Are you ready?
Online education is a new learning opportunity that let’s you “take the wheel” of your education by participating in your class when and where it is most convenient for you and by giving you the option to adjust the speed that you complete your educational online journey. Just remember to travel everyday and not take shortcuts!
How does it work?
SOCRATES Online provides online courses to supplement the curricula offered by local schools. Students accessing SOCRATES Online courses typically are scheduled into the regular school day of their local schools; i.e., students go to a computer lab or other school location with a computer during a set period during the day to work on the online course.
The course is taught by an online teacher who interacts personally with students via the numerous online course tools of the course management system, Moodle which include a course website, discussion forums, email, online chat tools, links to other web-based resources or by phone. Your online teacher is most often a teacher from one of the school partners in the SOCRATES Online network.The courses are asynchronous, which means you can access them at any time during the day or night. The courses also allow a certain amount of self-pacing, so you can complete requirements as quickly as you would like within certain assignment time periods. Also teachers may direct you to participate in group work with other students during specific weeks of the semester.
Coordinate Online Class Registration with your School
Since SOCRATES Online is a supplemental online learning program, you can register for one online class or several—up to 50% of your academic schedule per semester. The registration process follows several steps noted below:
Review considerations for enrolling in online learning. Carefully think about making the commitment to enroll in an online learning course by reviewing our expectations for online learning, parental or guardian support and technical requirements. (The Student and Family Handbook covers some of this information; a PDF download is available at right.)
Meet with your high school counselor or district online learning site facilitator to discuss your academic schedule. To enroll in supplemental online learning and register for an online course, you will need to have an available slot in your local class schedule. If you do not have an assigned study hall, then you will need to identify an equivalent course at your school that you can drop. For example, if you are looking for an elective online course, you will need to drop an elective course from your local school schedule. The online course should apply to your plan for graduation. The online registration process requires your school counselor to verify that the online course will apply to your academic plan and meet your local school’s graduation requirements
Register for classes, if you've selected your courses from the list available online, met with your counselor and discussed online class enrollment with your parents, you are ready to request your classes at the "Enroll Now" link.
Changing your registration is possible by contacting your school counselor, the SOCRATES Enrollment Specialist or by requesting to "drop a course" through the GENIUS registration system. Be sure to consult with your local school counselor since you will need to re-enroll in a local class if you withdraw from your online class.
Transfer in of the online class credits will be assured if you've coordinated your local classes and your online classes with the help of your local school counselor so that they meet your local school graduation requirements and your individual plan for graduation. The SOCRATES Online program will provide a transcript to your school upon completion of your online class(es) at the end of the term.
Get started right away
Students who immediately engage with their courses and online teachers are far more likely to succeed. Once you have logged in, your online teacher will post instructions on how to begin and what to get started on. Don’t procrastinate! Ask questions!
Work every day
Online courses require more self-discipline than traditional courses because there is no teacher reminding you to be attentive when you are “in class”. Successful students log into courses every day, follow instructions, and initiate communication with online teachers. Remember that the technology records your daily “attendance” in the course—and what work you were doing. Are you ready to be a successful online student? Check out the tips for success and you are also encouraged to take a self-evaluation for potential online learning students.
Technical Guidelines
Review the technical guidelines page to ensure you have what you'll need.
Questions?
Contact the SOCRATES Online Learning Office if you have questions about your enrollment in online learning.
Copyright 2011 SOCRATES Online
