The Virtual Revolution

According to this article by Randall Greenway and Gregg Vanourek, distance education has been around since the 1890's. Today with the capabilities and prevalence of the internet, distance education has become much more viable and widely available. Although they share many characteristics, there is no standard method of online education. They are even called by different names in different places: e-schools, online schools, cyber schools, etc. Some of them are charter schools, some are designed for home schoolers and some are public schools.
The authors identify six variables of these online schools:
1. comprehensiveness- whether the program is supplemental or complete
2. reach - how far geographically the program extends (is it a district or national program?)
3. type- home, public, private, charter, magnet, homeschool
4. location- at school, at home, a public space, or a combination
5. delivery- synchronous or asynchronus
6. control- run by the district, the state, a private agency, university, etc

Most schools have elements of traditional brick-and mortar schools: daily attendance, report cards, grades, parent involvement, teachers. And virtually all online schooling students take their state's standardized tests. Many students participate in their school district's extracurricular programs. Despite these similarities and overlaps with traditional schooling, there are several advantages of online schooling. Students who are academically at-risk can catch up without the classroom distractions surrounding them. Students who are academically gifted and/or highly motivated can work at their own pace and more easily avoid busywork. Online schools are a good fit for those who move or travel frequently (such as military families,) those who have intensive athletic regimens, child actors, and children of rural families who are underserved by their (not-too-local) school district.
Of course, there are those for whom online schooling may not be a good fit: students with limited parent involvement, those with motivational problems, visual impairments or other severe disabilities, and those who do not have reliable access to the internet.
The authors feel that online schooling is promising, but various programs cannot be lumped into one group. When we compare online schooling to traditional schooling, we have to keep in mind the quality of the instruction, the curriculum being offered and what kind of virtual school it is.

Response:
The article mentions that online schools are just another model of schooling; They won't replace classrooms or teachers. I'm thinking that it may be fun to get involved with a virtual school. I used to know some people who traveled around the world in their sailboat with their two boys; I mean, they lived on their sailboat. Of course, their kids had to do some kind of correspondence school. But if online schooling is a good fit for kids sailing around the world, then perhaps it could also be a good fit for teachers sailing around the world . . .

Taken from: Greenway, R. and Vanourek, G. (2007). "The Virtual Revolution". In Computers in Education, 12th Edition. Annual Editions.