More Beaufort County students could be taking courses from the comfort of their bedrooms or kitchen tables next year.
The district plans to increase the number of courses it offers online from three to 11.
Cory Tressler, the district’s director of virtual learning, said that expanding the offerings will give students a better opportunity to take high-level courses. Often these courses are not offered at each high school — too few students are interested in taking them to justify the cost or there’s no teacher available for them.
Currently, keyboarding, advanced placement physics and advanced placement calculus BC are offered. About 150 students are enrolled in the courses. Keyboarding is the most popular.
Next year, AP courses in world history, environmental science, Spanish and French will be added. Classes in creative writing, art history and contemporary music also are planned.
Teachers of each virtual course record their lectures and notes and post them to Moodlerooms, an online space where students can watch the videos, submit assignments and interact with the teacher.
Bluffton High School teacher Kevin Sandusky, who teaches the AP physics course, said teaching virtually can be challenging. Physics is visual, hands-on subject, he said, and doesn’t lend itself to teaching via computer.
He also realized how much he was energized by being in front of his pupils.
“I can’t teach without an audience,” he said. “I would go for about five minutes and then get tongue-tied. And I’ve been teaching for 15 years.”
Only practice has made him better, he said.
