“I found that it was actually more productive than going to class,” Turpin said. “It’s a little more broken down. Even though the teacher’s not actually there, you can e-mail him to ask him questions.”
With a status on his computer letting him know if he was on task or behind, he said he spent several hours a day on the class, taking extra time on areas that were most challenging.
“You definitely have to work for it,” he said. “It’s not just a go in and act like it’s a joke class.”
Turpin is one of many students opting for the technological approach to learning — an instructional tool that may become even more popular as school districts cut budgets, according to Kathleen Klink, associate vice-president for online learning at Butler Technology and Career Development Schools.
While it might not be cost effective to offer a Latin course in a high school, she said, interested students still may opt to take that same course online.
“I think it’s growing in kind of a cautious way as all school districts are looking at their funding,” she said. “... This may become a very cost-effective economical way (to educate.)”
Students across the state access the Butler Tech online programs, she said, and each for a different reason: a need for advanced courses, drop outs seeking a diploma, early graduation, medical concerns or home bound care, credit recovery, discipline and social issues in a traditional classroom, accredited courses for home school students, schedule conflicts and a broader course selection.
Prices range from $65 per course to $400.
More than 150 courses are offered, Klink said, giving students another opportunity to be successful.
“I’d be the first to tell you online learning is not for everybody,” she said.
But through the blended instruction, message boards, chats and other communication methods, online learning is becoming a more interactive experience appealing to a broad range of students.
Alexi Baker, 18, of Middletown took many of her general classes online at Green Tree Health Science Academy where she studied vet science. In college, she said her goal is to find similar online opportunities. The courses were visual, information and provided a hands-on approach, she said.
“I really like them, because I could move at my own pace,” she said. “That made it so easy, rather than the stress of being in the classroom.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5067 or lhilty@coxohio.com.
About the Author