Free Online High School through Open Courseware

There are many online courses available via open courseware. Many of these new programs provide “open enrollment,” which gives us great options for Free Online High School options.

Open Courseware provides academic courses free to anyone. Usually there are no ‘credits’ or degrees earned. No high school diploma granted through the free courseware, but you can still use the courses. You can add the courses your child successfully completes to their high school transcript. If you are looking for an online high school school program that will provide all of the classes, paperwork, and teaching for your child, please visit our Virtual High School listing page.

Open Courseware ~ A Great Free Online High School Option

Through open courseware, you can find courses about a wide variety of topics. You can pull courses together and create your own free online high school diploma plan. Your child can finish high school by completing free courses for each required high school subject.

Some courseware is at the university study level. There’s a separate section for college level courses below. There are also a lot of classes at the high school level. Having classes at different levels can help you create a program that meets your child’s needs. Unlike ordinary high school classes, your child can take classes at different levels for high school or college depending on how advanced their learning is.

Since open courseware is at your child’s own pace, it is ideal as homeschooling curriculum. These free online high school course options also work very well for Learning Abled Kids who need to take their time to master a subject.

Free Online High School Course Options for Your Child

These free educational courses are usually taught via video. You can use these classes to BUILD a complete, free online high school program for your child. However, please be aware that you ARE homeschooling if you’re using these courses so be SURE to comply with the Homeschooling requirements in your state. The programs on this page are not formal, full high school programs, but I do have an additional listing of free virtual FULL High School programs listed HERE.

Free Online High School Courses

KhanAcademy.org

One FABULOUS option for free online high school is the Khan Academy. KhanAcademy.org has free online high school and college level instruction.

Khan’s courses include Math, Science, Social Studies and more. The instruction includes both teaching videos and text-based instruction. Khan has instruction in a variety of subject areas, so I expect you can use it for your child’s entire homeschool high school program. 😀

Hippocampus

Hippocampus is another wonderful option with hundreds of teaching videos sorted by subject. Using Hippocampus provides the following subject areas:

• Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Advanced Math
• Statistics & Probability
• Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science
• Economics, History, Government, Sociology, Humanities
• English
• Religion

C12

As a third option, C12, is a viable option for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses. (https://ck12.org/). The C12 courses are created for high school students, and they are “at your own pace.” The courses cover most of your typical high school subjects with a few extras. The site has a lot of elements (images and videos), so I found it to be somewhat slow loading. However, if you have high speed Internet, this may be a great free online high school solution for you.

Free Online High School Math Programs

Purple Math

Primarily focused on teaching Algebra concepts in an easy to understand way.

MathTV

High school level math teaching videos. These are great for kids who don’t like to read or who prefer audio-visual instruction.

WolframMathWorld

This is an extensive math resource site. It focuses on high school and college level math instruction, and the content is mostly text-based.

Searching for Other Free Online High School Courseware

You can find a variety of courses by searching for them in the “Open Courseware Finder” (http://ocwfinder.com/) or through Edx (https://www.edx.org/).  Through the OCW Finder or EdX, you can find a wide range of available classes offered through colleges such as:

• Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative
• Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Tufts University
• Utah State University

Online High School through Free COLLEGE LEVEL Open Courseware

In using College Level Open Courseware, you simply download the syllabus. Then obtain the text(s) and-or resources required for the course.  When you have the materials, your child simply follows the syllabus for their class. Some courses include sample exams and assignments that you will have to grade for your child. This is a small inconvenience in relation to having the pre-made courses available for free.

There is also a trend towards “Open Enrollment” at the university level.  Open enrollment permits any student who wishes to study at a higher academic level to enroll in college courses.  It is assumed a student is qualified enough to be taking the class if he wants to enroll. It’s wise to only enroll your child in a university classes if he is prepared for that level of study.

Open enrollment universities are just as rigorous as those requiring an application process. Be aware, your student can fail just as easily at an open university as he could at a closed one. Therefore, if your child wants to attempt college level exams, please carefully consider your child’s likelihood of success at the college level.

Areas of preparation you’ll need to consider before enrolling your child:

Consideration #1:

Is your student advanced enough academically? One way you can assess this is by having your child take either the ACT or SAT college entrance exam. See if your child scores at a level required for admission by most colleges. Aside from testing, cover the ‘usual’ college prep material until your chlid has a reasonable understanding of the material.

Consideration #2:

Does your child know how to write a college essay or research paper of adequate quality for a passing grade? Many students don’t have the necessary skills to succeed in the heavy writing environment in most universities. If your student lacks writing skills, I’d suggest investing in Structure and Style for Students (at a minimum) from the Institute for Excellence in Writing before enrolling in any college level class.The SWI course was designed as a 10-hour weekend seminar with DVDs. Therefore, your child CAN go through this program relatively quickly. Have your child complege the course on a slower schedule for mastery purposes. Given the time, let your child go through the course over a few weeks.

Consideration #3:

Does your child have the desire to work on university level classes?  Whether “open” or not, work at the college level is recorded. It will count towards your child’s overall degree progress and GPA.  If your child is not motivated to work at the level required for a decent grade in a university course, it might be better to wait.  You would not want your child to ‘ruin’ his GPA because he is too young or unmotivated to do well in class.  Thus, it is not advisable to ‘force’ your child into university level classes. If he does not feel prepared or doesn’t want to work that hard, it can be disastrous if you force the issue.

You’ll find listings of Open Universities at these locations:

• Wikipedia Category: Open Universities
• WikiEducator listing (very similar to Wikipedia)
• Open Universities Australia
• Peterson’s Guide (Search for US Colleges with Open Enrollment)
• Check your local Community Colleges – MANY CCs are “Open Enrollment”

GOOD LUCK, and happy learning!
Press HERE for High School Curriculum for Homeschooling on Amazon
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