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On Tuesday night, the Great Falls Public School district helped students log on to a whole new world of educational possibilities by introducing them to the Montana Digital Academy.

The program starts up in the fall and will offer 45 online courses for high school students across the state.

In an informational meeting on Tuesday, high school sophomore Jared Smith said that he's excited about the virtual classes.

Smith said, "I wanted to do online school so I could have a more flexible schedule to work around, and because I'm in a band, so it'd be nice to do...some of my classes, show up early for band practice...that'd be pretty cool."

Smith tells us he had planned to take only core classes online, but might also pursue uncommon courses such as Chinese.

Students in Great Falls will be limited to just two online classes in this first year of the program.

You can learn more about the Digital Academy at the next informational meeting on August 18th at 5:30 pm at the Paris Gibson Education Center.

(May 14, 2010) High school students in Montana will soon be able to earn class credit online, as the Montana Digital Academy will enable students from across the state to complete courses on the internet beginning in the fall.

The state-funded academy is a product of the 2008 Montana Legislature.

During the inaugural year, 45 classes will be offered, including some regular core classes, but also specialized courses in science, arts, and language.

The digital academy is based at the University of Montana, but the instructors come from all over the state.

You can learn more at the Academy website, including this brief overview:

The Montana Digital Academy provides courses for students across the State of Montana. If you are in a public or private school setting, homeschooled or need courses to meet college enrollment standards, make up missed or failed classes, resolve scheduling conflicts or provide advanced learning opportunities, MTDA is a full-featured program for you!