Top Virtual School Victoria students share their online learning tips
These Virtual School Victoria students were thriving way before remote learning became the norm. They’ve shared their secrets of success to help their fellow teens make the most of working from home – and once they get back to the classroom.
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Remote learning is nothing new for these top students – they were thriving online way before it became the norm.
They received Premier’s VCE Awards this year for subjects they studied through Virtual School Victoria (VSV).
And now they are sharing their secrets to excelling at home learning.
MARTY SCHWARZ, ALGORITHMICS
Maths whiz Marty Schwarz was surprised to receive the award for algorithmics, which he’d studied through VSV from home.
He relished the opportunity to study a subject his school wasn’t able to provide and said the experience had prepared him well for the coronavirus school shutdown.
“It was a significant jump at the start but it gave me the chance to work out the best ways to study from home,” the 18-year-old, from Toorak, said.
“The main thing is that you have to take responsibility for your own learning and try to stay motivated because the onus is on you.
“One of the best ways to stay interested and engaged is to be in communication with your teachers and friends about the subject so you can bounce questions and ideas off them.”
Marty said sticking to a routine and setting goals for the day were imperative.
But it was also important to have some downtime – whether it was playing sport, a musical instrument or simply talking to your friends.
He thanked his school Mount Scopus Memorial College – through which he also received a Premier’s VCE Award in Mathematical Methods – and VSV algorithmics teacher Georgia Gouros for their support.
He hopes to turn his passion for algorithmics and artificial intelligence into a career.
LACHLAN RAE, MUSIC STYLE AND COMPOSITION
Lachlan Rae doesn’t know what he wants to do when he leaves school, but the sky’s the limit for the multi-talented musician who feels as comfortable on stage as he does studying economics.
The Vermont Secondary College student received a Premier’s VCE award for Music Style and Composition, which he studied through VSV.
He said motivation was key to online learning success because you didn’t constantly have a teacher reminding you to keep working.
“You need to ensure that you accomplish each task you have for the week, but also set aside some time to revise, rewatch lectures and do practise exams,” the 17-year-old said.
“You need to know these concepts front to back and the best way is to keep revising early and regularly – not trying to cram just before exams.”
Learning through VSV gave him a sense of the best work set-up at home, the importance of setting goals and managing your time.
While time management wasn’t always Lachlan’s forte – he found himself performing in a production and trying to finish writing his composition in one week – he said doing theatre had also kept him sane while trying to study.
This year he has signed up for the Push-Up Challenge, which supports headspace and gives him down time to keep fit.
EDWARD SPINK, AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
Edward Spink has a passion for politics and excelled in studying Australian History through VSV – receiving a Premier’s VCE Award in the subject.
“I was pretty happy about it, it was pretty rewarding to achieve that without the aid of a teacher in a classroom environment,” the Kew teen said.
“At first it was hard to get used to being on my own – not having the immediate encouragement you get from being in a classroom.
“It was helpful to have a mentor from my own school.
“I had to plan out my own lessons, making sure I had a structure and routine to make sure I could keep on top of things – it helped to write a list of things I wanted to do by the end of each week.”
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The experience was a huge help for the Trinity Grammar student when it came to learning from home this year.
“Keeping motivated is important, you have to remember there is still a class environment – it’s just online so you need to make the most of that.”
Edward thanked VSV for giving him the chance to study a subject he was passionate about.
“I think Australian History can be overlooked as a subject, but learning about our past is so important to work out who we are as a people,” he said.
Junhua Chen was the fourth VSV student to receive a Premier’s VCE Award.
The Wheelers Hill student won the award after studying Algorithmics remotely, but also for Mathematical Methods through his school Caulfield Grammar.
SO WHAT IS VIRTUAL SCHOOL VICTORIA?
Virtual School Victoria, previously known as Distance Education Centre Victoria, is the state’s leading virtual school.
It offers students the chance to study subjects not available at their school, and provides online learning opportunities for people living in rural or remote areas, those experiencing physical or emotional health difficulties and young professional sportspeople and performing artists.
The school – which has about 4500 students each year – delivers 274 subjects and will develop an extra 18 VCE subjects by 2023.
Towards the end of 2020, the school will be delivering the Victorian High Ability Program to almost 50,000 high-performing state school students in years 5-8.