COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- For some, school can be boring, long and tedious. However, a growing number of students are ditching the traditional school setting to learn through online schools - a method that comes more natural for some.
Eighth grader J.D. Elvrum goes to school online because he said traditional schools don't challenge him enough.
"I would finish up a subject and would have to wait at least 30-40 minutes for my entire class to finish," Elvrum said.
Elvrum is now one of 40,000 students who attend Connections Academy, an online school featuring students from all over the country.
"It's kind of like a public school except I work at home, mostly on a computer," Elvrum said.
There is one obvious difference.
"It's like a regular classroom except you don't see anybody," Elvrum said.
Without the social interaction, do online schools hinder a child's interpersonal skills?
According to some experts, the answer is yes.
"I think that for an average student the side effects are going to be minimal, especially if they can have other outlets for social connections," Psychologist Cheryl Downey said. "But for students that maybe already have a hard time reading social cues, for example, they may not be getting the practice that they need."
Online schools are just part of the ever-changing technology Downey worries will impact young students. She is also worried about cell phones and laptops.
"This is certainly a generation that uses a lot of technology for their communication," Downey said. "But the reality is that many work situations are still very interpersonally driven. You're average job that a 17 or 18-year-old is going to get is not going to be in technology. It's going to be in a fast food restaurant or some kind of customer service situation, so they need to have those skills. They need to be able to have those people skills if they're going to survive in the workplace."
Elvrum's mother Tillie said parents need to help when they see their child lacking socialization.
"There's lots of opportunities within the school, and as a family, like I said, you need to make an effort to get your student out there," Tillie said.
But she isn't concerned for J.D., who is doing what she said comes natural to young students.
"Education online isn't this weird thing. It's what they do," Tillie said. "They do everything online. My biggest thing has been, why are we basing his educational needs on social things? School is about education and giving him the best education he can get. All of our children are different, they don't all learn in the same way."
She said J.D. still gets to interact with his online classmates.
They have live lessons every day where they have to log into a classroom with their class, with their teacher, and they're communicating," Tillie said. "Even though it's not face-to-face, they're in chatrooms or chat pods. The teacher will communicate one on one with them.
Downey agreed.
I think for the right student it's a great option, but it's probably not for everyone," Downey said.
J.D. insists he hasn't lost any social skills.
"The social difference is, there is no social difference," J.D. said.
Downey said the biggest challenge for J.D. may be college. J.D. wants to go to the Air Force Academy.
"Where I have seen that cause the biggest problem is when the student has had an exclusively, like homeschool or online situation, and then they try to transition into a university or college-like situation, and the social challenges can be significant for them in that point in time," Downey said. "Or even just the structure of attending in a classroom setting and needing to be at a certain place at a certain time, and that can be a bit of a challenge, especially for students who may already have some deficits."
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM