Online learning — whether that’s an entirely virtual high school system that hands out diplomas or a single course in Spanish — has emerged from the “fringe of education to the heart of it,” said the keynote speaker at the Online Leadership Summit this week.

“When kids sit in a classroom and they are handed a textbook and they can look out the window and know that, that is not how information is distributed in the world, you know we have an antiquated system,” said Susan Patrick, president of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning at the Skirvin Hotel Thursday.

Her comments were to a room of about 60 school superintendents from across the nation who came to Oklahoma City to learn the latest national and international trends in Internet based education.

For the rest of the article, go to Online education discussed at Oklahoma City conference

Kimberley McDaniel, a 2009 University of Oklahoma graduate, didn’t meet many of her professors and classmates until graduation.

Distance learning courses allowed McDaniel, a mother of three, to go back to school at the age of 40 while working full-time. She attended classes from her car during a weekend getaway to Branson, Mo., or from her home in Noble while wearing pajamas after eight hours at work.

Many more students are choosing to take classes partially or entirely online, officials at OU and Oklahoma State University said. Advances in technology and an increasingly diverse student body has caused enrollment in distance learning classes and programs to skyrocket during recent years, officials said.

Convenience offered

Online learning offers flexibility and convenience for students who want to earn their degree without disrupting their work schedule or other life responsibilities.

For the rest of the article, go to Distance learning programs gain popularity in Oklahoma

Oklahoma Virtual High School

Welcome to yet another state-specific website for online high schools. Brought to you by Best Online High Schools, this gives you information on all that is going on in your state with online high schools.