REVIEW OF Ontario Virtual School BY student, R Wang

(5) Student Experience

I really enjoyed my experience with Ontario Virtual School. One of the aspects I appreciated the most was the self-paced learning model it offers. I greatly benefit from this kind of structure because it allows me to learn at my own speed, giving me as much time as I need to fully understand a concept or work through a unit summative until I am satisfied with my work, without having to spend hours every day. The lessons within each unit are thoughtfully organized, clearly structured, and help reinforce previous content while introducing new ideas. Additionally, the unit summatives are creative and use a variety of formats, such as writing a story, creating a poem, multimedia presentations, and audio presentations. This method of assessing student understanding was engaging and enjoyable to me.

(5) School Leadership

Since OVS is a virtual school, I am only familiar with my teacher, whom I respect very much. She always replies promptly whenever I reach out to her through email, often responding within a day. Her answers are always clear and helpful in guiding me through any confusion I might have. In addition, in the few times I have reached out to the OVS help desk, they have always been approachable and ready to assist me with technical or course-related problems.

(5) Teaching

I think that the teachers at Ontario Virtual School have a reasonable level of expectations for the students' efforts. They don’t ask too much or too little, but the right amount to make the student feel challenged while not being overwhelmed. I feel that I understand what teachers expect of me, especially because the instructions for assignments and summatives are clearly outlined, and there is always a rubric to guide my work. When teachers at OVS envision success, I believe they imagine students being self-motivated, responsible learners who take initiative to experience all that a virtual course can offer. I think success as an OVS student means not only high grades, but being able to understand the material and being willing to put forth your best effort.

(5) Academics

I think the work at Ontario Virtual School is just right, because it challenges me enough to stay engaged without feeling overwhelmed. The lessons are thoughtfully designed, where each lesson provides me with everything I need to know to understand a topic. By the end of a unit, I am confident in my understanding of the topic and have practiced applying my knowledge. I also appreciate that the assessments allow me to demonstrate what I’ve learned in different ways, such as a verbal presentation and a test. I do believe that what I’m learning will be useful later in life. Alongside the course content, I am developing skills such as time management, critical thinking, writing, and independent learning, which are all valuable life skills. The content itself is also very relevant for my future studies.

(5) School Life

OVS is an online school, and so, I can't give them a physical tour of the school.

(5) Admissions

The admissions process at Ontario Virtual School was very straightforward. You only have to search for your course on their website and complete the necessary information, and payment. There was no stress as there was no application process. The only thing required is a prerequisite course, if the course you are registering for has one. Once registration is complete, the platform is very easy to navigate and the course can be accessed promptly, which allows me to start learning right away.