Using Outschool for Homeschool Classes and Electives
Outschool is an online student learning platform that offers a variety of classes with a live teacher. It is quite different from an academy, in that, a traditional academy is knowledgeable about what content a student should learn for a specific grade year, and they apply that to their material. Also, academies assume more of a responsibility for making sure that the teacher is a licensed teacher, and that the students are completing the work. Primarily, parents would use Outschool for electives, though there are a few classes that could be used in place of, or as a suppliment to, main classes.
Outschool is simply a "platform". That means that they give teachers the means to work with students. But, they don't assume any responsibility for the teachers, the students, or what is taught in the classes. Therefore, it is strictly the parents' responsibility to make sure that the class has the content the student needs.
The way Outschool works is that individuals who want to teach a particular class apply. Then, they go through a basic screening process. If they pass, they are given the right to offer classes on the platform. Teachers come up with their own content for classes, and then market it on the platform. Parents who want to sign their students up for classes go to Outschool and look at the classes offered. Then, they select the ones they want based on descriptions of the class that the teacher has posted. Teachers generally also post a short biography about themselves, and their are reviews of their classes held by Outschool, which the teacher cannot change, so in that way, there is some accountability.
Outschool offers some great learning opportunites. There are hundreds of classes available, on almost any subject you can imagine. Some classes are "complete at your own pace", which means that students watch a video or read material and complete the class that way (called a Flex Class), and others are live, at a specific time, using Zoom. In the live classes students can listen to and talk to the instructor in real time, and they can also talk to the other students in the class. Class sizes are usually very small.
Parents need to be aware that Outschool's screening process is pretty limited. And, the people who teach on the platform are not all teachers. In fact, many of them aren't. Some of them are professionals in a particular area, some are teachers, and some are just homeschooling moms who think they have done a great job with their own kids so they want to expand. Therefore, the quality varies from class to class. However, we have used Outschool quite a lot and have never been disappointed with a class thus far.
The other issue is that, parents, you don't really know that person teaching the class. You can read the biography, but people can lie in a biography. For that reason, I advise students to never give out personal information to teachers, or other students, in a class. In fact, when we have used them, we have used alias' for the students and coached them that they need to be vague, or flat out lie, about where they live. But, with that said, it is just a safety precaution. Most of the classes contain no risk to the children, and the teachers are simply there to teach. Therefore, parents should not be discouraged from using Outschool. They should just exercise caution.
Classes range in cost because the teacher sets the price that he/she wants to make for a specific period of time. For instance, we have seen some socialization groups that meet weekly and charge $6 per 45 minutes, and voice teachers who are professional broadway singers that want $45 an hour. So, the price heavily depends upon the subject, the amount of time spent in class, and the teacher.
Most classes run for a set number of weeks, but some are only one day, and some are ongoing and they continue until the parent cancels. Parents pay for classes that are a set number of weeks up front, whereas, they pay for ongoing classes by the week.
Although, most classes are educational classes, there are some socialization groups as well. Individuals must be under the age of 18 to enroll in classes, however, parents can listen in as well.
One of the students we followed enrolled in "Forensics" as a suppliment to her other science class. The Forensics class ran six weeks with a live class once a week. The instructor was a retired police detective, and he used actual cases in his class. It was an excellent class, with quite a lot of inside police information. The class definitely was not boring. We would highly recommend it, but his class is no longer available, as teachers often come and go, using the platform as a means to pick up a little extra income between their real jobs. We can, however, recommend Forensic classes taught by Hannah Hatcher. We followed a student that took her "Fingerprint Analysis" class.
As long as parents exercise some wisdom and utilize proper security measures, Outschool has a lot to offer to homeschoolers that you won't find in other places.
The Outschool platform is easy to use, and it has a search function so that you can search for classes of interest. Once parents sign up for a class, they will receive an email acknowledging receipt. The teacher is also sent the parent's email address so that he/she can get in contact. When attending a class, the student would go to the Outschool website, locate the class purchased, and "Join the Class". Students who have not paid for a class will not be able to join.
You can visit Outschool's website at www.outschool.com.
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