Virtual High School Meanderings

We're Moving!!!

2008-02-03T14:35:00.001-05:00

Well, it is official... I am moving my blog Virtual High School Meanderings from Blogger to Word Press. I have secured the domain:http://virtualschooling.wordpress.com/I made the decision to change hosting sites for a couple of reasons.The domain http://virtualschooling.wordpress.com/ is better than http://mkbnl.blogspot.comWord Press is a better blogging system than Blogger in my opinion, as

2008 MVU Symposium

2008-02-03T14:05:00.000-05:00

So, I'm finding out about this a little late, and unfortunately I teach Wednesday evenings, but maybe some others will be able to attend and let me know how it went.The 2008 MVU Symposium, held Feb. 6, 2008 at the Marriott Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest Conference Center in Ypsilanti, is a forum for K-12 school administrators, school board members, technology directors and others to explore

Virtual Schooling in the News

2008-02-02T20:02:00.000-05:00

Beginning with the ASCD SmartBrief.States take closer look at virtual schools With around 500,000 children in the U.S. attending online classes, including some 90,000 who attend virtual charter schools full-time, states are taking a second look at the funding and oversight of such programs. "After some inquiry most states have said, 'Yes, we like online learning, but these are

A News Item

2008-02-01T19:30:00.000-05:00

I know that the New York Times puts their articles behind their pay service after a day, so let me add this item here:Online Schooling Grows, Setting Off a DebateBy SAM DILLON Published: February 1, 2008 MILWAUKEE — Weekday mornings, three of Tracie Weldie’s children eat breakfast, make beds and trudge off to public school — in their case,

[Innovate] February/March Issue

2008-02-01T09:36:00.000-05:00

A couple of items related to online learning and K-12 in this issue of Innovate.Innovate (www.innovateonline.info) is published bimonthly as a public service by the Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University and is sponsored, in part, by Microsoft. The articles in the February/March 2008 issue, guest edited by Cathy Gunn and Susan Patrick, offer a range of

Survey Of Online Learners For Doctoral Program

2008-01-31T19:50:00.000-05:00

A request for research dealing with virtual schooling. If there are virtual school students out there or any of my readers that can help, please contact Sam directly.Hello allI am a doctoral student working on my dissertation at Capella University in the school of professional studies.My dissertation is on engagement in the learning process for online high school students. Specifically I am

Register Today for Upcoming NACOL Webinars

2008-01-31T11:29:00.000-05:00

Monthly Webinars for February 2008 February 13, 2008 2:00 PM (Eastern) "Trends, Myths, and Action in Professional Development for K-12 Online Teaching"

Wisconsin's Virtual Schools Saved... For Now

2008-01-28T15:24:00.000-05:00

That was the title of an article posted in one of the NACOL forums yesterday. The article read:Wisconsin's virtual schools saved ... for nowSchool officials testifying at hearings made a difference.Todd BeckmannSentinel News EditorIt was good news when Grantsburg Superintendent Joni Burgin picked up the phone Monday afternoon."Senator Luther Olsen, on the Senate Education Committee, called me on

Virtual Schooling in the UK

2008-01-26T17:09:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned in the past that virtual schooling, as we know it, is largely a North American concept. Here's a good example of this from earlier this week in th NACOL forums.Pupils enter virtual classroom22 January 2008 05:32Thousands of schoolchildren in Norfolk and Suffolk will be able to do their homework online and see their schoolwork wherever they are in the world.Plans to extend the East

Virtual Schooling in the News

2008-01-26T10:02:00.000-05:00

Beginning with the Yahoo! News alert for virtual school.Online info sessions set for virtual public schoolThe Appleton Post-Crescent Sun, 20 Jan 2008 2:26 AM PSTAPPLETON Parents of students seeking an online education can learn more about Wisconsin Connections Academy by logging on to one of 11 online sessions this month and next, starting Tuesday.State says virtual school needs more studyThe

PBS - Growing Up Online

2008-01-25T08:46:00.000-05:00

Apparently PBS did this show earlier this week entitled "Growing Up Online". Here are a couple of entries that I've seen on the show:Review of Frontline’s “Growing up Online” from Clif's NotesTV: PBS Frontline Growing Up Online from Designed to Inspire - : instructional design : technology : online learningIf you know of others, just post them here.Tags: digital natives, generational

Online PE

2008-01-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

Another one of these things I probably got because I left a business card at someone's both at the Virtual School Symposium. 2008 Course Offerings Health Science Health & Personal

Blogging About The Next Generation

2008-01-24T09:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had a bunch of entries about virtual schooling, today some ideas about the next generation and their needs.SHOCKING! from DeedsDoings2006ALERT: Position Practicum! from DeedsDoings2006The Millenials (nee Google) Generation may not really be Digital Natives afterall from EDITing in the DarkDo Generational Differences Matter in Instructional Design from elearnspaceStudent Take on a

