Earlier this week we noticed this news item scroll through one of our networks.
Why More Ontario Teens Are Earning High School Credits Online
A new graduation requirement, quieter credit recovery options, and busier teenage schedules are pushing online learning into the mainstream across SDG and the rest of the province.
The short version: More Ontario teens are earning high school credits online because the Ministry of Education now requires two online credits for graduation, school boards have moved much of their credit recovery programming online, and many students need a more flexible schedule than a traditional classroom allows.
A few years ago, “online high school” still sounded like something you’d only consider if you were sick, suspended, or stuck somewhere with no school nearby. That image is mostly gone now. Walk into any high school in SDG and you’ll find a fair number of students juggling one or two courses on a laptop, alongside their regular timetable, and nobody bats an eye.
So what changed?
To continue reading, visit https://theseeker.ca/2026/07/why-more-ontario-teens-are-earning-high-school-credits-online/
Overall, this article actually supports many of the points we have raised in the past. For example, approximately two months ago we wrote that “there is a long and detailed history in the K-12 distance and online learning literature that suggests flexibility is one of the main benefits and main reasons why students enroll in e-learning courses.” The article talks about how flexibility is one of the main reasons that students are choosing online learning throughout the province.
It also speaks about how the pandemic changed parents’ and students’ opinions about online learning – which is actually an interesting one, as the literature suggests the opposite. There is a wealth of literature about how the distance learning provided during the pandemic was remote learning, as opposed to online learning. There is also a wealth of literature about how that remote learning was often poorly planned, poorly supported, and poorly delivered (and this is not a criticism of the teachers, as no one ever prepared them to be able to teach is a distance modality – ever!).
The main criticism we have with this news item is related to this response:
Is online high school the right fit for every teen?
Not necessarily. Online courses tend to work best for self-motivated students or specific situations like credit recovery, scheduling conflicts, or a need for a change of environment. Students who rely heavily on in-person structure may need extra support to stay on track.
This is another issue that we have spoken about in the past:
Unfortunately, this notion that e-learning is only appropriate for some students is one of the greatest disservices that the union could have made. E-learning is a medium, in the same way that the classroom is a medium. In the same way, people would object if the union came out and said that “there are circumstances in which it can absolutely work, but no student should be forced to sit in a classroom.” The idea on face value is ludicrous – and the same is true for e-learning. E-learning is a medium through which instruction is delivered. It is neither good nor bad. It is also not specific to any type of student. In much the same way that we have all had positive and negative face-to-face learning experiences, it is all a matter of how the medium is used that will impact the quality of instruction that is provided.
Overall, a much more balanced piece that many of the media items we have seen from Ontario in recent months. But still lacking in some of the nuance and consistency with the existing research.