Virtual+Schools

**Virtual Schools (Session 5)**
Identify a virtual school program from the list provided (or provide an example of other programs you may find) and tell us what surprised you about their delivery of e-learning. Also, provide one example of how they effectively __**deliver**__ instruction.

//In Session 4, we discussed the importance of netiquette, online safety, and legal issues relative to educators using tools such as social networking sites with students. With virtual schools, some of these same issues may exist, w/out the barriers or obstacles imposed by a district to prevent the use of online tools. How then, do these virtual schools deal with or address these kinds of safety or legal issues? For instance, do they have a public acceptable use policy, guidelines for parents, or other tools or resources? If available, provide links to concrete examples.//

[|JHU Center for Talented Youth]

// The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth is a center that provides enrichment and accelerated courses for academically gifted students. What surprised me the most about the program was how diverse it was. It offers so many courses in every subject ranging form grades pre-K to 12. Through its online program, students are able to receive challenging instruction that meets their individual needs. One way the center meets individual needs is by providing various ways to complete courses. Students, parents, and schools can choose session based courses, which have specific start dates and end dates. Students enrolled in these sessions adhere to all testing dates. Individually paced courses are time based and allow a teacher to plan individually for students. A student may enroll for three, six, or nine months. Lastly, the Flexi paced sessions have a specific start date, but the student and teacher then develop a schedule together and must complete the course within nine months. // // To effectively deliver instruction, CTYonline provides all of its students with the required course materials. Materials are either mailed to participants or delivered electronically. Throughout the courses, students correspond with their instructors via email, telephone, progress reports, interactive internet whiteboards, and interactions with other CTYonline students. Students are required to complete course work that is at least one to two years ahead of their current grade level. Students can enroll in CTYonline individually or through school partnerships. Often times, traditional schools use CTYonline to facilitate AP and gifted courses. Students can use school computer labs during the day to complete coursework. // // In order to ensure safety and netiquette, CTYonline participants are required to check the cyber safety and system requirements before they begin coursework. CTYonline has a code of student conduct and expectations. Parents and schools are also encouraged to use filtering software to keep students safe and computers “healthy”. For more information about CTYonline’s code of conduct visit [|//http://cty.jhu.edu/ctyonline/how-cty-works.html//]. (RP) //

[|Michigan Virtual School]

[|Florida Virtual School] (MB) Founded in 1997 as a grant-based project between two Florida school districts, Florida Virtual School (FLVS) began with just 77 enrollments. In 2005-2006, FLVS delivered more than 68,000 individual course enrollments to approximately 31,000 students across Florida. FLVS now trains teachers, administrators, school districts, and states in how to deliver a sound, accountable, and successful online learning experience. __Accreditation:__ FLVS is fully accredited by two major agencies: The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and The Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation. FLVS online learning meets many needs including credit retrieval, advancement, access to courses not normally available, and more. Winner of numerous national and international educational awards. __Tuition:__ free for Florida residents, and Global School tuition is $375 per semester or $400 per semester for AP courses. Students residing outside the U.S. add $25 per semester. __Course Offerings:__ List of 75 courses is available at [|http://www.flvsgs.net/index.php/e_solutions/for_educators/course-offerings.html,] Syllabi is available electronically to the public (example: [] )

FLVS uses the “Educator” Learning Management System from Ucompass, as the Most Student Friendly. Educator is a highly stable and robust learning management system, successfully used by dozens of colleges and K-12 schools for online course delivery since 1998. The Educator software meets the following requirements: multiple student assessment tools, a secure, internal e-mail system for communicating between students and teachers, and the ability to support all current FLVS curriculum without the need for courseware retooling. Because FLVS’ courses are designed with a highly interactive, student-centered instructional approach, the Educator software had to support a wide range of functionality requirements. Teachers communicate frequently and regularly with their student and parents by telephone, email, texting, blogs, wikis, podcasts and more. Parents and students can access courses and grades 24/7/365. If students are behind pace, teachers are proactive about contacting them and working together to ensure success in the course. Each course begins with a ** Welcome Phone Call ** where parents and students speak via telephone with the instructor. There are ** Monthly Progress Reports ** and regular contacts with instructors and with other students. I was **impressed** with the **administrative and academic support** that school provides: - Great Orientation Page available at http://nso.flvs.net/, and "Getting Started in Your Course" Video; - Virtual Library page [] - Endless List of Supportive services: Parent Links, Internet Safety, Integrity Policies, Public Libraries, Open Source, Writing Center, Reference, Primary Sources, Study Aids, College and Careers, Resource by Subject Area, Multimedia Resources, Math Resources, Maps, Educational Games, Teacher Links, ESOL Resources, Literacy Resources. Florida Virtual School has //__great parents' and students' reviews__:// //Posted November 4, 2008 (Submitted by a student)// "I absolutely love this school. All that the teachers care about is that you are very successful in their class. To them the students aren't a just a number they are Florida's future. I have never gotten such good grades in my life. When I was in public school the teachers never cared to go over the subject, now the teachers always want to make sure that I understand the concept of the subject. I love this Florida virtual school and I would recommend it to any homeschooler or anybody that just wants some extra credits in school. Thanks for Everything!!:)" // Posted October 4, 2008 (Submitted by a parent) // "This school has been great. My son loves it and so do I. He is doing great in his classes and all the teachers are a phone call or an email away." //Posted October 1, 2008 (Submitted by a parent)// "My son is in FLVS and is doing great! If it had not been for FLVS my son would have dropped out of public school. My son is very smart and wants to learn. There is way to many other things going on now in the public schools than learning. My son will be in college in the next year or so, and its THANKS to the FLVS and the caring teachers. They are only a phone call or an e-mail away. Thanks FLVS keep up the great work!"
 * E-PLATFORM**

