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Polling of parents often shows that socialization is a key concern

“The Big Think” as an alternative to Facebook, the popular social-networking site that causes angst for many brick-and-mortar schools over online bullying that can spill over from the site into school hallways. The Big Think is a closed social-networking site open only to K12 Inc., students and their parents

cyber students were rated significantly higher by both parents and students themselves in various areas of social skills, though teacher ratings for those students did not differ significantly from those for students in traditional public schools. Problem behaviors among online students, as rated by the parents, teachers, and students themselves, were either significantly lower or not significantly different when compared with national norms.

The quality of the online program is a factor in socialization, as is the type of student enrolling, she said

For a student already lacking in socialization in a traditional school setting, online education could be even more isolating. And for low-achieving students taking online classes, Ms. Minke said, families may not be as involved as they need to be to ensure their children are “academically progressing and to monitor their social development.”

From a larger, societal perspective, she said, online students may not be exposed to the diverse viewpoints or communities they might see in a regular school.

I’d worry that [online students] might not have the diversity of positive adult role models.”

Adding a layer of socialization to cyber school can make the difference in a student’s experience.

“This gives them the opportunity to collaborate on their work or mingle and become more invested in the educational process,

“We want to build a student-student relationship as well as a relationship with a teacher,”