Dec. 12, 2017

When people think about taking a class or going to school they usually imagine actually going somewhere to learn from a teacher surrounded by a bunch of other students. But, something that people don’t always consider is that you can take a whole class with only a laptop! Taking an online class is a great opportunity for someone who may want or need to spend some more time on a certain course or maybe they just want to take a class that is not supplied by the school they are attending.

There are many different ways to take an online class, and two of those are through Brigham Young University (BYU) Independent Study Program and Pearson Connexus. Both of these contain a wide selection of courses for any type of student to take. Rachel Robnett, a junior at Central Kitsap High School (CKHS), is taking an independent United States history course through BYU and she describes the type of student she is and why she decided to take this course, “I am more of an independent learner and I thought that it would have helped me more, and it is, more than being in an actual class with a bunch of people.”

“You don’t have to move on until you understand what is happening, which in the normal class they just keep going until its over, and you can possibly get left behind, but with an online class you just go until you understand then you can go to the next page,” another student here at CKHS is taking an Algebra 2 course through Pearson Connexus and describes a benefit of taking Algebra 2 online as opposed to taking it in a classroom. Another reason that this student gives is that they don’t have to worry about getting it done if they have other homework they need to do because they can do it pretty much anytime and get caught up easily.

Overall, taking an online course is easier for some students, but it may be more difficult for others. As both of the students mentioned in this article, that it is definitely helpful that they can go at their own pace. It’s just a matter of finding time to complete the lessons and activities in order for this to work for you. As mentioned on the BYU Independent Study about page, there are over 550 classes for students in high school, middle school, or a university to take. Pearson Connexus also has many opportunities for students wishing to take a class independently.