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Online schools are the new normal, and they have proven to be an efficient way to learn. Its growing popularity is attributed to the convenience it adds to one’s life, making education accessible to anyone with internet access. And the increasing popularity of this online learning fervor has also brought about a tremendous number of K12 online learning schools.
So, if you’re confused about which school to choose for your child’s online education, we’ve got your back. This article compiles a list of top-performing online schools for K12 students, with their unique features and pricing mentioned for your reference.
Best K12 Online Schools for Your Juniors
Let’s see what are the top K12 online schools for your little ones based on your preferences, courses offered, and pricing:
Blackboard Learn
Blackboard Learn is an online platform that helps instructors offer compelling educational experiences. The platform enables students to pursue online or hybrid learning, while instructors are free to employ the most significant online e-learning platforms and best-practice teaching methods. More significantly, the platform is an all-in-one solution that streamlines processes for both students and educators.
Key Features:
- The Base Navigation allows simple access to essential course information, while the Activity Stream highlights crucial issues for attention.
- Configurable indicator of performance with many essential metrics.
- Internal calendar and two-way synchronization with external calendars
- Employ grading functions from the dashboard.
- Tools for plagiarism prevention and in-line grading
- Supported: SCORM, Tin Can API/xAPI, AICC, and IMS LTI.
Pricing:
Visit the site and request a demo for a quote.
Visit Blackboard Learn.
edX
edX is a mission-driven provider of massive open online courses (MOOCs), collaborating with prominent institutions and businesses across the world, including Harvard, Berkeley, and IBM, to give great online courses to students all over the world.
You can take courses in architecture, art and humanities, sciences, languages, medicine, business, and economics, just as you would at a university. Furthermore, edX offers over 3,000 courses, including free ones, divided into 300 programs.
Key Features:
- Interactive features like virtual labs and multimedia resources.
- Personalized learning through adaptive technology.
- Courses are led by certified educators and renowned institutions.
- Flexible learning options accommodate both self-paced and structured approaches.
- Certificates of completion from widely regarded approved higher education institutes.
- An essentially free portal that allows you to audit classes.
- Financial aid alternatives are available for low-income students.
Pricing:
Paid courses ranging from $50 to $300.
Visit edX.
Coursera
Coursera is an e-learning network with over 100 million members devoted to providing high-quality online training courses globally. It partners with major colleges and corporations to provide students with credentials from famous institutions when they enroll in its paid courses.
With peer-reviewed assignments, homework activities, and community discussion forums, Coursera provides individual courses, specializations, certificates, and degree programs (for bachelor’s and master’s degrees) supported by on-demand video lectures. Coursera Plus provides students unrestricted access to 90 percent of the Coursera catalog’s learning programs with an annual or monthly subscription.
Features:
- Provides a range of learning opportunities and activities.
- Provides credentials from approved universities.
- Offers high-quality teaching resources.
- Courses are free if you are not aiming for certification.
Pricing:
Coursera provides free courses, subscriptions, and one-time charges based on the course or program.
Visit Coursera.
Khan Academy
The Khan Academy is an educational platform that provides students with a free, high-quality education. Khan Academy, backed by some of the world’s top foundations and organizations, has taken the world by storm since its relatively recent launch. It contains a large number of tutorial videos covering a variety of areas, with mathematics being the most thorough.
This premier K12 online school organizes information by grade level, allowing you to easily target pupils with certain ability levels. The platform also has extensive analytical functions that will enable you to track pupil development.
Features:
- A comprehensive library of K12 courses covering topics spanning the humanities, science, and math.
- Instructional videos, practice exercises, and interactive challenges for engaging learning experiences.
- Personalized learning paths adapt to students’ skill levels and progress, offering targeted support and reinforcement.
Pricing:
Khan Academy offers free, accessible learning resources, empowering learners to take their time and learn whenever and wherever they want.
Visit Khan Academy.
Udemy
Udemy is a prominent online learning network with over 2 million students globally and 13,000 courses. It allows educators to create complex classrooms that include video lectures, PowerPoint presentations, screencast videos, documents, audio files, text, and mashup videos.
The platform allows teachers to develop courses that they may give for free or for a charge. If there is a cost, Udemy keeps a share of it. This platform seems entirely professional and has a lot to offer.
Features:
- Udemy offers a wide range of K12 courses across various subjects.
- Students access video lectures, quizzes, and assignments for interactive learning.
- Self-paced courses let students complete their work at their own pace.
- Expert instructors deliver engaging content, ensuring high-quality instruction.
- Udemy provides affordable courses, making quality education accessible to all.
Pricing:
Each Udemy course is marketed individually, with prices ranging from $10 to $200.
Visit Udemy.
Google Classroom
While Google Classroom was designed for use in a variety of industries, it is also a popular choice for online learning in K-12 educational systems in the United States and on college campuses. Google Classroom includes Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Email, and Google Calendar, all of which work together to manage communication between instructors and students. Google Classroom is an online learning platform in the United States that provides full-time online teaching to K-12 pupils.
Features:
- Enables the creation, sharing, and marking of assignments.
- Ease of use and accessibility on all platforms
- Collaboration with real-time interaction among students and teachers
Pricing:
Ranging from free to $5.
Schoology
Schoology is an educational platform designed for K–12 classrooms, higher education establishments, and businesses alike. It allows you to manage your classroom, create and submit assignments, participate in interactive conversations, administer tests, and collaborate with your peers.
Features:
- A safe online learning environment where individuals may connect to learn.
- Teachers can develop, manage, and distribute information and resources.
- Students receive those class tasks and may access the books and guides chosen by their teacher.
- Easily engage and collaborate with peers, as well as work on learning tasks at their speed.
Pricing:
Schoology Enterprise: $10/student/month
Visit Schoology.
The Bottom Line: Which Is the Best Pick for You?
Finding the ideal K12 online school for your kid doesn’t have to be a herculean task. You just need to have a checklist of your needs and the kind of control you want for your child’s education. Once you’ve figured out what you need, you can sort out the list of top online learning platforms and match them to meet your needs adequately.
If you’re looking for platforms to streamline your classes with your students, you can choose Google Classroom or Schoology. However, Coursera and Udemy are the perfect choices for a better learning and course experience. Once you’ve found the kind of e-school you want, visit their website and conduct proper due diligence before committing to it.
FAQs
Is there a free online school in Illinois?
Students in Illinois are able to select from several K–12 tuition-free online public school options.
Is K12 free in New Jersey?
Most families in New Jersey (81.6% of all K–12 students) select traditional public schools, which are run by school districts, provided with federal, state, and local government funding, and are free to attend for all students.
Is there a free online school in Texas?
There is no enrollment fee for TXVSN online schools, which are public free schools.
Is online school free in Nevada?
For kids who live in Nevada, Nevada Connections Academy is a free public online school.
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