Would online schools help education in the US?

Yes, very much. The Charter school that my grandsons are in has introduced online line learning that is a great help. I am at a disadvantage because I have to learn even more than my students since I am not proficient online.
They play with the other children who live at their apartment, with a wonderful playground, basketball courts and swimming pools for socialization, and attend various functions sponsored by the Charter school. It is the best of both worlds.
Another advantage is for people who have the motivation to learn and never had the chance in school. There are programs for all levels of General Education, through the college level.
Many specialized college level courses can also supplement the higher levels.

Because pupils just looooove going to school and learning on their own.
No, they have to be forced to do it. By a teacher.
And if they have questions, because they do not understand something, whom do they ask? The video player?
And what about poor families that can not afford the PC and the subscription to that online school? Or the cost of the internet subscription whose bandwith gets eaten up by the video stream. Or the cost electricity to run the damn thing 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Or the fact that internet services in your “country” are so shoddy, that speeds slow to a crawl or you lose connection for days at a time, even in major cities?
And how do you ensure standards of the material being taught?
And how do you prevent corporate propaganda being taught by for profit “schools”?
Terrible idea all around.

My friend teaches online courses for three colleges. She has regular interaction with the students, and some actual “classroom” discussions, in structure similar to these discussions, with everybody online and logged in at the same time. The tech is compatible. A number of her students have successfully transferred to accredited universities and done well.

@YARNLADY knows what she is talking about.
@ragingloli has no clue whatsoever.

I would have loved to be home-schooled. So I would say yes. Some states require parents to have a teaching certificate first. Might be California.

@RedDeerGuy1 In my state and some others, the on-line school and classes have to be certified not the parent. The parent acts as a proctor or monitor.

@Tropical_Willie Cool thanks for the info.

@Tropical_Willie Yes, it works that way here as well.
@RedDeerGuy1 Anybody who wants to pay the fee can register as a student, you don’t even need to be a school.

Lots of kids are motivated to learn, so, Loli bite me. OP specified U.S., so you are not invited to this party.

I checked into the internet schooling option a few years back. It allows children more one on one time than classrooms. Regular events are scheduled to allow students time together.
Each child can move forward at their own pace, which means no student has to sit around bored while slower students try to catch up, and no slower students get slid through unable to read because their particular needs hold back the rest of the class.
Students who attend schools have learning sites they can go to to earn credit in various areas. My daughter was using them during elementary and Jr. high years, and she was self motivated. They kept her interested in math even during times when she was struggling in certain areas.

I think kids should go to school. Nobody is suffering from lack of time starting at a screen these days.

Online courses are a great supplement. Tonight I am in fact studying algebra using a Khan Academy course. I’m re-learning what I knew as a young teen with an eye towards calculus.

But for K-12 I think socialization is as important as course matter. Kids should spend a majority of their time face-to-face with kids and teachers, not gaping at a screen.

Screen time teaches passive consumption instead of active creativity.

It’s a great option for kids who are bullied at school. My son did online school this past year for this reason. He was always an A student but he suffered with extreme anxiety because of his classmates.

Some kids need the structure that public school offers. Our son couldn’t concentrate on his online school work. It was a terrible fit for him. He can’t wait to return to public this year. Fortunately for him it will be at a new school that is accepting of LGBT students.

@FlutheringBlonde That is interesting. So your son went from going to traditional school to virtual school, and now back again, albeit, it sounds as if it a different school. That is fascinating.

@Pied_Pfeffer He felt isolated during his virtual experience which made his depression worse. We live in a very rural area so there wasn’t much for him to do outside of home. We’re moving to a city and he’ll be attending a large school with many opportunities. The school has over 100 clubs and they offer five different foreign language classes, one being Japanese. He’s wanted to learn Japanese the past two years. Now he’ll get a chance to do so with other students! He’s very excited.

I still think online school is a great option to have for students who need it. Just be aware that it isn’t for everyone.

So help me to understand, what type of student would you recommend for online education, or classrooom education, based upon your experience?

@Pied_Pfeffer I’m not quite sure if I can answer that. Our son was looking forward to the experience. It just didn’t work out for him. I don’t think he realized how lonely he would be. If a child has opportunities outside of the home to meet up with other children there shouldn’t be a problem. We didn’t have that luxury.

Online schools might benefit a few children but they should not be considered a viable alternative to classroom teaching by a qualified professional where children can learn together and socialise together. As with healthcare there is a movement in the US to provide a quality traditional education only to those who can afford to pay for it. It is very backward pre Victorian thinking that will exclude countless young Americans from adequate schooling and later in life from better paying jobs.

@FlutheringBlonde That makes sense. Thank you for answering.

Okay, so here is my answer to the original question. It depends upon the student. There are those that excell more quickly than others in a real environment. These students may move more quickly through their education.

Others may blossom in a virtual world. Unless you are an introverted person and experience a virtual world, you have no idea how much freedom it creates.

With said, the downside is that it only enforces the need to be protected from the outside.

I think so. I home school my son and we use an online based school. It works out very well. Initially we tried it with just me being the teacher and coming up with the curriculum on my own. It was okay for a little while but I often felt like I was struggling to explain things properly and that I wasn’t keeping up with his age standards. Once we switched to the online school, it made a big difference. My son learns better this way, it much more organzied, and it’s still working out much better for us than public schools did.

Another factor that few realize is that homeschooling these days is rarely done in a vacuum. There are usually local groups of homeschoolers who get together for field trips and the like. Any many states require some kind of accountability (at least Colorado did, when I homeschooled) and equivalency exams.
Online schooling is more comprehensive than traditional home schooling, as there is more interaction, not less, with the educators.

The whole idea of online schooling ties in mostly with the homeschooling theme, and so many arguments, for and against, can be addressed with the the homeschooling idea.
There was an excellent thread about it here, a while ago.
https://www.fluther.com/98608/what-are-you-thoughts-about-home-schooling/

@canidmajor The problem in my area is the local groups are all religious and homophobic/transphobic. Exactly what we were trying to avoid at the public school here. City life can’t come soon enough!

@FlutheringBlonde, yeah, small rural towns still have too much of that. Soon you guys will be in an environment much more conducive to a happy life! :-)

Which actually brings up another point about the OP. Online classes can be used to supplement a more traditional environment, instead of thinking solely in terms of replacing it.

there are usually local groups of homeschoolers who get together for field trips and the like

We had a person here Dan (I think?) who was doing gigs teaching outdoors skills to groups like home schoolers. I really admired that, both for the small business/hustling aspect and for getting kids outside in nature.

Both of the homeschoolers I am now teaching are diagnosed ADHD, as my own son (who I also homeschooled). They had severe problems in the traditional school, including behavior issues and bullying. The online programs we have through the Public Charter school are wonderful.