Internet schooling isn't all personal time with the teacher, however. Teachers may have anywhere from 30 to 70 students. For most children, that translates into less than an hour a week of professional instruction.

Parental guidance suggested

At most online schools, students spend about 30 percent of their time on the computer, doing activities, watching videos, reading text and taking quizzes. The rest of the school day is consumed working out of traditional text books or doing hands-on experiments and art projects — the supplies for which schools mail to students' homes.

"They can't do everything online," said Laura Belnap, director of Washington Online, school number 20 in Washington County School District. "Students get about 110 pounds of materials. They get microscopes, rocks, goggles, seeds, slides. We give them everything."

Everything, that is, except a full-time supervisor.

"There is a lot of responsibility placed on parents because kids aren't spending eight hours in a classroom with a trained teacher," Belnap said. "Parents are the ones who are actually sitting there in the room."

Diane Samudio, Marvin's mother, joked that sending her son to virtual school is like going back to school herself.

"It's online learning for parents, too," she said. "You don't always know what to do. Sometimes you have to figure out how to do stuff with them."

Virtual school may mean extra work, but most parents of online students maintain the benefits outweigh the cost.

Although students are still responsible for logging attendance hours, students can study online whenever or wherever they'd like.

"We've had kids who haven't been able to be at school because of their illness and chemo kids who can't be out in public," said Carolyn Ingles, principal of Davis Online-Oasis. "The online program makes it possible for them to get a quality, public education."

As far as Benjamin Marvin is concerned online class is the best thing to happen to education. He doesn't have to deal with bullies at the junior high and he gets to play Xbox during his self-appointed recess.

"It makes for a good school day," he said.

E-MAIL: estuart@desnews.com