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High school braves cyberspace New program offers courses this fall via World Wide Web By VICKI GUARINO Phoenix High School teacher Virginia Petitt is getting ready for a bunch of students she'll never see. Petitt is joining some 20 educators around the state in a fledgling school without walls, Oregon's CyberSchool. The high school on the Internet is offering 44 credit classes. The catalog includes courses geared toward meeting Oregon's basic competency standard, the Certificate of Initial Mastery, and electives and advanced placement classes that often aren't available in standard classrooms. For Spanish speakers, not only are specialized English classes offered in CyberSchool, but also a Spanish-language history of the Americas. The class, also offered in English, focuses on struggles for freedom, equality and economic opportunity across the continent. CyberSchool opened as a pilot project in the Eugene area a couple of years ago. Last year, enrollment opened statewide. Petitt's class -- understanding economics -- is one of several new classes this fall. Petitt just now is finishing the curriculum. Everything from text to tests are on the class Web site. Discussions and conferences with the teacher will take place in chat rooms and by e-mail. Even class registration is done online. Petitt sees CyberSchool as a valuable adjunct to traditional high school, especially in small schools where course offerings are limited. CyberSchool students can take Latin, human genetics, a study of the Holocaust or art history. Writing classes range from advanced composition to creative writing, technical writing and journalism. Mathematically inclined students can try statistics and advanced statistics, both of which offer college credit. Petitt got involved in CyberSchool as a result of her teaching background at Phoenix. For years, she taught economics and personal finance. More recently, she has taught computer skills. Her computer class is required for all Phoenix freshmen. Despite her background, Petitt has found that becoming an online teacher is a laborious project -- even before the students sign on. "It's a huge amount of work," she says. "I get up at 4 a.m. "I have to write and design the program, plus I have to know my subject matter. Even after 15 years of teaching, this is bigger that I thought it would be." She had to produce the full curriculum, from the registration form students will file so that she can get acquainted, to the tests and interactive "classroom" activities. Petitt found some activities ready-made on the Internet. For instance, students will study the relationship of supply, demand and price by tinkering with an interactive supply-demand graph that adjusts itself as the student changes the price. A virtual business project of baking and selling muffins, "Muffin Mogul," will be offered to Petitt's on-line students courtesy the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The Fed's Internet learning game was generated by a Clinton Administration order that all federal Web sites contain an activity for kids. Online students also will be referred to reference sites for research. Students no doubt will find their own reference sites as well. The best candidates for online high school are those who have strong reading skills and a wide streak of independence. Unfettered by a roomful of classmates, CyberSchool students can work at their own pace. Petitt expects the online school option will be popular because of the freedom in gives students. "High school students really like having control over their own lives," she says. To learn more about CyberSchool, visit the CyberSchool site: www.cyberschool.k12.or.us Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA