Expand Your Child’s Horizons: Course Choice & Electives in Online Education

February 2024

In today’s ever-changing world, having a diverse set of skills is super valuable. That’s why it is essential to have a broad variety of courses tailored to your children’s interests and aspirations. When your school program cannot or does not offer the courses you’re looking for, online courses can help expand your options.

This article shares the benefits of accredited online courses (whether your children are enrolled in a brick-and-mortar school or learning at home) and provides guidelines for exploring and enrolling in online courses. Plus, download the FREE Course Choice Planner so you and your children can think through goals, requirements, and interests and make a plan to take courses that align with these.

Course Choice

Today’s families are increasingly seeking course choice: access to a broad variety of courses. This movement is revolutionizing traditional education models by emphasizing the importance of electives to enrich students’ educational experiences and help them chart their future paths.

Whether you’re currently enrolled in a school or are learning in a home-based environment, you may face limitations when it comes to available courses. For students in schools, parameters like physical space and staff make some wished-for courses unavailable to students. For homeschoolers, finding or planning a wide variety of high-quality courses and electives takes time and effort. Online programs can offer your family access to an extensive online catalog, delivered on a virtual platform, with a wide range of courses.

Benefits of Online Courses

When looking for more or different classes beyond what your brick-and-mortar school or current education settings can offer, a virtual education provider offers breadth and depth of courses. A virtual school can offer both core classes (like required math and science courses) plus electives and harder to find classes (like coding, fine arts, and world languages). They even include Advanced Placement (AP®) and credit recovery classes.

Online learning broadens your children’s educational opportunities. Not only do they benefit from a wide selection of courses, but they’re better prepared for their future. If your child plans to attend college, they’ll benefit from taking an online class because colleges and universities are increasingly offering online and blended courses. It is sometimes required that college students take at least one online class. In addition, online learning is often used in job training and professional development. Taking a virtual course can support your children with post-secondary readiness.

The Power of Electives

Electives offer an opportunity to explore subjects beyond the core curriculum, allowing your children to delve into areas of personal passion or curiosity. This exploration not only fosters intellectual growth but also helps them uncover their interests, strengths, and potential career paths. Whether your children are interested in coding, ready to master a new language, or want to explore the vast array of career options out there, electives are here to help make it happen!

In an ever-evolving job market where specialized skills are highly valued, the significance of electives cannot be overstated. Exposure to diverse subjects equips your children with a versatile skill set, enabling them to adapt to changing demands in the workforce. Moreover, electives provide a glimpse into various industries and fields of study, empowering your children to make informed decisions about their academic and professional pursuits.

Examples of Online Courses and Electives

By embracing course choice and offering a wide range of electives, Catholic Virtual meets the diverse needs of their students and prepares them for success in an increasingly competitive world. From technology-focused classes to career exploration and preparation courses, the possibilities are endless.

Explore the transformative power of electives in helping your children reach their potential. Our Course Choice Planner helps you and your child consider their goals and select courses that will expand their education and open their eyes to new career possibilities.

Here are just some of the options available through Catholic Virtual in elementary, middle, and high school. To see more, browse the entire catalog.

Technology-Focused Classes

Understanding technology is essential for our children’s future. Creating and keeping up with technology courses is a challenge; the curriculum needs to adapt quickly and often to adjust for innovations. Expertise is essential, and teachers need to be able to impart understanding at a technical and big picture level. From computer basics and web design to the history of gaming and coding in Python, Scratch, Minecraft, and Roblox, you’ll find a wide array of courses that your children will be eager to learn.

Virtual and Augmented Reality

Recent advances in technology have allowed augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) systems to become extremely sophisticated and realistic. Virtual and Augmented Reality Applications introduces the technologies that underpin AR/VR systems. Walk through five applications of AR/VR and how they will change and impact numerous aspects of our lives and the economy. Learn about and discuss the risks and side effects of these systems on health, privacy, and ethical implications.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence in the World is an introductory course that will guide students through the concepts, tools, and building blocks of artificial intelligence. This course provides a broad overview of how AI is used in decision-making and problem-solving worldwide. Learn how ethics impacts AI and explore the various parts of AI with hands-on activities through the use of chatbots and other exciting interactives.

Coding

Lua is a programming language used in the popular Roblox game. In Roblox Worlds Coding with Lua, use Roblox studio to create obstacle courses and learn how to write custom Lua scripts. Lua programming includes loops, variables, if statements, and other logic statements. Create scripts like leaderboard, death script, custom images, AI, and much more.

Explore all we have to offer in our catalog. For tech courses, browse “Electives.”

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World Languages

Languages are another example of courses that can be difficult to offer in a traditional school or home-based learning setting. The following turn-key world language courses are some of the many offerings through Catholic Virtual: American Sign Language, Chinese, French, German, Latin, and Spanish. Teachers offer virtual instruction in these languages to students online.

