BRUNSWICK COUNTY -- Brunswick county schools are going virtual. The county is offering students online courses in an effort to take education beyond the bounds of the conventional classroom. Brunswick and several other counties in North Carolina are offering kids the opportunity to complete coursework through virtual high school. Here's how it works: both teachers and students log onto the program's website. Teachers communicate through message boards, recorded lectures and virtual chats. Then students complete the coursework online. When it's test time, exams are also taken on a computer. It's a program school administrators believe will benefit students in the long run. Brunswick County Schools spokesperson Adam Henning said, "There are some children who know, at an early age, what they want to do with their life. And when they can take college level courses and get credit for them during high school that can translate into their careers, it's always good." The virtual courses will also help suspended, injured or disabled students keep up with their class work while they're out of school. Right now, administrators say anywhere from 15-hundred to two-thousand students are taking online classes. In the coming years, administrators say they expect thousands more students to sign up for virtual high school. Because it's a statewide initiative, the program will also likely be implemented in more school districts throughout the area.