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Virtual Classrooms: Expanding Options Or Shortcutting Education?

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Jesse Perez transmits online a graduation ceremony for the virtual Kaplan College Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP)
Jesse Perez transmits online a graduation ceremony for the virtual Kaplan College Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP)

About 200,000 K-12 students in the U.S. attend school every day from the comfort of their homes, while traveling  or maybe from the sporting complexes where they train as athletes.  That's possible because of virtual schools, where everything students are taught happens online.

Public school districts and charter schools in many states now operate virtual academies. And they say students enroll for any number of social, health and professional reasons. But are the students missing out on important social aspects of the learning process? We speak with Isaiah Greene, a student enrolled in Ohio Virtual Academy, and Ron Packard, founder of K12, a company that produces online education curricula.

This segment aired on March 31, 2011.

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