American Sign Language

Jump start an American Sign Language journey by learning the basics of this visual language and exploring the Deaf culture with American Sign Language I. Students broaden their concept of communication through connections and comparisons to their own culture and community.

They can continue with American Sign Language II, which reinforces the fundamental skills acquired. Students further advance in signing by enhancing their interpretive and communication abilities. They expand their understanding of communication and Deaf culture by comparing and contrasting their own cultural and communal experiences.

Chinese

In Chinese I and II, students immerse themselves in the beauty of the Chinese language and the richness of its diverse cultures. In the Chinese I course, students will learn beginning grammar and vocabulary skills to help build basic fluency and language proficiency. They explore the culture and apply what they learn through written practice, listening, and speaking exercises.

In Chinese II, further develop the communicative skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing of Mandarin Chinese at a more advanced level. Students are immersed in Chinese culture as virtual exchange students in China. Virtual excursions from one Chinese city to another expand their vocabulary, helping them learn to interact with others and use appropriate terms to communicate in a variety of everyday situations.

Explore all we have to offer in our catalog. For language courses, browse “World Languages.”

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Career Exploration and Preparation

In an ever-evolving job market where specialized skills are highly valued, the significance of

electives cannot be overstated. Exposure to diverse subjects will equip your children with a versatile skill set, enabling them to adapt to changing demands in the workforce. Moreover, electives provide a glimpse into various industries and fields of study, empowering your children to make informed decisions about their academic and professional pursuits.

Courses focused on careers demonstrate the variety of career possibilities within an industry and about opportunities available in the different fields. These courses build the required knowledge and skills needed to excel in careers. These courses also support your children in landing a dream job and becoming industry leaders. Some courses also offer preparation for certification.

Agriculture

The Agriscience Foundations course involves the scientific study of agriculture and its local and global impact. Review agricultural history, learn about scientific and research concepts that drive the field, animal, and plant systems, and the effects of agriculture on the environment. Specialized lab activities offer the hands-on practice needed to master the content.

Follow this course up with Agriscience I, II, and III to develop an understanding of some of the fundamental issues in agriscience: safety, environmental factors such as climate change and extreme weather conditions, plant and animal science, and food safety.

Construction

In Construction Fundamentals and Careers, get introduced to the evolving industry of construction. This course builds on standard concepts such as technical skills, project planning, and regulations. Learn about the variety of career possibilities within construction. Look to the future and analyze trends in green materials, energy efficiency, and technology to determine how these will impact the homes we build and live in.

Building Maintenance Technology is another construction-focused course that covers all aspects of the construction industry from health and safety to the tools that every construction professional needs in their collection. Learn basic construction math and how to apply it during design and building phases of projects plus specifics about carpentry, construction drawings, framing floor systems, framing walls, and framing roofs.

Education

Early Childhood Education I and II provide an overview of the expectations and roles of the early childhood educator as well as details about childhood development, health, nutrition, and guidance strategies. Within these courses and Teaching as a Profession, learn observational methods and the history of education in the United States, with a focus on early childhood and school-age programs. Learn how to implement Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), design physical, social, and temporal environments, and professionally conduct yourself in the education setting.

Check out more career-focused courses in the Catholic Virtual catalog. For career courses, browse “Electives.”

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Advanced Placement Courses

Advanced Placement (AP®) courses allow high school students to take college-level courses and earn college credit and placement. Catholic Virtual provides AP courses in every subject—English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Languages.

Art History

In AP® Art History, explore the history of art across the globe from prehistory to the present. Analyze works of art through observation, discussion, reading, and research. This course prepares students for the AP Art History exam.

Chemistry

In AP® Chemistry, the equivalent of an introductory college chemistry course, learn about the fundamental concepts of chemistry including structure and states of matter, intermolecular forces, and reactions. Do hands-on lab investigations and use chemical calculations to solve problems. This course prepares students for the AP Chemistry exam.

Check out more AP® courses in the Catholic Virtual catalog. Browse core subject areas for the relevant AP® courses.

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How to Enroll in Online Courses

Having a strategy to take a variety of courses is essential for today’s children. Consider your child’s unique needs and wish-lists, and then establish a plan that you can enact in phases to best achieve your goals. Perhaps you will begin by registering for a few online courses or electives that are essential for your child and then add more electives and courses as time goes on.

Depending on your child’s education setting, you may need to get approval for online courses. Schools and universities will need to know that online courses are completed through an accredited partner and accept completed courses. If applicable, be ready to clearly communicate with stakeholders, including your school or district, about your needs and plans.

Whether your children are diving headfirst into the world of coding, immersing themselves in a new language, or exploring the vast array of career options out there, electives are their ticket to a richer, more fulfilling educational experience. Embrace the power of course choice to meet your children’s learning needs, explore their passions, and prepare for the exciting journey ahead. With a variety of course options and exciting electives, they’ll be on the road towards a future filled with endless possibilities. Start the adventure today!

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