REVIEW OF Ontario Virtual School BY student, Iris Tsui

(4.5) Student Experience

I loved the experience. I really enjoyed the self-paced lessons that allowed me to be flexible with my time. Learning with Ontario Virtual School allowed me to have a better work-life balance, and I could review the videos any time I wanted if I didn't understand something. The only thing that I wish I could change is that I hope the school's provided videos and website technology could be upgraded or improved so that if I had to skip some parts that I had already watched previously, it wouldn't lag. I think that it does cover most of the things that I would have to know, but sometimes maybe some fine details are not clearly stated enough. This means that although I have watched all of the orientation, I could have missed some things when they are simply stated verbally in a video before the lesson. But other than that, I think that it's very good.

The Best Part

I think that I felt like I could control how fast I wanted to learn and how much I wanted to learn in one day, so I really enjoyed setting my own pace.

Suggested Improvements

I hope that the school's website system can be improved a little bit so that if I had to fast-forward or skip past a part of a lesson that I have already watched, it wouldn't lag out.

Hidden Details

I think that some students might not know that the school requires an in-person proctor, and they might be confused about which submissions are mandatory and to what extent they have to submit certain work, such as homework.

(4.5) School Leadership

Yes, I think they're quite good. I only really talked to the support window as well as my own teacher, but even so, I think it's very nicely taught, and the whole system seemed quite smooth and reliable. I really like that my teacher replies to me very quickly and is patient when answering my questions. I think that the active response was what helped me feel like I'm supported and pushed me to do my best in this school.

(4.5) Teaching

Personally, I thought my teacher was really good. He is Mr. Joseph Dyck. I liked the notes that he would give me after I finished my tests, and when I asked about homework or other questions, he would respond to me in a lengthy manner. I think when he talked about success, it meant that I should pay more attention to the questions and do a bit more practice, referring to and preparing for the tests so I wouldn't slip up on small errors. I am pretty happy with my grade for the time that I spent with Ontario Virtual School, and I think his meaning of success was just trying to get me to reach the best grade that I could. I don't think that the teacher in any way expected too much or too little of me. I rather think that it's quite perfect.

(5) Academics

I thought that it was a little bit challenging, but in the best way possible. Doing homework, practice tests, and the real test itself taught me a lot of things. I really enjoyed the lessons and referring back to my notes. I really felt that I learned a lot in a very short time, and I was quite proud of myself. I think it will be useful for later in my life when I continue on to post-secondary school. I am really glad about the difficulty of this course because it perfectly balanced simple concepts with a bit more logical thinking, which led me to learn without being too frustrated with myself. Adding to the support from the staff and the videos, it really helped with my time spent in the school.

(4.5) School Life

I think, if I had to show someone my Ontario Virtual School screen and take them on a tour, I would first show them the main page where the lessons are and then slowly show the other tabs, such as the content, gradebook, etc. I really liked the lessons because they helped me create this self-paced environment. I liked that each chunk of the lesson was tabbed with names, so it's easy for me to refer back to the videos according to my notes if I had anything I didn't fully understand. It is also where I spent most of my time, so I'm the most familiar with that section. There, I could show the cool animations that we were taught, as well as interactive pages that allowed me to learn formulas better.

(5) Admissions

I thought that the admissions process was very easy, simple, and straightforward. All you have to do is choose the course that you need, make sure that all your prerequisites are in order, and double-check that you haven't completed the course at your other day school or through e-learning or whatever. After you submit it, you go out and purchase it. After that, you will have to wait a little bit, maybe a day or two, for the confirmation email, which will send the login details to your class and the course. Once that is completed, you will be free to start and go at whatever pace you like, so overall, it was very smooth.