offers individual high
school on-line courses for either credit recovery or course
enhancement. Like the others, it sells courses in semester units.
Designed for migrant students in California, PASS is a work-book
program that allows students to work at their own pace on credit
recovery. Cyber High is the on-line version of the PASS course.
Q: Cost incurred by parents?
Company
Cost
Odysseyware
BYU High School
$136 per semester unit or $272 for two units (full year)
Apex
$350 per semester unit or $700 for two units (full year)
Pass or Cyber High Free to migrant families; costs covered by Migrant Ed.
Q: What is the timeline for an on-line course?
SVHS mandates that students register for an on-line course before the semester starts
and finish their course by the end of the semester. This allows quarter and semester
grades at SVHS to be recorded in a timely fashion. Warning! Students must budget
their time wisely to complete the course in the time allotted!! No extensions will be
given and students who do not complete their on-line course by the end of the
semester will receive a failing grade.
Q: Is there a teacher helping my student with this class?
The company who offers the course assigns a teacher to facilitate this course; that
teacher will communicate with your student via e-mail or on-line discussion groups.
This on-line teacher can help your student with questions about course content or
homework, and assigns a grade at the end of the course.
SVHS also assigns a local high school teacher to watch over your student and help if
there are administrative problems. However, this teacher will generally not help with
content. SVHS does not have the resources to assign a teacher to coach your student
through all the lessons.
Basically, your student is on their own to move through the material independently
and keep up with the work and deadlines!
Q: What on-line high school courses are available?
Parent Handout, 5/23/2012
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Company
Odysseyware
BYU High School Online
APEX
Pass
All Basic High School
Courses to enhance high
Required Courses
school education
(ex. English, Math, Science,(ex. AP classes, French,
History, Government, PE, German, Child Dev, …)
Spanish, …)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Stop by the high school or visit the websites below for a complete list of courses
provided by each company!!
Q: How do I register for these courses and learn more about these companies?
Company
Website
Odysseyware
www.odysseyware.com
BYU
http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/
Apex
http://www.apexlearning.com/
Pass or
http://www.capassprogram.org
Cyber High
or http://www.capassprogram.org/cyberhigh
Parent Handout, 5/23/2012
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