Eva Joyce teaches her online class while watching her toddler at home or between technology courses at Pine Grove Elementary School in Baltimore.
For her and the students taking her online course — which teaches traditional teachers how to lead a class on the Internet — the convenience and low cost of learning online are most appealing.
“Some people,” Joyce said, “like to sit in their pajamas and drink their coffee and do their postings at 2 in the morning.”
The popularity of online courses has grown rapidly largely because they are cost-efficient and convenient — allowing students and teachers to take a wide range of courses from home and save on gas — but in Maryland, a collapsing economy may hurt their growth, officials said.
Student enrollment has exploded from 31 to 970 in the four years since Maryland began its online program, Maryland Virtual Learning Opportunities, said Bob Cole, instructional technology specialist at the state’s education department.
But while other states designate money to pay for online courses, Maryland’s students or school districts have to pay.
“If a local school system’s budget in that area was to dry up, that cost would have to come out of pocket,” Cole said.
An online course in Maryland costs an average of $600.
The virtual learning program teaches high school students and provides professional development for teachers, but it is only a part-time supplement for traditional classes. Students cannot earn a high school diploma by taking only online courses, but they can enroll in classes not offered in traditional classrooms.
“It’s not education by ZIP code,” Cole said.
“It’s more if you need an advanced calculus course and you happen to live in an area or go to a school that doesn’t offer that course, you can still take it.”
Students carry on conversations about course work by posting messages, and teachers can interject to help. Teachers also post a schedule of due dates for all work.
Joyce signs on to check her class three or four times a day. She met in person with the 20 students in her online class once, when everyone met in Columbia to kick off the course. They came from all over the state.
But they canceled their second meeting, planned for near the end of the class, so they could save on gas money. Instead, they plan to meet in an online forum.
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