Virtual Schooling

Making learning accessible to learners anywhere

This network is designed to engage those working in the development of virtual schooling networks around the world. Virtual schooling involves any situation where a learner's experience of schooling is partially or completely online - whether provided by a virtual/online school, or by independent providers delivering courses into existing school environments.

Virtual High School Meanderings

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Estrella Lily is now a member of Virtual Schooling
on Sunday
Jan Galloway is now a member of Virtual Schooling
December 10, 2009
Robert Zenhausern added a blog post
The Enabling Support Foundation has initiated an international collaboration for classrooms throughout. We will match classes and provide ongoing support for projects ranging from general cultural exchange to specific projects to meet specific needs…
December 5, 2009
David Frankel is now a member of Virtual Schooling
December 3, 2009
Maria Pittman added a blog post
What criterion do you have to judge to buy an essay online? … It is very common that every time you search for an essay writing service to buy essay, you get thousands of sites in the search engine result. This huge list of sites makes it really com…
October 16, 2009
Ann Mock and Jen Thomas are now friends
September 20, 2009
Michael Barbour added a discussion
Please note that Jennifer Roland, formerly of ISTE, has posted a guest blog entry today on Virtual High School Meanderings/ entitled "Virtual Classrooms and Pandemic Prevention". If you participate in one of her discussion questions, by leaving a c…
September 19, 2009
Joshua Burns added a blog post
im a stupid ginger my name is Joshua Burns.... Reply
September 14, 2009

Virtual Schooling is taking off in many places all over the world - and in a number of different guises, but the basic issues and drivers are very similar

In New Zealand we've seen the development of clusters of schools sharing staffing and resources to provide students with access to the range of curriculum areas that they desire, using video conferencing. I've been involved with the development of such clusters since 1994 in the days when we used audio-graphics conferencing.

More recently I've had an involvement with the development of the Virtual Learning Network, an online brokerage service that is designed to help schools link with each other to provide courses and support for students.

The virtual learning network provides a powerful solution to many of the challenges and concerns facing secondary schools today… BUT, some of the questions below still linger…

  • Is what we are doing truly learner-centric?
  • Are we simply replicating the practices of the f2f classroom?
  • How can we get policy change to provide the flexibility we require?
  • Is our view of the technology future-proofed?
  • Where is the evidence that what we are doing is supporting the claims we are making?
Issues to be addressed before the use of distance/eLearning methodologies can become truly systemic in NZ include:
Policy issues
  • How can student funding be shared between schools?
  • How can staffing, including management units, be shared among schools
  • What evidence needs to be gathered to demonstrate the worth of this?
Technology issues
  • Connectivity and interoperability – who sets the standards?
  • Networks – VPNs or MUSH etc
  • Bridging – what is required? What technologies must be supported?
  • Scheduling – enable direct access and school level control?
Curriculum issues
  • assessment – developing consistency in approach
  • reporting – enabling a unified student report from several ‘schools’ etc
  • modularisation – a different view of ‘course’
  • RPL – includes recognising the value of informal learning
Staffing issues
  • Creating more flexibility in recognising teacher roles: e-teachers, m-teachers, c-teachers,
  • How to involve those with real subject expertise as mentors, hotseats etc
Pedagogical issues
  • “personalisation” – what does it mean? How do we make it happen?
  • staff training – how to train a large group of the teaching force in these new approaches?
Leadership and coordination issues
  • where does the leadership come from?
  • What form should leadership take?
  • What coordination is required nationally, locally etc?
Learning Resource issues
  • How best to provide resources for learning to support teachers in this environment
  • learning objects, repositories, search tools – who provides them, who manages them etc?
  • how to cater for user-generated resources?
  • Copyright and IP issues – how are these to be managed?
Quality issues
  • What is best practice?
  • What are quality indicators?
This community is designed to engage practitioners and policy makers in discussing some of these issues and sharing experiences and solutions!

Forum

Michael Barbour

Virtual Classrooms and Pandemic Prevention

Started by Michael Barbour Sep. 18, 2009.

arkis

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Started by arkis Aug. 19, 2009.

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rachel

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Posted by rachel on December 10, 2009 at 11:34pm

rachel

Grab the Beauty of Hill Stations with Himachal Pradesh Tour

Welcome to Himachal Pradesh. It is one of the most beautiful tours and travel destination in India, where tourists come from across the globe. It is endowed with imposing natural beauty, snow capped mountains, religious temples, inviting trekking routes, colonial buildings, fruit laden orchards and several other striking tourists attraction. Hill stations of the state are also very popular for adventure and sports. Its soothing climatic conditions, tourism options and accommodation facilities at… Continue

Posted by rachel on December 10, 2009 at 11:33pm

Robert Zenhausern

Get involved with international collaboration

The Enabling Support Foundation has initiated an international collaboration for classrooms throughout. We will match classes and provide ongoing support for projects ranging from general cultural exchange to specific projects to meet specific needs or for special needs students. Right now at least 15 classes from Morocco are interested in improving the English proficiency of students and classes in the Caribbean are being formed. You can see the initial development of the project and Register y… Continue

Posted by Robert Zenhausern on December 5, 2009 at 3:59am

Maria Pittman

13 Considerable Factors Before You Buy Essays!

What criterion do you have to judge to buy an essay online? … It is very common that every time you search for an essay writing service to buy essay, you get thousands of sites in the search engine result. This huge list of sites makes it really complicated for you to pick one out of thousands services available claiming to be the best in market.

At t… Continue

Posted by Maria Pittman on October 16, 2009 at 5:33pm

manoj kumar

Cost Effective and Smooth Shifting with Pune Movers

Relocation means moving to the new location with your belongings for short period of time or to settle in that particular place permanently. Whatever be the time period people often move to new location for betterment in life. Pune city is famous world wide for its scenic natural beauty. People often move in and out of this city for various reasons and to help the people with their shifting process many moving companies are there in Pune. They offer high quality shifting services to customers at… Continue

Posted by manoj kumar on September 26, 2009 at 3:02am

 
 

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