Website Effectiveness
Parents
The Alaska Virtual School Academy is very effective for parents. There is a lot of useful information for the parents about the Academy. It tells them about the school, how the school works, how to enroll, frequently asked questions and all about the curriculum. It even offers parents sample lessons. Parents also have access to important contact information like, technical support, administration phone numbers and K12 education consultants. This website is very effective when it comes to parents trying to make a decision about choosing the Alaska Virtual Academy for their child.
Students
There could be improvements to the Alaska Virtual School Academy’s website when it comes to the effectiveness for students especially since this school is for students K-8. This website seems like it is designed mainly for parents. There is no student center or interaction for the students. This website contains a lot of information and wording for the parents. I do not see anything geared towards the students. It would be a good idea for the school to make a video for the students describing the school to the students and show them what an average lesson looks like. I could see the middle school students understanding the website since they will have an easier time reading it, but what about the younger students? John Gutman talked on the phone to me about several clubs and events the school offers for the students. This is a big part that students would be very interested in. On the website it says no events are currently listed and they do not advertise any information about the clubs the schools offers.
The Alaska Virtual Academy should have a kid friendly website that would engage and motivate K-8 students to want to join their school. Right now it is geared with a lot of information for the parents.
