Virtual schooling

Beginning in August, Missouri students will have the opportunity to begin taking online classes through the Missouri Virtual Instructional Program.

MoVIP will offer classes to public, private and homeschooled students alike.

Certified teachers will guide students through the courses, which will be taught with the use of streaming audio and video, e-mail, chat rooms, digital portfolios and computer bulletin boards.

MoVIP will be a boon to students at smaller schools unable to offer some of the courses that will be available online. The availability of online classes likely will spur a growth in homeschooling.

Virtual schooling should not be viewed as a replacement for the kind of teaching that can be accomplished in the classroom. Classroom teaching is and always will be an art. But virtual classrooms hold the potential for more learning experiences and more specialized classes that might otherwise not be offered.