1). There were many things that surprised me with the Virtual Schools. I did not realize that these were actual public schools and were accreditited. I found that you have to take the GRE to receive credit. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they can join extracurricular activities such as sports teams at their local high school. I am still very weary of the social aspect of things. I feel like high school is something that everyone needs to go to and experience. But maybe I’m being too old fashioned and this is just the way of the future. (LO) 2). An example of how they effectively deliver instruction is they offer many different trainings and workshops for instructors, parents, and the students. That is very helpful. They also promise to get back to all technical requests within 24 hours. (LO) 3). While clicking on the library link I received the following message. This is an example of how they address things that students may encounter on the web. (LO) [] Caution: The content of the links on this website is beyond the control of FLVS. Some content may be objectionable. The FLVS library is a collection of links and sites that have been reviewed for educational value, currency, and accuracy. However, FLVS has no control over the content of these websites and does not accept responsibility or liability for the material found in them. Additionally, the viewpoints found on these websites are not the viewpoints of FLVS, nor does FLVS endorse products for sale on these websites.(LO)
 * I chose Florida Virtual Schools (LO) **
 * Surf at Your Own Risk! **
 * // Please read and accept or decline the terms of use for this site to continue. //**

[|Virtual High School Global Consortium]

[|Montgomery County Public Schools Online Learning Department]

[|Maryland Virtual Learning Opportunities]

[|PA Virtual Charter School]

[|Agora Cyber Charter School]

[|21st Century Cyber Charter School]

There are a couple things that surprised me about the 21st Century Cyber Charter School that I was originally unaware of. To begin with, I had no idea that students attending this virtual school were provided with a MAC computer to use for their schoolwork. While most students are given a desktop computer, the school can also provide students with a printer, scanner, and other hardware such as digital cameras if the courses require it. The school computers also contain any software a student might need, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Inspiration, First Class (email), web browsers, and iMovie. Some additional software that could be included on a student’s computer could be Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Garageband, Photoshop, and iTunes. On another note, the 21st Century Cyber Charter School also offers many of the same opportunities as a traditional school including: National Honor Society, yearbook, newsletter, clubs, and a graduation ceremony.

One way that the 21st Century Cyber Charter School effectively delivers instruction to their students is through field trips. Field trips occur each month, and they are designed to be both educational and social. The main activity may be at a museum, a historical or otherwise interesting site, or some other educational exhibit or activity. Surprisingly, students also have the ability to develop and maintain long-lasting relationships with their peers at this virtual school. Students have the opportunity to socialize during free time in virtual classrooms, in chat rooms, and through email. Teachers typically give students time before and after the class discussion to socialize. Many classes also have discussion boards where students can share their thoughts on a variety of topics.

As far as netiquette and online safety goes, the 21st Century Cyber Charter School closely monitors what takes place in their e-learning environment. The computers assigned to students have applications on it to keep students focused on schoolwork. There is also censoring/blocking software that keeps students away from most inappropriate places on the Internet, blocks most chat sites, and controls the use of instant messaging programs and games. Student programs also contain a logging program, which is activated when necessary. This tool can be especially useful when a student is spending a lot of time on the computer but is not keeping up with their work. The logging program has the ability to list every website a student has visited. (ME)

[|Chicago Virtual Cyber School](JP) My e-Learning initiative is creating an e-Learning community for students who will be out of school for temporary reasons due to some extenuating circumstance. Because of this I am familiar with many aspects of the information presented on the different schools websites. Nonetheless, I took a look at the Chicago Virtual Cyber School and I did learn something that I didn't know; they use the K¹² curriculum to offer students in grades K-10 a learning experience that combines traditional classroom instruction with the latest online learning approaches. The best surprise I found is that they have teachers who are available by phone, and face-to-face. This is something that I think is truly great about the virtual education taking place. It is creating small communities and personal relationships that are almost impossible by way of traditional classroom instruction. The other element of virtual classrooms that I was not aware of is the fact that they are offering both the core subject areas and electives. [|Find out more about K¹²]. It also surprises me to learn that there is a lot more hands on than one would think, CVCS allows opportunities for students to use materials including the expected and the unexpected. Things like textbooks and microscopes, rocks and dirt to beautifully illustrate classic children's stories, and more. They have activities like teachers and staff members who organizes fun and informative activities where CVCS parents, students, and staff shares their successes, helpful hints, and more. Moreover, it is a **high-quality education and a tuition-free public education.** Here is a great example of how the students at CVCS are learning by using technology and collaborating with their instructors. [] To see what the school provides their students and to read about general conduct see the FAQs link below. The school website did not address directly the safety online issue however they provide computers that are equipped with the programs that the students need to do the work for their classes. They did not mention anything about filtering sites or any thing like that. [] -for technical questions [] -for general questions (JP)