Blogging About Virtual Schooling

2008-01-23T22:26:00.000-05:00

Well, it was prior to Christmas the last time I did this, so it is time to clean out the old Bloglines account again. Beginning with entries about virtual schooling.Distance Education in Georgia's Public School Districts: Baseline Data on Utilization and the Perceived Barriers to Implementation and Expansion from Distance-Educator.com's Daily NewsRiley Proposes More Money for Online Distance

More Opening Discussion

2008-01-22T10:41:00.001-05:00

This will be the last message that I will re-post from what I expect will be a lively discussion. This is Dr. Reeves', the author of this week's discussion paper, first message to the discussion.Hi Bev,Thank you for kicking off the discussion of my paper titled “Do Generational Differences Matter in Instructional Design?” Let me remind participants in this discussion that this paper reports my

The Discussion Begin - The Next Generation

2008-01-22T09:58:00.000-05:00

Last week I reported about an online discussion that was going to be held on the ITForum listserve (see The Next Generation). Well, today begins the discussion and the initial message has been posted by the listserve's moderator:Discussion Week- First Questions ThoughtsWell..after reading the paper, I have decided that if the GenXers are going to be considered technological dinosaurs, then I

Interesting Findings On Charter Schools

2008-01-21T18:40:00.000-05:00

While not specifically speaking to cyber charter schools, this looks to be an interesting article.Disparities in charter school resources - the influence of state policy and communityAuthors: Edward Bodine a; Bruce Fuller a; María-Fernanda González a; Luis Huerta b; Sandra Naughton a; Sandra Park a; Laik Woon Teh aAffiliations: a University of California, Berkeley; b Teachers College,

Speaking of Wisconsin - Supernanny

2008-01-21T09:08:00.000-05:00

While I'll be honest and say hat I haven't watched this episode, this entry that appeared in my Bloglines last week alerted me to this...Critics take aim at virtual schooling after Kaukauna 'Supernanny' episode - Kathy Walsh Nufer, Gannett Wisconsin NewspapersBy Ray from Online Learning Update The nature of the online learning courses taken by two Kaukauna girls featured with their family on the

Focus on Wisconsin

2008-01-20T10:28:00.000-05:00

So, most of the Virtual Schooling in the News weekly feature this week dealt with the issue of the charter cyber schools in Wisconsin (and notice how most stories called them virtual schools - see A Need for a Common Language). Anyway, here are two items posted in the NACOL forums about the issue.Wisconsin at center of national debate over virtual schoolsBy RYAN J. FOLEY | Associated Press

Virtual Schooling in the News

2008-01-19T08:41:00.000-05:00

Lots of unregular sources this week, beginning with the ASCD SmartBrief.Supporters beg Wisconsin legislators to save virtual schools Parents, students and advocates of Wisconsin's 12 online schools packed a legislative hearing room in the state's Capitol building Wednesday to ask for a reprieve from a December appeals court ruling that would withhold millions in state taxpayer

NACOL Promising Practices Series: Blended Learning

2008-01-17T21:27:00.000-05:00

This was posted in one of the NACOL forums.NACOL Promising Practices Series: Blended Learning, Seeking ideas and examplesThroughout 2008 NACOL will be publishing a six-part white paper series on "Promising Practices in Online Learning." The first topic in this series will cover blended learning. Blended learning means many things to many people, even within our relatively small community. We

The Next Generation

2008-01-17T10:09:00.001-05:00

Its been a while since we discussed the next generation and generational differences. Well, that is all that they will be doing next week on the ITForum listserve.MembersWe have had a rather long time without a paper due to holidays and semesters, so we will be making up for lost time soon!Next Week, Tues through Friday we will be discussing Dr. Reeves paper Do Generational Differences

More On 21st Century Skills

2008-01-17T09:59:00.000-05:00

A while back I made a couple of posts about 21st Century Skills (see 21st Century Learning: 'We're Not Even Close' and VSS2007 - Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills). Well, regardless of what I think about the movement it seems that it isn't dying - at least not based upon a message in my inbox this morning.T.H.E. FocusJanuary 17, 2008*********************************************************

VSS Attendees: Check Out New Demo

2008-01-15T19:58:00.000-05:00

I got this in my inbox this afternoon. Not sure if this is open to others, but given it is a demo by a vendor one would assume that they'd like a wide audience. The NACOL 2007 Virtual School Symposium proved to be a great success! We at Jones Knowledge appreciated the chance to learn more about how K-12 institutions nationwide plan to address the needs of 21st century learners. To that end, we

Reminder - Register Today for Upcoming Teacher Talk Webinar

2008-01-15T11:08:00.001-05:00

Thursday, January 17, 2008 6:00 PM (Eastern) "Creating Community In The Online Classroom" Speakers: Janna Vega, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Idaho Digital Learning Academy Laura Harris, AP Department Chair, Georgia Virtual School Communication and collaboration are critical components in every classroom, so how