Online Schooling for Grade School

Online learning has been around for quite some time with a focus on education and integration of technology into students everyday life.

Even before the pandemic, online educational platforms were growing among the elementary schools. Taking full advantage of online learning doesn’t mean it is necessary for a student to have to choose to commit 100% online or in-school. Having access to online educational facilities can also be a great way to supplement the necessary core skills.

Online education for elementary grades means you have the flexibility of homeschooling, access to lesson plans for when your child is sick, and ongoing grading and teacher feedback. There are many reasons why enrolling your child in online grade school can make sense for the entire family.

Online & Offline Learning for Elementary Homeschooling

This fall many parents are going to be introduced to a blended educational schedule. Some of the schools will be offering classes part-time because they want to minimize the number of children in class at one time. This means your kids will get to see the teacher maybe only once a week.

The remainder of the time the kids will have to learn from home via the computer. This setup may involve a homeschooling setup where you or someone you hire acts as the teacher, or they are attending class but only by remote viewing.

Either way, the younger students are at home most of the time.

Two major benefits to having a blended program is because; 1. it allows both your and your grade school child to ease into remote learning, and 2. your child will still be able to have some one on one time with their primary teacher. This enables the teacher to have first hand ability to assess the uniqueness of your child’s needs.

Another great thing about access to online lesson plans is your child can review, redo, and perhaps excel and pass the other students. Depending on the set-up you choose for your child will dictate the flexibility offered.

How to Choose an Online Grade School for your Child

The majority of public schools throughout have a standard guideline for the curriculum and testing levels. Online can offer anything from just daily attendance via remote camera into a regular classroom, to advanced and supplementary educational assistance.

To help to choose there is everything for the special needs child that requires special adaptive learning tools. Optimally designed courses for the self-motivated child, and advanced materials focused for gifted students. Or, a combination of the above.

Researching Online Schools

Before paying to enrol your child you can research both the online educational platform as well as the teachers themselves. The importance of the teachers credentials, cost of tuition, methods of testing and evaluations, coupled with your time commitment required, are all part of the research needed.

If money is the deciding priority then there are several methods of free or low-cost online educational facilities available. Public schools do have online access. Check with your local school board to see what they have available. The cost of private school can be quite high.

The benefits to enrolling your child in online public schools is you can be confident their testing and advancement will be in keeping with the other children in class. This way when they graduate from one grade to the next their academic accreditation will be recognized.

One drawback to online public school enrolment may be the inability to attend a school outside your locality. Even though your child will be attending school online, the public school system may insist that you attend the virtual school that falls within the residential boundaries of that particular district.

Attending Online Schools Outside Your District

There are many wonderful accredited grade schools outside your school district that are an option. Not all cost a lot of money. Residency may not be an issue for certain online academy. Some also offer tuition costs based on income, offer payment plans, credit plans, and family discounts if you enrol more than one child.

Before choosing a paid online educational program for your grade school child, make sure the accreditation offered is recognized by your department of education. Similar to moving from one district to another, the classes must be recognized and given credit on transfer. It will be an expensive mistake, both time and money, if the online school won’t be recognized by mainstream education.

Public Reviews of Online Elementary Schools

On the website of the online schools there will likely be reviews from parents of children who have attended. Other places to look at are their Facebook pages as well as doing a detailed Google search. Start by searching the name of the schools and see what comes up in the listings for reviews. Less formal areas to get information will be in teaching forums.

You can do a further search by using the names of the educators and management that you can find on their webpages. This may bring up their personal Facebook pages or news articles of interest. Another place to find reviews and complaints will be on the BBB site.

Dangers of Advancing Technology of Online Learning

Everyday technology is moving forward. The kids are learning in real-time but what about you? There will come a time when what they are doing online may be out of your own understanding and knowledge. This can be a dangerous opportunity for your kids to have access to something you don’t understand enough to be able to monitor. It is important to know that there is someone knowledgeable that is watching what they are doing.

Online educational portals should have a person who is monitoring the platform for breach in access. A limit on the amount of privacy a young student can have with their communications will keep them safe from predatory hackers and suspect teachers.