Teacher education

Beginning with the Eluminate Newsline – which is making its first appearance.

Alabama Department of Education Selected Elluminate to Deliver Professional Development and More.Elluminate is now a standard method of delivery for professional development and virtual meetings held by the Alabama Department of Education and ACCESS Distance Learning, which provides options and opportunities for Alamaba public high school students to enagage in a variety of online courses.
Learn more. »

Online Public High School Provides Unique Learning Opportunities with Elluminate . Insight Schools is on a roll, adding nine schools to its network of online public high schools this year alone. Learn more about how Elluminate synchronous learning environment helps drive enrollment and retention.

Next, the ASCD SmartBrief.

Online remediation lets students catch up at their own pace
As more high school graduates require remediation in math, some colleges are using online programs that allow students to focus on weak areas without taking up the time of full-time faculty. Some educators fear, however, that many students may lack the motivation to do the work without greater supervision. eSchool News (9/22)

Alabama to make distance learning mandatory for graduation
Next year, all high-school students in Alabama will be required to take and pass an online course in order to graduate. A growing number of students in Alabama already are learning online, with courses allowed to be taught by certified and highly qualified teachers only. Times Daily (Florence/Sheffield/Tuscumbia/Muscle Shoals, Ala.) (11/16)

Another irregular source, the DEC Weekly News.

Download Report — Learning Virtually: Expanding Opportunities
Source: State Educational Technology Directors Association
The paper highlights the opportunities offered through virtual learning to provide each student the promise of access to age- and ability appropriate curriculum, rich and extensive resources and accurate and up-to-date assessments regardless of location, economic situation or time. When effectively used, virtual learning allows for student centered, self-directed, self-paced learning that greatly enhances the curriculum offerings schools provide. Download Report in PDF

Download Report– Going Virtual: Unique Needs And Challanges Of K-12 Online Teachers
Source: North American Council for Online Learning

Download Report in PDF

Back to the Yahoo! News Alert for virtual school.

Spring Virtual School opens its portals to students on-the-go
Spring ObserverTue, 18 Nov 2008 8:32 AM PST
Spring Independent School District believes that anytime a school system can give children flexibility and a choice in how they learn will only have positive results.

Tennessee High Students Question Governor In Virtual Classroom
Bristol Herald CourierMon, 17 Nov 2008 10:01 PM PST
Students from a Tennessee High School government and economics class earned their way into the school’s first virtual real-time question-and-answer session Monday with Gov. Phil Bredesen.

The American Academys Rebekah Richards Addresses Virtual School Symposium
Business Wire via Yahoo! FinanceWed, 19 Nov 2008 7:00 AM PST
SALT LAKE CITY—-The American Academy’s Senior Vice President and School Principal, Rebekah Richards, recently addressed attendees of the Virtual School Symposium of the North American Council for Online Learning .

Spring Virtual School opens its portals to students on-the-go
Spring ObserverWed, 19 Nov 2008 0:55 AM PST
Spring Independent School District believes that anytime a school system can give children flexibility and a choice in how they learn will only have positive results.

Idaho Charter School Network to hold forum on virtual learning
The Idaho StatesmanWed, 19 Nov 2008 11:21 PM PST
The Idaho Charter School Network, a project of the Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies at Boise State University, will hold a free, public forum about virtual education from 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, on campus in the Simplot/Micron Building, 1st floor. Free parking will be available in the parking structure on Brady Street.

Spring Virtual School opens its portals to students on-the-go
Spring ObserverThu, 20 Nov 2008 0:41 AM PST
Spring Independent School District believes that anytime a school system can give children flexibility and a choice in how they learn will only have positive results.

‘Virtual’ high school courses take hold
Gloucester Daily TimesThu, 20 Nov 2008 7:27 PM PST
ROCKPORT and mdash; Rockport High School’s list of course offerings has expanded like never before. Students can now enroll in courses such as “International Business,” “World Religions,” and “Zoology,” as well as collegiate-level “advanced placement” courses for nearly every subject.

Spring Virtual School opens its portals to students on-the-go
Spring ObserverThu, 20 Nov 2008 11:21 PM PST
Spring Independent School District believes that anytime a school system can give children flexibility and a choice in how they learn will only have positive results.

