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A drop menu allows access to each class a student chooses to take, making it easy to go from work in one subject to another.

For some students, in some circumstances, a traditional brick-and-mortar high school is just not the best option, and online high school may be a better alternative. For others, the online high school is a means to an end; not functioning as a true alternative, it becomes an exercise in frustration (with computers, with impersonal assignments,… something just seems off). Maybe I’m too traditional a student, but I fall into the latter camp.

I’m taking two courses (U.S. Government and Consumer Economics) on a self-imposed basis (I was one credit shy of graduation and figured it best to just complete it, though USC’s Resident Honors Program ‒ which I’ll be starting in the fall ‒ doesn’t actually require a high school diploma to begin university study) and find the differences from my traditional schooling shocking and dislikable.

That isn’t to say, however, that the Illinois Virtual School is at fault. It’s a natural product of growing up with a conventional education and being thrown a curveball at the very end of high school. Online schooling is an acquired taste (much like the classic variety can be). I have friends at Lake Forest High School who have become avid Illinois Virtual School users, but found the system difficult and unfriendly during their first courses. It probably changes from class to class, as well.

Taking only two courses, I’m at a distinct disadvantage in acclimating to the computer-facilitated education required by IVS classes. For that reason, I would caution any student considering online school for non-requirements to weigh their comfort with a virtual classroom. This class type transition, though, does allow for a different relationship with teachers — especially those who make the remarkable effort to ease students from one educational medium to the other. Mr. Jim Kinsella is one such teacher.

Starting with Illinois Virtual High School, the near-precursor to Illinois Virtual School, Kinsella has been with the online education movement almost from its inception, working as both teacher and administrator. His years of experience in both physical and computer classroom settings gives him the unique perspective that he is, online, “more a facilitator than a brick-and-mortar teacher.” Elaborating, he makes clear that he is “not the sage on the stage.”

In part, this change of instructor role brings about a much closer student-teacher relationship, forcing student participation and interaction in such a way that there can be no quiet kid at the back of the class. Kinsella notes that regardless of a student’s position in a traditional school (excelling or falling behind, loquacious or shy), there is every manner of opportunity for an online education to provide what she needs for success. He stresses that students must be self-motivated: one that is “dedicated and that wants to get ahead will have big hand up and no boundaries.”

But that’s just one example of a class where interaction and “higher order thinking” are given the most import by the instructor. Other instructors are more traditional or may feel like a glorified grader. Kinsella notes, “The glorified grader is an irritation to me… that’s not really teaching.”

Kinsella’s approach is a friendly one. He observes, “There’s a lot of things I teach that the student learns without me saying anything. It’s a motivation of thought. It’s what you have going on in your mind.”

As a student, it seems far more effective to maintain regular contact with my online teachers. In the least comfortable of her courses, my friend explained that she was hard-pressed to reach her unresponsive instructor, making do with the provided course materials, but little else. It serves primarily to remind prospective online students that more traditional, withdrawn teaching styles may add challenge to a course, but shouldn’t in any way dissuade an interested student.

If you’re prepared to buckle down and work with computers and are “looking for a little something extra,” IVS may be the right choice for you. If you’re a hyper-traditional student like me, it may be an unpleasant adjustment. You just have to hope your teacher is more a “facilitator” than a “grader” and keep in mind Kinsella’s ultimate remark on online education: “I give you ownership… which makes you more receptive to knowledge. It’s the freedom to learn.”