Homeschooling vs. Virtual Learning: Which Is Best for Your Child

Between new normals and new technology, children’s education has evolved to offer more options than ever before. Homeschooling has long been an alternative to public schooling, but educational technology is opening up new options for education. With virtual learning, children can attend classes, and learn from teachers anywhere in the world. They can even be a part of multiple educational communities online to supplement a homeschooling curriculum.

Read on for the key differences between remote learning vs. homeschooling to help you decide which option is better for you and your child.

Having a Teacher vs. Being the Teacher

One of the biggest differences between homeschooling and virtual learning is who is actually developing and teaching the lessons. If you choose to homeschool your child, you or your spouse are typically the teachers. This means you will be responsible for choosing or designing the curriculum yourself, and likely delivering the lessons. 

Homeschooling provides the greatest level of customization over how and what your child learns. It offers a lot of freedom in terms of pacing, schedule, and learning material, but also creates a lot of work and responsibility. How to best help your kids learn will be entirely up to you.

If you choose virtual learning for your child, an online teacher will typically create and deliver the lessons. The teacher will oversee and manage your child’s learning experience. In this scenario, your choice for what your child learns extends as far as the curriculums they offer.

While both are traditionally done at home, homeschooling uses whatever teaching technique the parent chooses. Remote learning is done by either connecting to a live class online instructed by the teacher or by using a software program with videos and other learning tools.

Connections to Public or Private School

Compared with homeschooling, virtual learning is more likely to be affiliated with a public or private school. There are even virtual learning opportunities associated with traditional brick-and-mortar schools where they offer virtual learning as an option. 

in these instances where the program is connected to a school, your child is learning the same lessons as students that attend school in person, just from home. This means your child will be a part of a standardized curriculum and standardized testing. Neither of these are factors when being homeschooled.

There are also independent educational institutes that are not affiliated with public or private schools that offer online, virtual learning programs. 

Why Choose Homeschooling for Your Child

Homeschooling is a shared experience between parents and children that creates bonding opportunities as you will spend much more time with your child. It’s also a great choice for parents that want control over what and how a child is learning. If you feel like your child needs to learn at a slower or faster pace than is usually taught, homeschooling provides a viable education alternative.

It’s often chosen when parents are unsatisfied with the quality of education in the public school system. Certain subjects that you don’t agree with being taught in school can be avoided when homeschooling. 

Homeschooling provides individualized instruction that can be more interest-driven based on your child’s particular preferences to make learning fun. There is overall far more flexibility allowed with homeschooling compared to any other education type.

Homeschooling Factors to Consider 

There are many considerations to make when choosing to homeschool. First, you have to make sure you have the time to do it. Overseeing your child’s education is a major commitment and may be difficult if you have a demanding work schedule. Teaching your child and developing coursework can be a full-time job in itself.

On top of a time commitment, homeschooling is a financial commitment. You’ll be responsible for purchasing any materials that are necessary to teach your lessons. You also have to consider the laws and standards in your state regarding homeschooling. Versus traditional learning or virtual learning, homeschooling presents additional challenges to verify the value of your child’s coursework. A virtual school may provide a high school diploma, but your children will likely need to test for a High School Equivalency Certificate or GED if you choose to homeschool.

Why Choose Virtual Learning for Your Child

Virtual learning is a great option for empowering children to learn online from anywhere in the world, as well as to experiment with covering more diverse subjects. You may even choose classes from several different online schools to comprise their own unique curriculum.

Virtual learning will have different time or financial requirements than homeschooling. You can still help your child if they are struggling with a subject, but you do not have the same time commitments as being the primary educator. Remote learning provided through public schools may even be free.

If you feel more comfortable with a licensed teacher with education training teaching your kids and not having the pressure of creating your own lesson plans, consider virtual learning.

Virtual Learning Factors to Consider 

Depending on your approach, there can be a big difference in remote learning vs. homeschooling. When learning virtually, your child will likely have to stay on schedule with the class and be required to complete the same standardized testing.

If you are a parent that likes to limit screen time, also consider that all of your child’s education will be taking place by using technology, whereas homeschooling has the flexibility to include far less screen time.