Students at Dover High School are taking part in a relatively new educational opportunity called the Virtual High School - a collaborative of high schools throughout the world that work together to offer more than 300 online courses to their students. VHS member schools are accredited by their local accrediting agency, and, therefore, all VHS courses are accredited by the member school offering the online course.

Two years ago, DHS reading specialist Dorothy Quinn was asked to be the high school's online instructor. After she agreed to participate, she attended an informational meeting at Southeastern Regional Service Center (SERESC) in Bedford. Subsequently, in August 2003, Quinn began SERESC's six-credit graduate course, learning how to build her 15-week online course that focuses on mythology. During that time, five DHS students were allotted seats in the VHS program. In January 2004, after Quinn's training was complete and her online course was ready, the number of student seats allotted at DHS was increased to 25. There has been a waiting list ever since.

Students participating in VHS are scheduled to be in class with Quinn for one period each day, where she supervises them and monitors their progress. Although course instructors and students are not necessarily online at the same time, there are standards that must be maintained for the system to succeed. Students must actively participate in course discussions, complete assignments on time, and be involved on a daily basis. Instructors are required to answer questions and not let questions go unanswered for any more than 24 hours.

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By Kristin Sawyer

Article source: seacoastonline.com