Giving Compass' Take:

• In this Education Dive post, one New Jersey high school teacher explains how teaching math courses online improved her skills and taught students to take more control of their learning.

• In what ways can nonprofits expand the offerings of online instruction? What other benefits would it have in the K-12 space?

• Here's how online instructors can get students to talk to each other.

Designed to mimic an introductory college class, Advanced Placement (AP) courses and their exams are challenging for students. They also present unique hurdles for teachers who must balance curriculum with exam content — the latter of which is never easy to predict. Even the most experienced teachers grapple with presenting an extremely complex subject in a way that engages and resonates with students.

When my 2,100-student district began using The Virtual High School (VHS) a few years ago — starting with 25 students who wanted to enroll in AP courses that we weren’t offering — my whole world changed. I was not only able to offer an expanded selection of courses to my students, but I also become an online instructor (and later, the developer of three online math courses).

Along the way, I uncovered these eight reasons why every teacher should consider teaching at least one online course during their tenures.

  1. Get an up-close-and-personal look at online courses.
  2. Students become more self-reliant.
  3. Teaching quality improves.
  4. It can be done from anywhere.
  5. It enhances classroom connections.
  6. It gives students critical time management skills.
  7. I learned to love summer school.
  8. Students want to stick with it.

Read the full article about why teachers should try online instruction by Sue Ekimoglou at Education Dive.