Advantages of Online Courses

The advantages of e-learning are many:
•    Your child may have access to a wider variety of courses.  Some of these may not be available in your child's school.
•    Your child may have the opportunity to take a course that is a prerequisite for certain college or CEGEP programs.
•    E-learning teachers are experienced in their subject area and with the technology needed.
•    Your child will interact with his teacher on a regular basis.  This allows for prompt responses to his questions.
•    Your child will have the opportunity to become an independent learner.  This will prepare him/her for the demands of college and university.
•    Your child will have the opportunity to get to know students from other Quebec communities.
•    Your child will have an opportunity to improve his/her communication skills.
•    Your child will learn to use leading edge technologies which could be advantageous in post secondary experiences.

There are several differences between an e-learning course and a course at school:
•    Your child will have less visual contact with the teacher or students from other schools.
•    Your child will be likely to do more reading for the e-learning course.
•    Your child will likely do more written communication (through e-mail, chat lines, or discussion boards) with the teacher and fellow students.
•    Your child may have fewer contact hours in real time than in a regular class.  This allows him to have more time to complete assignments.
•    The number of students from your child's school taking the same distance education class may be low.  Your child may receive more attention from the teacher.
•    Due to different calendars at the participating schools (holidays, activities, exams, etc.) there may be days when your child will not have a live class.  On these occasions, he/she may be given a tutorial or work session.
•    The online teacher will evaluate your child's assignments, tests and exams but his/her marks will be recorded in his transcript at the school.