Any of you guys do cyber school for your kids ?

[fastfredracing]

My son is Autistic . He attends a school for kids with similar issues .
His school situation is less than optimal, and if we do not make some changes ,I already see exactly what his last 2 years of high school look like .
I am hoping to get him enrolled in vo tech. He has showed interest in the electrician program . If he does this, and stays at his current school, he will be looking at 3 hours of commuting daily .
Im hoping to switch him over to a cyber program, but have some reservations .
His current curriculum is basically already cyber based . There is no classroom instruction, only lessons on the computer with staff at the school for support .
He does nothing in school and completes all of his work in the evenings currently .
I see all this a huge waste of time and resources .
I have asked in online forums and most responses are pretty positive
Any input ?

[Arizona_928]

The school should provide transportation. I would look into that.


As for online. Biggest waste of time.

[Sooner or later]

My sister teaches virtual. (Middle school)

If parents give a crap the kids do well. If not, they don't. She does have concerns with the lack of personal contact between the kids.

[asphaltgambler]

My experience is nothing beats in-person classroom instructor led training with other people. I don't care what the subject there is, it's hard to replicate that effectively online only. Also, Autistic people have very short attention spans and have trouble 'reading' the emotions or inflections of what's being taught when done remotely.

I don't have the transportation part figured out for you Fred, but I don't see any online only course being of much real use at all.......

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

My sister teaches virtual. (Middle school)

If parents give a crap the kids do well. If not, they don't. She does have concerns with the lack of personal contact between the kids.

My cousin has been virtual/remote teaching Latin and other things in the public school system for many years now, way before covid hit. It can be a valid teaching method. Of course, the kids have to apply themselves.

[id10t]

Been involved with online classes since 1997 - but at the college level.

Issues I've seen with my son is lack of caring and too many distractions - too easy to go off to youtube, or start playing games, etc. Son is currently in school which is all computer based, but everyone shows up in person for a 4 hour day to use their computers, etc. It is working well for him, much better than traditional classroom since all of what he views as BS (and which is BS to some degree) gets removed and he is actually able to show learning/comprehension.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

My experience is nothing beats in-person classroom instructor led training with other people. I don't care what the subject there is, it's hard to replicate that effectively online only. Also, Autistic people have very short attention spans and have trouble 'reading' the emotions or inflections of what's being taught when done remotely.

I don't have the transportation part figured out for you Fred, but I don't see any online only course being of much real use at all.......

I suspect that's the case for the majority of people and subject. I'm sure that there are some folks that may excel using other methods or in various subjects.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

My experience is nothing beats in-person classroom instructor led training with other people. I don't care what the subject there is, it's hard to replicate that effectively online only. Also, Autistic people have very short attention spans and have trouble 'reading' the emotions or inflections of what's being taught when done remotely.

I don't have the transportation part figured out for you Fred, but I don't see any online only course being of much real use at all.......

I teach at a technical school and the previous two years have been online instruction.

I agree with the gambler. In person works so much better in my opinion for trade and technical instruction. For a select few of traditional learners, online is a viable option but that is not the learner type that typically are enrolled in an apprenticeship or basic technical training.

My assumption would be that a more social learning environment might be more beneficial for a person with autism. YMMV.

I had a sabbatical year (4 for 5) and had the last academic year off. (Thankfully I really didn't like teaching online.) Looks like we are back to our regular program now and through the fall.

[gacook]

If we've learned anything in the past 20 years, it's that everybody learns differently. There is no "best way" for everybody. I hate sitting in a classroom listening to morons ask stupid questions; my daughter hates online learning. It is EXTREMELY case by case on how people learn best.

Having said that...ASU (Arizona State) has a relatively new program for junior high and high school programs that is pretty good, based on firsthand feedback from parents with kids taking the courses. Their school work translates into university credit, as well--for free.

[PorscheGAL]

My son went to local public school until 3rd grade. We switched to Connections Academy for 2 years and then went to full homeschooling where I created all his learning content. I thought Connections Academy was a good start but didn't tick all the blocks of what I wanted for his education.

I can give lots of personal experience advice.

Your son:
He's a rising Junior?

Does your son have an idea of what he wants to do?

Does your state have dual credits? Where your son could go to a community college and get HS credits for the college courses?

Is there a local magnet school that focuses on trades?

I can PM my phone number if you need more ideas just let me know.

[id10t]

OK, gone back and re-read the OP now that I have time ...

If he is getting the work done in the evenings to a satisfactory level then the only "time waste" going on is the time he has to spend in physical school. I would be checking out the content and making sure he's actually getting the skills and knowledge he needs to continue on after graduating.

Once he has a HS diploma or a GED he should be able to get into a votech school no problem IF there is one in the area for you. I know all of the votech programs at the college I work for use our online environment heavily, but even pre-covid 80% of all on-campus face to face traditional courses used our online course system for something - lecture notes, exams, assignment submission, grade posting, course related communication, etc. And this is how they are using it.

[stomachmonkey]

Depends on the kid really.

My son is on the spectrum. Really smart kid but he processes logic differently. He is literal to a fault.

If I say "you didn't do that thing did you?" the expected answer is No, as in no I didn't do that thing.

My son will answer Yes and technically he's correct.

It takes him a lot longer to work through problems because they are not generally presented in a manner that fits his logic.

Virtual was an utter **** show for him during the pandemic.

But keep the faith, my boy just finished his Freshman year at University of Tulsa with 17 credits.

It was not easy at all for him but if he was able to pull it off your boy will be ok.