Online learning is not a new concept and virtual study has become a more popular option for secondary school students over the past several years. According to a 2018 study published by the Canadian Digital Learning and Research Association, e-learning gives more students access to post-secondary education than ever before, and more and more universities see online learning as integral to their future academic plans.

While e-learning has been steadily gaining traction in pedagogical circles, the Canadian government’s recent decision to close schools through much of the spring, e-learning has quickly emerged as the best way to keep high school students on the scholastic fast track.

When deciding how best to continue your student’s education online, experience and quality are undoubtedly important. Ontario Virtual School has been a recognized leader in e-learning for more than a decade, providing high school OSSD credits through online study to students in Ontario, Canada, and around the world.

Our self-paced and teacher-supported interactive lessons, caring-based guidance department, and our collection of additional learning resources make us the ideal choice for your student’s e-learning needs.

Interactive Lessons Keep Students Engaged
As parents, you want to know your kids are being challenged and engaged. Our online, interactive, fully narrated lessons make learning a fun and rewarding experience. All of our learning modules are designed by OCT-certified teachers and the content is constantly revised to keep lessons interesting and relevant.

Each lesson is teacher-supported, and students can reach out to connect with their instructor whenever they need help or clarification. With daily email response within 24 hours and weekly teacher office hours, we guarantee your learner will have access to the support they need, when they need it. Contact us anytime to learn more about our curriculum, or better yet, browse our list of sample lessons to see for yourself!

Catering to Diverse Learning Needs
Teacher-supported e-learning means that content can be accessed, discussed, consumed, shared, and evaluated on an individual basis. Different learners have different needs and will grasp concepts at varying speeds. At OVS, we understand this, which is why we allow students to review concepts as many times as they need to understand it fully, without the stigma of going in for ‘extra help’. At OVS, our teachers are constantly assessing and identifying learners’ strengths and weaknesses throughout each course to determine whether or not they need additional support.

Our self-paced curriculum is approved by the Ministry of Education of Ontario and allows students to tackle course credits as quickly or slowly as their needs dictate. With e-learning, lessons are delivered quickly but are never rushed. Students can choose to move quickly through areas they are already familiar with, or slow down to concentrate on concepts that give them the most trouble.

The Power of Self-Regulation
At OVS, we believe that teacher-supported, self-regulated learning empowers students to take charge of their own educational potential. Regardless of whether they’re studying math, science, or history, they are also learning important soft skills, such as time-management and self-discipline.

Our students are responsible for submitting homework, classwork, and assignments according to agreed-upon timelines. They are responsible for devising and following processes for completing their work and tasks, while establishing priorities and managing their time in order to achieve their goals. During group assignments, we encourage our students to respond positively to the values, opinions, and ideas of others.

Self-regulated learning also allows students to allocate their time and energy as they see fit, rather than structuring their studies according to textbooks or classroom expectations.

Dedicated Support Staff
Students should be empowered to act independently, but they should always know that help is there if and when they need it. Caring is a core part of OVS’s philosophy. As such, we have put great care into building a strong Student Success Team, comprised of a talented group of administrators and accredited guidance counsellors dedicated to providing a supportive and compassionate learning environment for our students.

While e-learning helps reduce a number of stresses associated with traditional day schools, such as classroom anxiety, bullying, and peer pressure, students in any environment will inevitably encounter stressful situations. This is why our staff are continually training to support and nurture students through the modern, at times tumultuous, learning landscape.

Better Tools Make for Better Students
Students enrolled at OVS enjoy a robust collection of tools to help them during their studies. For example, students studying STEM courses have access to Gizmo’s impressive suite of interactive learning tools.

Gizmos are engaging and deeply interactive science and math simulations for students in grades 3 through 12. Over 400 inquiry-based simulations help bring new learning experiences to our students. We have found these to be a highly-effective method of building and fostering conceptual understanding in an online environment.

Gizmos also help our teaching staff stay on top of their subjects thanks to high-level workshops, which help drive instructional change through pacing guide alignments, lesson modeling and more.

Added Learning Experiences
At OVS, we aren’t just committed to providing the best learning environment for students who have already enrolled; we are also committed to helping all students during challenging times of transition. As such, we offer a number of free online courses for grade 8 students, all of which were specially designed by our OCT-certified developers to help them prepare for their transition to high school learning.

Our multi-disciplinary and interactive programs, including HS101, follow a holistic approach with modules covering a range of key skillsets. This set of free lessons delivers preparatory learning through teacher-led video lessons, interactive multi-media elements and varied assessments and evaluations. As with our paid courses, these free courses are all supported by OCT-certified teachers, who are available for individual student support on a daily basis.

In this modern environment, students and parents alike seek opportunities not only to learn, but to learn effectively and efficiently. Register today to take advantage of our Ministry-approved, engaging lessons, which will give you the flexibility to plan your education around your day-to-day life, not the other way around.