Exploring the Best Online Schools in South Africa

Online learning is the next big thing, it is the now big thing.

Donna J. Abernathy

With more and more South African parents deliberately choosing the online learning route for their children we are beginning to realise that academic excellence does not necessarily equate to attending a physical brick-and-mortar classroom anymore. With online live sessions with the teacher offering interactive and hands-on learning experiences, the child's need for interaction and real-time learning is also catered to.

Parents of this decade believe that quality education does not only come from physical school classrooms anymore, and many online schools are proving that they can offer their children a high standard of education without being constrained by any physical boundaries. Since we explored more about digital learning and we've unpacked AI usage in South African education, we need to see what options are available in terms of home schooling and online schooling for South African children. We will also explore some of the challenges linked to online learning.

Looking at Online Schools in South Africa

The number of virtual classrooms has indeed grown since 2010, as parents have realised how convenient the smaller virtual classrooms are. Parents, as well as children, enjoy the flexibility offered by the virtual learning option. With online schooling, personalisation is advocated as parents can choose between online schools where live teacher-led lessons occur regularly, or schools for older learners that are self-paced, allowing learners to watch learning videos at their own time and convenience. Online education is providing more attractive learning methods, such as flipped learning and blended learning. However, there are a few disadvantages to online learning as well.

Many online schools offer the option of live, real-time lessons that are led by experienced and qualified teachers.

With the option of pursuing the IEB curriculum, the British International Curriculum, or the CAPS curriculum that is followed by South African schools, online schools are providing parents with globally accredited curriculum options for their children that were not available in South Africa before.

The online school, Wingu Academy, even offers the Oxford International Curriculum and the international curriculum, Pearson Edexcel.

Benefits of Online and Home Schooling Models in South Africa

If not online, parents are opting to follow a curriculum like the Impak Curriculum that has been created for students who study from a homeschool or at home. For students, homeschooling offers multiple benefits as opposed to the option of learning in a traditional classroom and having to travel to school. Parents tend to agree that homeschooling is a far better option in terms of:

Reasons for Opting for Online Schools in South Africa

While parents have their own reasons for choosing to homeschool their children or enrol them in an online school, there are a few common reasons that are often shared as to why parents and learners are feeling far more confident about these paths.

While more high school students are finding the online schooling route to be more satisfying, more parents are considering online schooling for their younger children as well. Some of the common reasons why parents prefer online schooling for their children are set out below.

1. For the Personalisation, Flexibility, and Self-paced Learning Offered

Students can study at their own time, rhythm, and pace, whilst having the opportunity to personalise their study schedule. Many online schools offer recordings of live lessons so students can rewatch these lessons to be reminded of concepts that they have not grasped in the first place.

Online live classes are tailored to cater to each child's unique personality. This option is especially vital for students who travel, have health needs, or need to supplement formal learning in some way or another.

2. Due to the Development of valuable 21st-century skills

Through online learning, important skills are fostered, including those of self-development, time management, and the development of digital skills. Digital literacy prepares students so that they can adequately meet the requirements of the 21st century. We are starting to realise how vital digital skills development is in a world that is keen on teaching coding and robotics to very young children.

3. Expanded Access

Where traditional space is limited, particularly in areas with school overcrowding, access is expanded with the online schooling option.

4. Ability to Choose Curriculum Options and Gain Global Curriculum Access

With online schooling, parents can choose a curriculum best suited to the future they wish to build for their child. Parents can rest assured that they are choosing high-quality education for their children that will benefit them in their educational journey later on.

Parents can even opt for international curriculum options and add on more subjects than those offered under the traditional school curriculum of South Africa. Plus, high school students can still acquire their national senior certificate when they matriculate via the online schooling option in South Africa.

Online school learners can access a curriculum aligned to international standards. With CambriLearn, South African students can gain access to an online school accredited by Cognia and Pearson Edexcel.

With these benefits and so many more, it makes sense why parents in South Africa are enrolling their children in online schools.

South African Examples of Online and Distance Learning Tools

Some well-known online schools in South Africa are:

Aside from traditional online schools, several online schooling platforms serve a variety of different needs and cater to children, even those in rural areas. These are listed below:

• CambriLearn: This is an online schooling option offering formal courses, assessments, and international accreditation.
• Vodacom e-School: This is a free, zero-rated online learning platform that is strongly aligned with CAPS and enables learners to access videos and practice interactive quizzes. Vodacom users are lucky enough to access this school for free without using any data.
• STEMulator: This is a digital STEM learning platform that is meant to support curriculum-aligned STEM content and is distributed via USB to schools in rural areas.
• WikiEducator: An open education community offering lessons and resources freely for curriculum support.

To dive further into the changes in teaching and learning methods, read our article on the use of artificial intelligence in schools.

Challenges to Online Schooling

Like with opting for a new way of learning, shifting to online platforms comes with a variety of challenges. Some challenges include:

Tips for Parents for Helping Students to Succeed

Online education is like a rising tide, it's going to lift all boats.

Anant Agarwal

Teachers and staff members who choose to work for online schools will tell you just how much time is being saved without having to travel to and from school every day. Teachers are also experiencing the benefits of teaching online. However, students are seriously benefiting too. With the announcement of the first 3D school in South Africa, it is clear that the sky is the limit when it comes to online schooling options that will be available in the years to come.

For parents who are still reluctant to introduce their younger children to digital devices, ensuring that children have digital access will become more important as we move towards education of the future. Parents can follow certain tips and tricks, should they wish to help learners succeed. A few practical strategies that parents can follow are:

• Setting firm routines: Parents will need to establish a designated workspace for their children so that they can stay focused. Parents will also need to intervene by scheduling study times to ensure that their kids are always on track.
• Pair online tools with offline tools: Along with online tools, parents need to ensure that learners gain a fair understanding of offline resources as well. Textbooks should be used to supplement learning.
• Assist with troubleshooting and technical issues: Parents may need to step in to ensure there is no Wi-Fi downtime and that all connectivity and technical issues are dealt with. No momentum should be lost in the learning journey.
• Tracking progress often: When parents resort to allowing their children to learn online, they should be prepared to check in with their children regularly, and they must offer to check their children's progress often.

Very soon, parents and learners will start to realise the immense benefit of personalised learning that all online schools in South Africa promise. Plus, with attractive school fees, online students can take extra online tuition classes with tutors across South Africa to gain that added private hands-on learning experience, with further reinforcement for all the subjects that they have learnt.

The Future of Online Schooling

While we cannot prescribe which online school in South Africa will be best for your child, we can suggest that you do your research on all the available online schools, and from there, see which school suits your child's learning preference, your budget, and which school seems most promising in terms of learning methods and approaches. Finding the right online school in South Africa can be tough at first, but looking at reviews left by other parents can surely serve as a guide on which online school comes highly recommended. There are some disadvantages when it comes to some online schools, but there are disadvantages to attending traditional school as well.

Just like when searching for the right traditional school for your child to attend, finding the right online school will take much research, time, and effort, but it may very well be worth the effort in the end, especially if you end up with a child who is learning happily and who feels fulfilled from the online lessons.