Beginning with the Education Week’s EDWeek Update.
TODAY’S TOP STORY
 Competency-Based Schools Embrace Digital Learning Educators using competency-based education coupled with technology will have a head start in preparing for common-core assessments, experts say. For more stories, visit Education Week‘s homepage. |
E-LEARNING SPECIAL REPORT
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But more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the evolving models, and to identify which ones work best for which types of students. • Chat Tomorrow: Improving Schools Through Blended Learning
View the full report, Evaluating What Works in Blended Learning. |
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Students in a Grand Rapids, Mich., innovation program blend virtual education and real-world experiences to prepare for college and careers. • Related Story: Calif. District’s Blended Initiative Aims to Personalize Learning
View the full report, Evaluating What Works in Blended Learning.
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E-Learning Opens Real-World DoorsNext, the ASCD SmartBrief.
PD programs use blended learning to boost differentiated instruction
Many professional-development programs are using blended-learning strategies to teach the teachers how to use the technique. Many of these programs also instruct teachers how to use blended learning to differentiate instruction before delving into how to use the technology. “We’re teaching teachers how to facilitate a classroom with a lot of different learning styles and modalities happening at the same time,” said Hope Johnston, specialist for online learning in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., school system, where teachers attend Web-based and blended professional-development courses. Education Week (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org) (10/24)
Also, from SmartBrief for EdTech.
Guide offers advice for districts starting online, blended-learning programs
Education Week/Digital Education blog (10/22)
Graduation requirements lead to surge in online course enrollment
The number of K-12 students who were enrolled in an online course in the 2011-12 school year was up by 16% over the previous year, as more states and districts adopted policies requiring online courses for high-school graduation. In an annual report, released this week by Evergreen Education Group, data show that 620,000 students were enrolled in such courses. However, Amy Murin, a lead researcher, said the success of such mandates depends on how they are implemented. U.S. News & World Report/High School Notes (10/24)
Virtual School Symposium draws record-breaking crowd
The Hechinger Report/Digital blog (10/24)
Student uses Skype to attend school virtually
An Illinois high-school student is attending class via Skype, which she has installed on her iPad. One of Alixandria Horstmann’s classmates came up with the virtual-schooling solution after she learned she could be out of school for up to three months because of her health. It helps that the school is virtually paperless and has no textbooks, allowing her to better communicate with her peers. KSDK-TV (St. Louis) (10/22)
Fla. Virtual School to provide online math program for K-5 students
The Florida Virtual School is joining forces with Dreambox Learning to provide part-time online math coursework for students in grades K-5. “This alliance provides Florida teachers and students with access to DreamBox Learning Math to help build a strong foundational understanding of elementary mathematics within a robust online blended learning environment,” said Julie Young, president and CEO of Florida Virtual School. T.H.E. Journal (10/25)
Back to the regular Google News alert for virtual school.
Virtual school enrollment jumps 38 percent
The Oshkosh Northwestern
An analysis by Gannett Wisconsin Media in August found that students enrolled in Wisconsin’s virtual schools tend to lag behind their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Students in virtual schools were also less likely to take ACT or Advance Placement tests.
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Report Gives New Guides for Launching Online Programs
Education Week News (blog)
For the first time, the Evergreen Education Group’s annual release of the “Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning” report, a fixture of the Virtual School Symposium that began today here in New Orleans, includes a 24-page insert that gives newcomers …
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Charter school companies, online learning outfits try to wield influence in …
Tampabay.com
Another high priority: a bill known as the parent trigger, which would let parents convert low-performing traditional schools into charter schools. Virtual-school outfits have a different agenda that would build on past successes. In 2011, state …
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DreamBox Learning and Florida Virtual School Form Alliance to Deliver …
MarketWatch (press release)
Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is an established leader in developing and providing virtual Kindergarten-12 education solutions to students all over Florida, the United States and the world. A nationally recognized e-Learning model and recipient of …
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Florida Virtual School Incorporates Face-to-Face Learning
Education Week News
The Florida Virtual School, the nation’s largest state-sponsored online K-12 school, has always been quick to adapt to trends, but now the most-established virtual public school in the country is venturing into a blended learning model that is in …
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Registration now open for Spring ISD Virtual School
Ultimate Spring
Registration for Spring ISD Virtual School’s spring 2013 semester and the 2013-14 school year is now open. Deadlines are Saturday, Dec. 1 for the spring semester and Wednesday, May 1, 2013, for the next school year. Spring ISD Virtual School is an …
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Horry County Schools sets meetings on high school options
MyrtleBeachOnline.com
The STEM program, the HCS Early College High School and the Scholars Academy are for rising ninth-grade students only. Career majors at AAST and ATA are open to rising high school juniors. Virtual School offerings are available for students in grades …
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US DOE official participates in virtual school symposium
The Republic
NEW ORLEANS — A senior official in the U.S. Department of Education will participate in a virtual school symposium in New Orleans. Karen Cator, director of the Office of Educational Technology, will take part in the symposium’s closing keynote panel …
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Virtual Academy is up and running, and enrolling students
Osakis Review
The virtual school is 100 percent online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Instruction is provided by Minnesota-licensed teachers. Students each have their own student achievement coordinator who knows them by name and who can help keep the …
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New Report: Half of High Schoolers Own Smartphones
Education Week News (blog)
… owned handheld computing devices among high school-aged students, with about 50 percent of those surveyed claiming ownership, according to a new report released Monday by Project Tomorrow here at the Virtual School Symposium in New Orleans.
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Florida Virtual School Adopts Adaptive Learning Math Program
T.H.E. Journal
Teachers and students with the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) will now have access to an online adaptive learning math program. The FLVS has announced a strategic alliance with DreamBox Learning, a provider of adaptive learning solutions. The alliance …
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Milwaukee area schools lose enrollment to virtual school
Marquette Tribune
Schools in the four-county Milwaukee metro area have been hit by a significant decrease in enrollment this year, while virtual charter schools have made gains, according to data released by the state that provides a preliminary head count of all …
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State develop online courses for remediation
Rapid City Journal
The new program, available through the South Dakota Virtual School, uses a diagnostic assessment to develop online coursework tailored individual students. Students who successfully complete the coursework can enter directly into college-level courses.
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Competency-Based Learning: 10 Elements, 10 Tools, & 10 Policies
Education Week News (blog)
A policymaker at the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) Virtual School Symposium (VSS) said, “We want to advance competency-based learning, what kind of bill should we introduce?” Let’s start by looking at the 10 design …
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Finally, the Google News alert for cyber school.
Lehi’s Jamie Glaser opening a new virtual music school
Salt Lake Tribune
… in the music world of jazz and commercial music and a Lehi resident, is opening a new virtual music school called Jamie Glaser’s Cyber School of Music.
Education committee to weigh options about the future of …
Bucks Local News
He also mentioned working with another school district via a cyber school as a potential, if only partial, solution to the district’s woes.
West Manchester Mall requires adult escort for teens
Yorkdispatch.com
“I’m out shopping with my grams,” said Frey, a 17-year-old city resident and PA Cyber School student. According to the mall’s new policy, guests younger …
Our Social Networks
News Item
I am calling about this cyber school stuff. I agree that some people have to cyber school, whether it is for health reasons or whatever for their children.
Manassas School Board Evaluates Community Requests for Capital …
Patch.com
The renovated space could house a cyber school or magnet program. New district Superintendent Catherine Magouyrk offered no immediate analysis of the …