Next the Yahoo! News Alert for cyber school.

Urbandale High physics teacher devises ‘cyber school’
The Altoona Herald-Mitchellville IndexMon, 17 Nov 2008 11:22 PM PST
An Urbandale High School teacher’s innovation allows educators to post lessons online and students to access materials any time, anywhere. Physics teacher Marc Hermon videotapes all of his lectures and posts them on his Web site, www.hermonswebsites.com . This allows students who are absent during discussion days to have a chance to watch the lectures at home and find out what they’ve missed.

Cyber teacher answers online plea for help
Valley News DispatchFri, 21 Nov 2008 4:10 AM PST
Rae Balog, a Spanish teacher for Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, was contacted by a cyber student from Reading whose home was being robbed. Balog alerted police from her work station in the Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer, and the family was spared harm.

Area cyber teacher receives frantic online plea from Reading student
Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewThu, 20 Nov 2008 9:14 PM PST
Rae Balog, a Spanish teacher for Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, calls 911 for a teen whose home was being ransacked.

Moving on to the Google News Alert for virtual school.

Florida Offers Online Schools for Fulltime K-8 Students
School Library Journal – USA
It’s still unclear how many students will actually take advantage of the new online elementary and middle school law. But if Florida Virtual School’s online …
See all stories on this topic

Decade later, public charter schools thriving
Arizona Republic – Phoenix,AZ,USA
Primavera started in 2001 as a traditional school in Chandler, but in 2003 switched to become a virtual school and launched its entire curriculum online. …
See all stories on this topic

K12 Inc. F1Q09 (Qtr End 9/30/08) Earnings Call Transcript
Seeking Alpha – New York,NY,USA
We of course continue to work to give parents a virtual school option in every state. In fiscal 2009 new state development looks promising, …
See all stories on this topic

Group of county students to take part in pilot program for online …
Memphis Commercial Appeal – Memphis,TN,USA
By Sherri Drake Silence (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal A batch of Shelby County students will experience learning in a virtual school as part of a …
See all stories on this topic

West Bend schools to offer phy ed online
Greater Milwaukee Today – WI, USA
The School Board this week approved $20400 to buy the courses from Florida Virtual School Global Services. The district plans to expand the program to …
See all stories on this topic <

Virtual school for children in care
Hunts Post – Huntingdon,England,UK
The virtual school has three elements, called track, educate and communicate. Track is a secure database to which no one other than Mrs Haines and her two …
See all stories on this topic

SETDA Releases the Final Report in Class of 2020: Action Plan for …
MarketWatch – USA
States and school districts should create innovative funding models that meet the needs of both traditional schools and virtual schools. …
See all stories on this topic

Finally, the Google News Alert for cyber school.

School plan dropped for new alternative
Pottstown Mercury – Pottstown,PA,USA
It could also provide a home for another idea the administration has been considering — having the school district establish its own cyber-school. …
See all stories on this topic

A colleague out in British Columbia sent me this direct message on Twitter an hour or so ago.

In case you are wondering, he is referring to the Open Education 2009 conference and Utah K12 is actually the Open High School of Utah (see Open High School tag for other OHS entries.

In looking through the program , there were two presentations that I found which focused on online learning and K-12 (not necessarily K-12 online learning though).

Thursday, August 13, 2009 – 3:30pm to 4:15pm

Vital Signs: Lessons from Building a Statewide Science Learning Environment
Sarah Kirn, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
(Rm. C100)

Friday, August 14, 2009 – 12:15pm to 1:00pm

The Interactive Social Language Education (ISLE) Platform: Creating Open Gaming for Online Language Learning
Andrew Blanco, Learning Games Network
(Rm. C150)

So, if you are in British Columbia or want to catch the sessions via UStream, check it out and feel free to report back on what you see.

Elluminate Newsline July 2009.

This showed up in my inbox yesterday. A couple of K-12 items included in there…

Elluminate Newsline
The ePublication created exclusively for educators.July 2009FEATURED STORY

Build online session plans. Try Elluminate Plan! FREE for 30 days. Create video podcasts. Try Elluminate Publish! FREE for 30 days. Manage your subscription. Customize your Newsline today.

