Why Online Schooling is Better than Homeschooling?

Here are some reasons why online schooling is better than homeschooling:

Faculty
In a homeschooling environment, parents need to play the role of teachers. They need to be in charge of teaching all the subjects to their children. This can be truly bothersome since not all parents are qualified adequately to teach every subject to their children! Also, they are bound to get stressed out since their kids’ career and education is at stake. In order to play the role of a teacher, the parent needs to well-versed in most of the subjects. This can be a huge drawback!

When it comes to an online school, students are provided with the support of various qualified teachers who are state-certified. Apart from providing instruction, these teachers provide a good deal of guidance as well as support to students. They are specially trained to do so! The best part is that online students can easily communicate with their teachers via online class sessions, email, phone, one-on-one tutoring, and direct meetings. Most online teachers make sure to communicate with parents to ensure that the child’s learning needs and preferences are fully met.

Curriculum
In a homeschool, parents need to take the responsibility to prepare a curriculum for their kids, right from scratch. For this, they need to do a good deal of research. While preparing a unique learning schedule plus lesson plans for their kids, they need to keep their learning needs and preferences in mind. This can turn out to be a highly stressful task for parents, especially if they are working! While devising the curriculum, they would have to make sure that these cater to national as well as state standards.

When it comes to an online school, it comes with a pre-structured and well-designed learning curriculum. Usually, this curriculum is approved by the state. Also, lesson plans are provided. These add structure to students’ learning as well as a daily schedule. Most of the accredited virtual schools make it a point to offer free hands-on materials to enable students to experience various offline activities, apart from their online work. Now, parents might feel like customizing this pre-structured curriculum further to suit their children’s needs. And, an online school allows them to do so.

Testing
Homeschooling parents need to research state as well as national testing standards. This is vital to make sure that their kid complies with the basic standards of the State. In an accredited online private school, students need to take various tests online. Usually, they are provided with a proctor who would make sure that no cheating takes place during the online test. These tests are highly challenging and are conducted to bring the best version out of the online student.

Academic and attendance policies
Traditional homeschooling most needs parents to research local attendance as well as academic policies. Usually, homeschooling parents are responsible for their reporting requirements.

When it comes to an online school, a good deal of accountability is maintained. Educational accountability does include attendance and academic policies as well. Grades, testing, attendance, and various other requirements are accounted for within the virtual learning platform. It is maintained right from day one.

Socialization
In a traditional homeschool, parents need to find innovative ways for their kids to socialize meaningfully. They interact with parents of other homeschooling kids to find out newer ways of socialization. Thus, it can be an added responsibility for homeschooling parents.

When it comes to an online school, it offers various structured and meaningful socialization opportunities. Some online schools arrange for field trips and volunteering activities to engage students and enable them to socialize effectively. Apart from this, accredited online schools enable students to participate in various collaborative activities where they can interact well and bond well. Also, online schools have their own discussion forums where every student can put their views, opinions, and ideas forward. They can also comment on other students’ posts.

Parental role
Parental intervention is required in any unconventional mode of learning, be it online learning or homeschooling. However, the degree of involvement varies. In a homeschool, parents have no other option but to handle everything on their own. At least, one parent needs to be free in order to contribute to his/her kid’s learning. It takes a lot of work and energy to ensure that the kid is learning effectively and performing well. Many times, homeschooling parents need to be multi-taskers! If both parents are working, traditional homeschooling might not work well for your child!

On the other hand, online schooling does everything for your child. You do not need to be involved in your child’s learning to that extent. However, you might still need to monitor your child’s academic and personal growth if you truly want to help your child succeed. Also, you might have to check attendance. Still, a lot of burdens is released from the parents’ shoulders!

Affordability
From an overall perspective, homeschooling can be costlier than an online school. This is because, in a homeschool, parents need to build the entire learning curriculum on their own. This might cost a good deal of money. After all, they need to buy a good bunch of textbooks, reference books etc. If the curriculum does not prove to work for the child, the parent might need to bring necessary changes to the curriculum that might add up to the overall cost.

In an online school, everything is pre-established and structured. Moreover, online school students are not required to spend money on textbooks, references books, library fees etc. This is a relatively more affordable option for most students.

Inculcating values
When a student is in a homeschooling environment, they might tend to depend on their parents to do the learning. In an online school, students can afford to learn independently. Online learning is convenient for students since it enables them to use various technological tools to further their knowledge and education. They understand the meaning of self-discipline, self-motivation, and time-management.