So, what is best? It depends on the student, the subject, the constraints on the parent, and the availability of other materials. One thing nearly all educators, parents, doctors, and even some students agree on is that the amount of time most children today spend looking at a screen should be limited. When I was still teaching at public high school, I never used computers for regular assignments or instruction. The only time students used computers was for independent research, including "fact-checking" the text as well as the class discussion, and for writing their papers, if they chose to type instead of writing by hand. I had many students tell me that the best part of the classes was that we had actual lectures and discussions, and that nearly all of their other classes were primarily focused on screen time. My personal opinion is that a mix of online work and traditional instruction is ideal.
One of the biggest advantages of online learning is that you can take your class with you almost anywhere. If your student needs to spend the afternoon at Grandma's, or at a parent's workplace, or waiting for soccer practice to start, it is usually easier to take work along with a computer, or even a phone, although books, etc. can also travel.
Online courses are often self-contained and automatically graded. If a subject is one in which the parent doesn't have a lot of experience, an online course can fill in some of the gaps. Parents who teach more than one child may have one student working online for a bit, while she spends one-on-one time with another child. Some programs can be very expensive.
Some students find online learning to be a lot of fun, especially because there are learning games interspersed throughout the lessons. There is also an argument to be made that having kids who are comfortable with technology is important in today's world. However, I would argue that it isn't necessary to have children spend hours a day online in order for them to become comfortable with technology.
The main reason I like using some online materials is simply the price. Even when the methods are really more traditional, as in reading a book, writing in a journal, completing math problems with a pencil, we can still take advantage of the fact that many sources are available online for free. There are PDFs of many classic stories and novels, and it's easy to find online non-fiction sources for any topic imaginable. Finding hard copy materials is difficult and expensive. So even if the methods are traditional, the actual sources can often be found via the internet.
As previously mentioned, a lot of students get very bored with too much online learning. It can cause eyestrain and headaches as well. On other spectrum, some students are helpless without a computer. They have difficulty reading, writing, or even conversing in a face-to-face situation because of their dependency on the computer.
One of the common reasons families choose to homeschool in the first place is that they want more time together, reading together, working on math lessons, and especially participating in real life activities, like gardening, exploring, sports, etc. These activities are not something to enjoy after lessons are completed. The activities are the lessons! The learning is hands on. The sooner they realize that learning is something that never stops, that "lessons" are moment by moment, there is an entire change in their world view. Online learning can interfere with that viewpoint by building dependency on the machine instead of self-reliance.
So, when choosing curriculum, keep in mind your child's temperament and age, his strengths and weaknesses, the subject matter and age, and the goals and needs of your family. Ask questions of those who are already homeschooling. And remember that you can always change your mind. Homeschooling is really about finding what works.
