REVIEW OF Ontario Virtual School BY student, Jessica Zhang

(4.5) Student Experience

The user interface is great and very easy to navigate. I found it simple to track my progress since I could clearly see which lessons I had already watched and which ones still needed my attention. In addition, OVS provided a custom online calendar that allowed me to schedule and organize my coursework in a way that worked best for me. This personalized calendar made it incredibly easy to stay on track and manage my time efficiently. I really appreciated the flexibility and control it gave me over my learning experience. It was refreshingly different from traditional school systems. There was no pressure, just a supportive structure that let me move at my own pace. Knowing I was in control made the whole process a lot more enjoyable and empowering.

(5) School Leadership

My teacher would always respond to me very fast (I was enrolled in SCH4U, or Grade 12 Chemistry). It didn't take long for marked work to come back, and there was always valuable feedback/notes of improvement attached that I could reflect on. It's also worth noting that the instructor who taught all of my lessons was very clear in terms of the concepts - I understood all the lessons clearly, which is something that's not always guaranteed when it comes to day school.

(4.5) Teaching

I felt that communication was very clear regarding what was being expected of me when it came to assignments, tests, etc. On the written tests, reminders regarding test etiquette/communication are present before each section; this made it easy for me to be able to write my solutions in a way easiest to earn full marks. Furthermore, there is a doc in the resources section of my SCH4U class outlining how assignments, i.e., labs, should be formatted in order to earn full communication marks. I found that this resource being available helped me to succeed on assignments more frequently. Furthermore, the teacher leaves relevant criticism with every piece of work returned to the student; this helps me learn from my mistakes and succeed next time.

(4) Academics

Starting with the overwhelming positives, in all the lessons, the way the instructor (prerecorded) teaches is very, very easy to understand. In day school, for example, many people complain about organic chemistry being one of the hardest concepts to learn in Grade 12 chemistry; the clarity of the instructor in this school made organic chemistry very easy for me. However, on rare occasions, there will be material absent from the lessons that will be present on the tests. This material will only show up on the homework. I recommend that, in addition to the lesson recordings, students complete the given homework; if both of these are completed, then students will be able to pass tests with ease, as most of the test reviews the main concepts and are not overwhelmingly hard.

(4.5) School Life

As this is a virtual school, the most I can do in terms of a tour is to take the visitor through the user interface of the school. It is very easy to navigate between classes if a student is taking multiple classes through OVS. Everything necessary for student success is well-organized on the left-hand side of the screen; there are student resources, the dropbox, the gradebook, and, of course, the lessons. The lessons themselves are separated by units, so it's easy to navigate through them. Homework and supplementary resources are always attached under the lessons, so students don't need to go looking for them in the resources tab. Finally, there is a custom OVS textbook that covers all the units and lessons in the order you learn them - I found that it was very helpful.

(5) Admissions

In my experience, admissions with OVS was very easy. Signing up for the course was fast and convenient; all I had to do was make an account and pay the deposit, and I was officially enrolled in my chemistry class. My mark from OVS went to OUAC, and I found the process of connecting OUAC and my day school's guidance team to OVS was very easy. You are able to request a midterm and a final report card upon completing a certain number of units, which I used for my university applications.