It is already the third marking period and Southern Lehigh High School students have already weighed their options to build their ideal schedules for next year. A few changes have been made concerning graduation requirements, and some courses have even earned a “2.0-worthy” title.

Honors English 12 and Wellness 11-12 are now offered as both face-to-face and online formats for the 2016-17 school year. This will enable juniors and seniors to have more flexibility when it comes to picking courses. Some students are opting to take a study hall in place of these courses, while others are planning to schedule an additional course.

English teacher Mrs. Marlo Spritzer and health and physical education teacher Ms. Megan Dellegrotti have both been piloting their online environment this year in these classes via the Canvas learning management system. Canvas is an online environment where teachers can share resources and assignments, and students can submit their work easily.

“It’s going to allow a little bit more flexibility for a student who might have a very busy schedule or can’t fit a certain class into a schedule,” Mrs. Spritzer said. “For a course like Honors English 12, there’s typically only one section every year, and if a student can’t fit that time slot into their schedule, they cannot take the course, and either have to take college prep or AP.”

Both courses will remain true to what has been taught in the past, but the content will be strictly web-based. This will provide more practice in time management, and it will also include the application of 21st century skills.

“It is definitely more convenient to have the content online because then I can access it anywhere” current Honors English 12 student Ryan Probasco said.

Though these courses will provide more freedom, there will be plenty of responsibility to go along with it. Students will be responsible for logging in and completing their work with few to no reminders of due dates. Luckily, whether it is online or face-to-face, the content due dates will remain consistent which should help to avoid some confusion.

“[Students are] going to have to pace themselves, I’m not going to be there to tell them what needs to be done everyday,” Ms. Dellegrotti said about her online wellness class. “It’s going to be more independent on their end, so it will be a little bit more problem solving for them, as well as dealing with time management.”

“[An online environment] is easier to work with because everything is in one place,” current Honors English 12 student, Sam Tankred said.

Some students are hesitant to take these courses due to the added responsibility. Some also fear that it would be more difficult to focus without an in-class experience. However, many are excited for this new opportunity.

“Even if I don’t end up taking it, I think it’s a cool opportunity for students to have, and I’m glad that the school is taking this step,” junior Victor Aung, who considered taking the online Honors English 12 course, said. “I think it will definitely be something bigger in the future.”