Whitfield school board to meet Monday

Georgia Virtual School provides classes online to any student in Georgia.

For the past fall semester, close to 6,000 students across the state were enrolled in classes through Georgia Virtual alone. Of those, 12 were at Coahulla Creek High School, 10 were at Northwest, 14 at Southeast Whitfield High School and three at the Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy. Nine students in Murray County Schools were enrolled in at least one course, and there were 22 at Dalton High School.

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http://bestonlinehighschools.com/directory/property/online-high-schools/georgia-virtual-school/

U.S. Virtual Ed. Companies Court Global Clients

Within U.S. borders, online learning providers often approach districts, schools, and individual students and families by pitching the idea that virtual courses can help a student reach beyond a school system that falls short of addressing all student needs.

International e-learning consumers, by contrast, are approaching American virtual providers because they represent not an alternative to traditional American education, but an extension of it.

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3 finalists named for online K-12 teacher award

The finalists are: Leslie Fetzer from North Carolina Virtual Public School, Tracy Seiler from the South Carolina Virtual School Program and Asherrie Yisrael from Georgia Virtual School.

The winner will be announced March 1 and will receive a trip to the Virtual School Symposium in October.

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Program to help 5th-year seniors earn diplomas

A new program to help fifth-year Columbia County high school seniors get their diplomas more quickly starts Monday at the alternative school in Grovetown.

Called Saving Our Students (S.O.S.), the program specifically targets seniors who would benefit from an alternative to the traditional high school setting. They’ll work in the alternative school’s computer lab 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday, taking online courses on the Georgia Virtual School system under the tutelage of high school graduation coaches.

Many fifth-year seniors detest having to learn in a typical school setting, with some feeling too old, said alternative school Principal Dr. Ja’net Bishop.

“The motivation to complete their classes can be lackluster and adds to the dropout rate,” Bishop said. “With the S.O.S. program, what we hope is that giving them the benefit of starting their day a little bit later and ending earlier, they’ll still be motivated to get their diplomas.

“We’re recognizing that they’re getting older and want to move on with their lives, but we’re also recognizing that they should not completely move on until they’ve completed their high school requirements.”

Others opted for the S.O.S. program for the structure.

The first semester of the program features just 18 students chosen by graduation coaches. They will be allowed to socialize only with other S.O.S. students, are allowed no more than five absences, are expected to work on assignments outside of class, and must provide their own transportation.

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Board wants online classes for students

“So it might be something like health online,” Lembeck said. “It could be an advanced placement course online. It could be credit recovery for students who are behind and need to make up a class.”

The class may be taken within the walls of the high school or at home through the Georgia Virtual School, she said.

Lembeck is also preparing to roll out a plan that allows students to bring their own technology to the high school.

“If students are able to bring some of their own technology, No. 1, they’ll have a resource and a tool that they’re comfortable using, but also it will enable us to maximize the technology that we already have because you can only stretch so many computers among so many students,” she said.

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Virtual learning gains popularity

Virtual learning is a small but growing area of academia that many educators are beginning to tap into at unprecedented levels — and not just at Northwest. For the past fall semester, close to 6,000 students were enrolled in classes through Georgia Virtual alone. Of those 12 were at Coahulla Creek High School, 10 were at Northwest, 14 at Southeast Whitfield High School and three at the Whitfield Career Academy. Nine students in Murray County Schools were enrolled in at least one course, and there were 22 at Dalton High School.

Georgia Virtual employs 12 full-time teachers and another 100 to 175 adjunct faculty members. Teachers must meet the same education and certification requirements as regular classroom teachers, said director Cristina Clayton.

Still, virtual learning isn’t the best fit for every student, said Rebecca Jenkins, the Georgia Virtual facilitator for Northwest. Students are given all their assignments up front at the beginning of the semester, but they’re responsible for meeting deadlines and seeking help on their own when needed. Students are given a block of time during the day to work on virtual classes, but they ultimately must pace themselves.

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Ashworth College Offers Online Resource for Current, Future Early Childhood Education Professionals

Ashworth College ( http://www.ashworthcollege.edu/ ), a leading online school, unveils its online resource for those interested in the field of early childhood education. Ashworth has created a specialty group within its online Community to provide students and guests with industry best practices, career insights, and invaluable information for furthering their professional skills in early childhood education.

Ashworth offers several nationally accredited online degree, certificate and diploma programs in primary education and its Early Childhood Education Group is currently 6,089 members strong (as of December 2011) and is part of the larger 100,000 plus online Ashworth Community.

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Education News on NCLB and Virtual Schools

One area in which there seems to be positive news is in “virtual” schooling. “Virtual” education refers to taking classes online using the internet as the teaching device. It seems completely obvious that online learning – if packaged properly – will revolutionize education. See the Khan Academy. A recent article notes the rapid growth in this new avenue for learning. I think it is a positive development for a market-based approach to make an appearance in schooling.

The New York Times published a lengthy incredibly negative article on virtual learning recently. Virtual learning probably has its difficulties, but it also strikes at the core of the modern public school power structures by giving parents more choices. Lindsey Burke at the Heritage Foundation has some good observations on this debate. One wonders if the Times is more worried about that than learning.

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Schools Rethink Teacher-Student Contact on Facebook, Twitter

Earlier this month, Edmodo, a social network for teachers and students, received $15 million in funding, aiming to address growing concerns about technology while boosting usage of social media in the classroom.

Edmodo boasts many Facebook-like features, such as profile pictures and a running stream of centralized posts, but capabilities includes teacher-student communication, homework assignments and even grades, so it functions more like a virtual classroom.

Edmodo replaces the traditional social context of Facebook with educational tasks and goals for student learning and teacher management, one element the founders expect will set it apart from others.

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Clarke School Officials Move On Plans To Build Schools

The five projects were at the top of a list of other projects the county will embark on over the five year period of the sales tax, school officials said.

“We’re not only in a tremendous position, but we’re moving at a tumultuous pace,” Superintendent Philip Lanoue said.

School officials also signed off on a memorandum of understanding between the University of Georgia and state Department of Education, spelling out how each party will share resources and expertise in the creation of a digital learning environment for teachers and students.

The agreement will allow the school district to offer online curriculum through the Georgia Virtual School, a state-funded online program with more than 100 courses for middle and high school students, and offer teachers more opportunities for professional development, officials said.

Under the agreement, the state Department of Education will offer access to online course content, technical assistance and professional development. The University of Georgia will continue to offer professional development for teachers and research related to instructional best practices, student learning and design.

The agreement also stipulates that the school district may serve as a model and provide guidance for other districts in the implementation of a digital learning environment.

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