What is Online Homeschooling Or Online Schooling?

Homeschooling isn’t really a new concept, especially to parents in the United States. Parents have been homeschooling their children for years for a number of reasons. But whatever their reasons, one fact remains a constant and that is – homeschooled students rank on par with students studying in a traditional learning environment. It allows parents to engage their child with fun and easy to use study materials at an affordable cost.

For a long time, homeschooling and distance learning have involved the use of books and submission of assignments in an offline environment, much like a classroom. The only exception was that students were monitored by their parents instead of a teacher. With the evolution of technology however, students can now complete their coursework online. This has resulted in the birth of best online schools in the United States. Online homeschooling is affordable and flexible.

Since 1998, The Ogburn Online School has been at the forefront of implementing and improving distance education and online home schooling. With the help of affordable online homeschooling platforms, students can now complete all their coursework online via the internet, right from studying their curriculum to submitting their assignments. Moreover, online modes of communication have reduced costs substantially and also facilitated faster feedback times. Overall, online learning platforms seem set to revolutionize our education system for everyone involved – parents, teachers, educators and most of all – our children!

How Online Homeschooling Can Benefit You?

Holistic learning environment

Online platforms are designed to engage and promote free participation. Students are provided with all the necessary online tools to help them engage in a more holistic manner without the fear of being ridiculed. Additionally, since these environments are similar to social networking sites, students are already accustomed to their functionality, thereby minimizing the learning curve and encouraging free communication.

Leveling the playing field

All students enrolled with an online school are provided with the same opportunities to work toward their academic goals. Moreover, online platforms offer students a more personalized learning experience that can be customized according to their own individual needs. Students can also access their course material at any time of the day or night since it is available online.

More engagement

Online course material is designed keeping in mind the learning needs of each individual student. Online audio/visual aids, web chats and other online tools make it a lot more fun and interactive for students to study online. This makes the entire learning process much more rewarding leading to better student performance and improved grades.

Faster feedback

Online learning platforms often provide real-time grading, which helps provide more timely feedback. This information can then be used to focus on study areas where more effort is required on the child’s part, helping them improve faster.

No boundaries

Online environments transcend all kinds of physical boundaries. Students and teachers can interact with each other irrespective of where they are physically located. As long as they can access the internet, they can communicate and share. This helps students from different countries interact much more efficiently and also helps teachers interact and share best practices with each other.

How to Succeed in Online Homeschooling?

While online homeschooling offers you an avenue for holistic learning, there are several different aspects you need to consider in order to ensure your child gets the most out of the online learning experience. Here are some pointers that will help you get started and succeed in the world of online education –

Know your reasons

It’s true that online learning can be an extremely effective and affordable learning solution. However, even the right solutions when used for the wrong reasons can prove to be detrimental. Different parents have different reasons for choosing to homeschool their children such as the desire to have complete control over their child’s education, job/work obligations, religious beliefs, etc. However, some parents tend to misunderstand the functionality and purpose of an online learning platform.

For example, switching to an online high school on account of behavioral problems may not help much. In fact, it may exacerbate the situation since the child is now at home with free rein. This is why it is extremely important that you get in touch with a student counselor before opting to enroll with an online school. The key is to know exactly why you are making that choice.

Don’t set your bar too high

Homeschooling your child means you are the one responsible for making sure your child carries out all set activities on time. Also, please do not compare your child’s performance with those of your friends’ children. The very cornerstone of online education is to provide your child with a learning environment that’s best suited to his or her own learning abilities. As a parent, you need to constantly remind yourself that this isn’t a race. The sole objective here is to ensure your child gets the best possible education that helps unlock maximum potential. So remember, don’t set the bar too high for your child. Having realistic expectations along with defined plans and goals will go a long way in delivering exactly what you hope to achieve by homeschooling your child.

Manage your child’s schedule effectively

If your goals are defined properly then achieving this shouldn’t be a problem. Most parents tend to go overboard due to their own fears and insecurities for their children. This in turn results in children being overworked with not enough time scheduled for extracurricular activities. Achieving a balance between the two is absolutely crucial to ensure overall development of your child.

Adapt when necessary

One of the key benefits of online homeschooling is the freedom to switch between different tasks and activities. If you realize your child isn’t in the mood for a particular subject you can always switch over to another or try and work in some playtime that may help creatively distract your child for a while and then get back to studying. Alternatively, if your child is in the mood for some serious learning, use it to your advantage and make the most of it. This time can then be used to compensate for time lost because of sickness or for days when your child may not feel like studying at all.

Set boundaries

While online learning platforms allow you complete freedom over how you schedule your study time, it is important that you set boundaries for your child and for yourself. This is vital to ensuring you achieve the goals you’ve set in a timely manner and can prevent unnecessary stress and worry.