With course selection day right around the corner, I interviewed sophomore Micaela Rennick. She enrolled in a Virtual High School course last year around this time and is currently taking the class now. I asked her a few questions about what Virtual High School is and her experience in taking a Virtual High School course.

       1. What is Virtual High School (VHS)?

The Virtual High School is an online educational collaborative that has created opportunities for middle school and high school students to take classes in a revolutionary way since 1996. Students who enroll in the Virtual High School can take a variety of elective courses, many of which are not provided at  Somerset Berkley Regional High School.

       2. What are some major differences from VHS to a regular class?

There are many differences. You can have classes with people all around the world, with different cultures, and experiences. Virtual High School classes are also a lot more independent, because you don’t have a teacher sitting down with you, coaching you along the way. Each week begins on Wednesdays and we are given a list of assignments that are due by the following Tuesday. This means you have to have an incredible amount of time management and self-motivation. Taking classes online also enables the class to interact with technology more and learn in a way that can’t be done in lectures. We use a lot of videos, blogs, and other online resources.

       3. Would you recommend people to take a VHS class?

Definitely. I may complain about it a lot, but I don’t regret having this opportunity, even if it means having less sleep. Taking a class on the Virtual High School has made me such a better student. I have better time management skills, my technology skills have increased, my writing has gotten better, and I’ve overall become more independent. This is really important for college. Having taken this course, I feel so much more prepared for college where they incorporate a lot more technology and there is more independent learning. The Virtual High School also offers a lot of different options (anywhere from Video Game Design to AP Economics). Taking a Virtual High School class can allow some students to take a class they actually enjoy learning about and might not otherwise have the opportunity to take.

       4. What VHS class do you take and what is it like?

I take AP Human Geography and it is the most time-consuming and involved thing I’ve ever been a part of. Every week we have 8-12 assignments. This always includes a weekly reading of about 10-15 pages along with 20-25 analysis questions and a class discussion in which we are given a prompt which we have to respond to and then reply to other student’s answers. We also do cooperative vocab each week, where every student defines a word on a joint class blog. Doing this course online is nice, because instead of having to define all of the words, it’s divided among the entire class. Other assignments vary depending on what part of the chapter we are on. We have done several essays of various lengths (500 words, 2 pages, 5 pages, and 2000 words). Believe it or not, we also do many group assignments. This is done by receiving the group lists and our topic on the class bulletin board. Then, in a wiki, each group has a discussion page in which they divide up the work and also a presentation page in which they add pictures and text to teach their topic. VHS classes are very interactive, there are around 18 students in my class and I know most of their names, what they look like, where they live, and what they like to do. Assignments are done in several different formats: YouTube, Word documents submitted by a dropbox, wiki pages, Audio recordings, Photographs, and other online programs. At the end of the chapter we take a timed test with a multiple choice part and a FRQ (free-response question). It is a lot of work and many times I am up until 3:00 a.m. completing assignments.

       5. Why did you take a VHS class?

I took a VHS class because Human Geography really interests me. We learn a lot about religion, political science, language, human development, ethnicity, culture, and economics, and their position on Earth’s surface. I wasn’t aware of many things that are happening in this world, but now I am. I also took this course so I could have another AP course under my belt.

       6. How do you enroll in a VHS class?

Today you can go to www.thevirtualhighschool.org to view the course catalog. Don’t be scared about the amount of work involved in my course. Although no course will be easy, there are courses with different amounts of work and intensity. Near the end of the year there will be an  announcement for VHS enrollment. Go down to the library and tell Mrs. Johnson, our school’s VHS coordinator, that you are interested. She will give you a paper to fill out with questions, your top 3 class choices, and signatures (teacher recommendation, guidance counselor approval, and guardian approval).

       7. Do you have the class as often as a real full-time class? Do you get school vacations off? And where do you go for the class?

Since my class is a full time course, I have 6 periods in a cycle to work on my assignments at school. For these periods, I go down to the library to work on the computers in a section reserved for VHS students. You don’t have to use that time to work on VHS, it can also be used as a regular study, but it is best to get as much as you can done at school. For a full time course, it starts the same time as the start of school. Our one break of the year is during our winter vacation, but instead of one week, it is 2 weeks. We have class through February and April vacation, but the class ends early (the first week of May).

       8. How does the teacher communicate with you and the other students enrolled in the class?

The teacher can communicate with us in several different ways. If she wants to make a general statement to the whole class she can post it on the class bulletin board. If you have a private question, or you need an extension on your due date, you can talk to your teacher in your PD (private discussion page). If you have a general question, you can ask it in the question page, that way the whole class can also see it. You can also get to know your classmates in the Student Lounge, where you can talk to the other students about anything. Your teacher will also make comments about your work when it is graded.

       9. Would you take a VHS class again?

I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but probably not. I don’t think I have room in my schedule.