DOE taking Beginning this year, some Hawaii students will be able to point and click their way to a high school diploma, conceivably without ever having to set foot in a traditional classroom or face a teacher during their four years.
applications for
full-time
online school
The department plans to
accommodate about 150
students in the next school yearBy B.J. Reyes
breyes@starbulletin.comThe Hawaii e-Charter School is scheduled to open Aug. 23 as the state's first full-time online high school, the state Department of Education announced yesterday.
Enrollment is open to students who will be entering high school in the 2001-02 academic year, said Vicki Kajioka, director of the department's Advanced Technology Research Division.
Students will be able to complete course requirements whenever and wherever they have access to an Internet connection while communicating with teachers through e-mail, chat rooms, instant messenger software or electronic bulletin boards, Kajioka said.
"We really want a self-directed learner, a student who will be able to explore and do things on his or her own," she said.
The e-charter concept is an extension of the Education Department's current e-school program, which allows students to supplement traditional classes with online courses. But while students enrolled in the e-school program are limited to two courses, those accepted to the e-charter school will be expected to carry a full course load.
"They're looking for students that are looking for a very independent level of study and who are going to be capable of handling that amount of responsibility," said Greg Knudsen, a department spokesman.
Knudsen said "no real upper limit" on enrollment had been established, but the department has been planning on accommodating about 150 students.
Laura Tavares, a language arts teacher on the Big Island who has taught in a virtual classroom the past three years, said she does not expect finding students to be a problem. One of five teachers recruited for the e-charter, Tavares said her students have had mostly positive experiences with virtual learning.
"Most of my colleagues, the first thing they say is, 'You don't get to know your students this way.' What I've found is that that's the exact opposite.
e-Charter online courses
These are the courses expected to be offered this coming school year through the Hawaii e-Charter online high school:>> Social studies: Modern History of Hawaii, History of the Pacific Global Studies, U.S. History and Government, World History and Culture.
>> Mathematics: Geometry A, Math Applications II, Algebra I-A ("Algebra in a Virtual World"), Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science, Trigonometry, Algebra II-A.
>> Sciences: Environmental Studies ("An Odyssey in Voyaging"), Seminar in Scientific Research, Ocean and Earth Science, Plants and Animals of Hawaii.
>> Language arts: Shakespeare Online, Writer's Workshop, Language Arts I (Grade 9), Language Arts II (Grade 10), Language Arts III (Grade 11), Language Arts IV (Grade 12).
>> Multimedia/Technology: Design I-A (Designing and Multimedia Development), Introduction to Computer ("Advanced Tools for the Information Age"), Advanced Placement Computer Science, Introduction to Digital Music.
>> Guidance: Advanced Guidance, Career Guidance.
Source: Hawaii e-Charter School, http://echarter.k12.hi.us
"The kids have a tendency to get much more personal because it's so one on one," Tavares said. "The one thing they tell me all the time is that they're not dealing with all of the distractions ... that go along with a classroom of 40 students and a teacher."
She also tries to not be a faceless entity lurking in cyberspace; she calls her students and even visits with them when the opportunities arise.
But being a faceless entity has its advantages, too.
Renee Adams, a social studies teacher on Maui who also will teach for the e-charter school, said some students preferred the anonymity.
"I get a lot of students, and sometimes many of them feel they've been discriminated against because they're haole," she said. "Here we don't know what anyone looks like.
"I really get a very good mix of students, and it makes for a very interesting course."
One challenge that e-teachers face, Adams said, is finding a meaningful way to assess a student's progress.
But teachers like Adams and Tavares say the way around that challenge is to communicate with the students.
"I ask the students to do a lot of reflection, and that tends to yield a lot of information as to whether there's something really going on there," Adams said.
Such interaction pays off in other ways, too.
Tavares recalls one especially good writer whom she considered one of her best students.
"As it turned out, he was in a self-contained special-ed class -- he had never been considered anyone's top student," she said. "Because of this experience, he decided to pursue college, and he's taking all of his courses online."
The deadline to apply to the Hawaii e-Charter school for the next school year is Aug. 21.
Students can apply online via the e-Charter Web site at http://echarter.k12.hi.us, or they can download an application form and fax it to 808-733-4730 or mail it to Hawaii E-Charter, 475 22nd Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816.
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