Australia has very little online secondary school providers but I feel there is a large market for it as so many students are disengaging with bricks and mortar leaning environments. I am interested in any suggestions you have that may help us skip some of the basic and not so basic problems people have overcome. In particular, help with the youngish cohort with online learning and engagement.
You need to identify those courses in which there might be demand but teachers have limited expertise (in the US they are the Advanced Placement or College level classes). These courses are also in demand for home schooled students because parents may not have the expertise. In the US there are providers who work with home school consortiums but also school districts to ensure the curriculum will meet local standards.
People at The School of Distance Education in Queensland, Charters Towers - is the one we deal with, would be the ones to discuss this with further.
I am involved with a small, rural school with 20 students. Six of our students do Japanese via an online course. It involves iconnect interactivity and individual work with an aide who is very motivated. Our students have done very well. Out of our 6 students, yr6 & yr7, doing Japanese, 5 have obtained As while the 6th obtained a B. These students are in middle school.
The School of Distance Education has also done very well in the year 12 results as well. Every student in Queensland can access one subject without cost through Distance Education to do a course. Some may not be done online though.
I feel that our students have done well because we provide a quite place for them to work, an individual computer and headphone with mic. We only have a small group of three each time and the aide is very motivated and knowledgeable. I feel that this has been a BIG reason for their success. Students need a hands on person to give them support and confidence .
Stanley's advice is useful. I have had dealings with BSDE, but not the folks in Charters Towers. South Australia has similar bodies.
Beyond that, I think the context of the courses makes a big difference in the advice I'd give. If you're aiming at students who are (for whatever reason) no longer part of mainstream schooling, then I'd begin to assume they will be working at home or in another place they can access the technology they need...and that there will not be support resources in their immediate environment...its a bit different than if they are doing online courses (a version of distance education) in a school. Thus, working on things that are self-paced and effectively 'independent study' might be a good choice...and there is lots of advice on that....BUT an ultimately more engaging model would be to use the technology to connect these students to others who can support them: other students, skilled teachers, support staff, authoritative resources, etc. In my opinion, emphasizing 'connection', esp between the student and other people, helps keep them engaged and persisting with what can be a lonely road of study out of school.
for interest, have a look at what they are doing at the Toowoomba Flexi School, which was started to address some of the concerns which underpin your question. Flexi has been incredibly successful and continues to evolve. Well worth a look. https://toowoombaflex.eq.edu.au/Pages/default.aspx
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