Social Networking Pioneer Steve Hargadon Helps Build Unique Online Community for Educators. In his role as Elluminate’s first Social Learning Consultant, Steve helped create and continues to moderate the Elluminate-sponsored LearnCentral. Steve is the founder of Classroom 2.0, a community of educators interested in using Web 2.0 and collaboration technologies, which recently celebrated reaching 25,000 members. Read all about it.

Accredited Elluminate Teacher Certification Program Now Available. Online professional development is critical for today’s educators. The new Elluminate Teacher Certification Program is designed to help you develop the skills you need to excel in the virtual classroom. Plus, you’ll earn two academic or continuing education credits. Learn more.

Elluminate Breakout Rooms Deliver Student-Centered Experience for iSucceed Virtual High School. “Of all the tools available in Elluminate, I think breakout rooms are the most powerful,” explains Physical/Earth Science Instructor Carmell Van Patten. “That’s where the kids really get involved with their learning. Breakout rooms change everything from instructor-centered to putting the studnets in control to work through things on their own.” FInd out more.

Elluminate Center of Excellence Spotlight on McMaster University. “Elluminate has worked tick-tock, right on since day one. It has a cool factor that causes an immediate wow,” comments Elluminate Hero James Dietrich. “People want to be a part of it, so the adoption rate increases rapidly. I am a huge fan.” Read more.

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Do It Yourself eLearning: Ten Tips to Ensure Success. As a do-it-yourselfer, you may face uncharted waters with your eLearning program. Presenter Ray Jimenez, Chief Learning Architect for SimplifiedeLearning.com and TrainingMagNetwork.com, will show you how you can anticipate the challenges, stay focused, and make your programs successful. Seating is limited. Register now!

Got Feedback? Have a question about anything in this issue? Just give us a call or send us an email. We’d love to hear from you.

Best regards,

Want to know the latest news and views from Elluminate? Be among the first to get customer success stories, breaking press releases, new product information, blog entries, and more. Follow Elluminate on Twitter now! Check out our exciting upcoming Elluminate webinars,including those hosted by Ambient Insight and Training Magazine Network. Plus, follow elluminateweb on Twitter for the latest on our webinars.

I saw an entry entitled Please vote for the ISTE 2010 conference keynote! at Dangerously Irrelevant earlier today and it reminded me of my own ISTE suggestion (see ISTE 2010 Conference Keynote Topic Suggestions ). As you’ll recall, I made a suggestion for a keynote topic and encouraged folks to go and vote for it. At the end of Phase 1, they selected the top five topics and then asked for suggestions on who should present those five topics.

Taking stock in my own suggestion, here is a screen shot of that page:

Click on the image to go to the page for that topic or visit
http://iste2010.uservoice.com/pages/30480-closed-forum-iste-2010-conference-keynote-topic-suggestions to see all of the topics.

You’ll note that my suggestion finished 12th overall. To get in the top ten I would have needed at least 271 votes, the top five would have been 433 votes and to have been first overall would have taken 1151 votes. In one sense I look at the top two selections and see individuals that have blogs and other social networking tools that have vastly more followers than I have for this blog and my Twitter and Plurk networks – which likely played a role (although I can’t say how big of a role). I do wonder if this is a true reflection of the interest within ISTE for this kind of topic.

About two years ago, although it may have been three, was the first time that ISTE had a track that was focused on K-12 online learning at their annual NECC conference. And while I have never attended, I have seen some interested presentation titles and abstracts for that track during that time. Again, while I have never been to NECC, I’ve been told that it is THE conference to interact with teachers who have an interest in technology in education. So it does beg the question, is online learning really that far off of the radar screens of this constituency of teachers?

BTW, if you want to vote in this phase 2 of the ISTE keynote selection process, visit http://iste2010.uservoice.com/pages/34277-phase-2-instructions

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

- ISTE 2010 Conference Keynote Topic Suggestions
- A Keynote On Faith in Innovation
- ISTE 2010 Keynote Idea
- Congratulations Jeff Piontek – ISTE 2010 “Crowdsource” Keynote Speaker!