“Let me tell you—my mom definitely had no factor in me taking online bio and definitely no factor in me finishing a year of bio in two months,” junior Raj Duraisamy, who took online biology freshman year, said. In recent years, online classes have spiked in popularity as more students turn to them to take classes not offered at Liberty.
About 30 students take online classes each semester at Liberty; most of those classes are for languages not offered here, such as Chinese or German. For some students, these classes are during school hours, but others take them outside of school.
“Taking online classes allows me to work at my own pace. I can spend more time on concepts I find harder and spend less time on concepts I clearly understand,” sophomore Shanni Chou, who is taking Chinese 2, said. “I spend more time on what I need to and because I don’t have to wait for other students to learn, I can go at my own speed. I can also learn wherever I want to, like at home or school.”
With class selections coming up soon, many students at Liberty may be wondering how they can sign up. However, Liberty’s registrar Christy Bressler recommends making sure the class fits for each student specifically.
“If students are interested in taking online classes they need to talk to their counselor about what classes they specifically need. Students need to justify needing that class and then justify being able to take it online. There has to be a good reason,” Bressler said.
Bressler also warns that students should also be “self-sufficient and able to work on their own before taking an online class.” Typically, when students have questions they ask their teachers for clarification. Because many online classes are not also taught at Liberty, it can be hard to ask a teacher for help explaining a topic. However, the advantages of working at your own pace and taking classes not offered at Liberty prove convincing too many students each year.