Both young men agreed that the hardest part of on-line classes is making themselves get on the computer and work when no one is making them do so. Joshua, however, has taken advantage of the opportunity to work at his own pace and has completed more than half of the semester course in approximately five weeks. Florida Online High School began in 1997 serving two districts, Orange County and Alachua County. All teachers have pagers to make communication with students easier. Students may receive materials such as videos or CDs, which must be returned when the course is completed.
Some courses require community activities as well as on-line assignments.
For example, Life Management Skills may require that a student participate in a local Red Cross class to supplement on-line activities. Starting this year, final examination of students progress takes several forms. Students may complete on-line software projects or answer teacher assessment questions on the telephone. Students present their research, along with a detailed log of their research activities. Algebra teacher Cheryl Woods estimates that about 50 percent of her time is spent communicating with students by e-mail, and 20 percent involves talking to students on the telephone.