Motivation and regular participation of students are two important factors that are required in attending virtual K-12 schools. Because students and the teacher in a virtual school do not have to meet at one specific time, each student or his/her parents would be responsible for making his/her schedule for regular participation on a daily basis. Procrastination is easy- you just don’t turn on the computer to see what’s there and

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respond. Unless participants have the self-discipline to set aside regular times to take part, they will fall behind and become passive “lurkers” rather than responsible members of a learning community. Participating in a virtual school could be very difficult for young people. They could easily be distracted from school, and not participate. For example, it could be really hard to make a teenager sit in front of computer and study for hours everyday without being distracted by more exciting activities such as, watching TV, talking on the phone, going out with friends, or even playing games on the computer. Students may participate on regular basis at first, but they would lose interest in learning after a while.

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