Today's distance learning, however, isn't limited to snail-mail. It includes technology ranging from CD-ROMs to the Internet to satellite dishes. Distance education also is being used for one-time exchanges between schools, virtual field trips or electronic visits with experts. Distance education is enabling school districts to offer a variety of advanced courses never before affordable or available. The Florida High School, an online school funded by the state, is working with a Texas group to develop an online continuous education system for migrants who work in Texas part of the year and in Florida the rest of the year.
Kids are very mobile.
Keith Oelrich, president and chief executive officer of Apex Learning, which is based in Seattle and offers online Advanced Placement courses, has seen his business multiply. In its first full year during the last school year, Apex had 1,000 students enrolled in five courses and 10,000 students in AP review courses. The company also is working with states to develop their own virtual high schools. As many as a dozen such partnerships are in the works, including a recently announced deal with Michigan. That's important, because AP courses can affect a student's chances of admission to some colleges.