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struggling with class-size compliance,” Ms. Emhof wrote in an email. “Providing a blended learning environment is a natural next step for them.” Over time, Florida Virtual has sought to systematize that next step. Facilitators, for example, who may or may not be certified teachers, must now take an online training course developed by the flvs. The course familiarizes facilitators with the flvs monitoring system, shows them how to track student pacing, and helps them troubleshoot technical issues. Moneyeke Martin, an 8th grader at Broward County’s Bair Middle School, is taking a course in earth sciences this school year through the flvs Virtual Learning Lab. She’s in the school’s Junior Acad-

emy for Digital Acceleration, or jada, and is seeking to earn high school credits. Her online instructor visits once a week. The in-class facilitator also plays a key role, Ms. Moneyeke said. “Sometimes I might get too comfortable and slack a bit, and she’ll be there to say, ‘You need to get this done or else you won’t finish the course on time,’ ” she said. Michelle Licata, the current flvs Teacher of the Year, was an online teacher for many Bair students last school year. She visited her students every other Wednesday. Those visits “took it to a whole other level,” she said. “I was able to go ... and really and truly get to know the whole person.” But there have been challenges. Geographically, many flvs teach-

ers are spread throughout the state and are not always situated close to the students they teach. In addition, many Virtual Learning Labs have students taking a variety of courses, and each online teacher does not visit weekly. Ms. Close said students still appreciate the flvs teacher’s visit and the interaction, however, even if it’s not from their own instructor. It’s also been a scheduling challenge to group students in the same school with the same online teacher. Flvs teachers have had to adjust the hours they are available. Typically, the online teachers get the most student questions between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., said Crystal Howard, the senior manager of Florida relations for the flvs. Now teachers must be available during the day,

when students are in their Virtual Learning Labs. But Laurie Kaye Davis, a president of the parent-teacher-student association at Miami Beach Senior High School in the 345,000-student Miami-Dade district, said her school has two Virtual Learning Labs with designated facilitators, but flvs teachers only visit monthly. Technology in the labs is old, and the Internet connection is slow. To make matters worse, she said, the facilitators are often unable to help students with subjectmatter questions, since there may be students taking 30 different courses in one lab. Though students can contact their flvs teacher during class, Miami-Dade has a ban on student cellphone use, making it difficult for

them to text or call their teachers, Ms. Davis said. “I would be a fan of hybrid learning and I think a lot of times it can work well,” she said. “But what’s here, I’m not a big fan.” Ms. Clow noted, though, that students can contact their online teachers in a variety of ways, including through email, instant messaging, and the use of virtual classrooms.

‘REAL TEACHERS’
Flvs courses are also being used in other blended learning scenarios. Three years ago, Miami-Dade opened its first iPrep Academy as a magnet school or program for accelerated high school students. The program uses Florida Virtual courses and teachers, but in a nontraditional setting. The original iPrep Academy, for example, located in what was once a downtown Miami administration building, features beanbag chairs and a cafe, where students can work and exchange ideas, said Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. The emphasis on personal learning allows students to work at their own pace, accelerating their learning when possible. The face-to-face teachers there “are inspirational entities that navigate and negotiate knowledge acquisition,” Mr. Carvalho said. It’s worth noting that the iPrep teachers are more than just facilitators. They are master teachers, certified in core areas such as math and English/language arts, and they combine their own teaching with the digital curriculum and the instruction from online teachers. “These blended learning environments provide for the best of both worlds,” Mr. Carvalho said. “We’re trying to create environments that allow for extreme social interaction side by side with virtual opportunities.” The district now has more than 900 students at nine iPrep Academy sites. Mr. Carvalho said he is collecting data on program effectiveness, but says end-of-course test scores for geometry and biology for the program’s first crop of 9th graders were some of the state’s highest. And even though Florida Virtual is known primarily for its online work, the school is trying to incorporate some face-to-face interaction into its full-time online program, too, said Rick Perkins, the principal of the flvs full-time virtual high school, which has 2,500 students. During the last school year, the school hosted more than 50 inperson field trips or events across the state. They all were designed to have a strong educational focus, such as the recent field trip to Florida’s Blue Spring State Park, where students learned about marine life, manatees, and ecosystems. While attendance is not mandatory, Mr. Perkins said, a majority of students participate. This year’s goal is to increase the number of face-to-face gatherings and market them to students and their families more aggressively, he said. “It makes the program come alive and makes the people involved in the program real,” he said. “It’s not just a faceless entity behind a phone call or responding to an email. We’re a real school with real teachers.” n

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OCTOBER 24, 2012


http://www.RosettaStone.com/k12/mobilelearning http://www.RosettaStone.com/k12/mobilelearning http://www.edweek.org/go/elearning-blended

Education Week - October 24, 2012 - Special Report

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - October 24, 2012 - Special Report

Education Week - October 24, 2012
‘Smart Pills’ Promising, Problematic
At S.C. School, Behavior Is One of the Basics
Obama Finding Teacher Support Secure, if Tepid
Focus On: Curriculum: Calif. Laws Shift Gears on Algebra, Textbooks
Table of Contents
News in Brief
Report Roundup
‘Value Added’ Use at Secondary Level Questioned
National Board Seeks to Revive Impact on Profession
Industry & Innovation
Blogs of the Week
Debates Push Fate of NCLB Waivers to Fore
Policy Menu Varies in State School Board Elections
Policy Brief
The Election: Debating Education
Genevieve LaFleur & Scott Poland: Schools Can Be the Difference in Preventing Suicide
Kenneth Wesson: From STEM to ST2REAM: Reassembling Our Disaggregated Curriculum
Letters
Top School Jobs Recruitment Marketplace
Erica Frankenberg & Gary Orfield: Diversity or Resegregation? Why Suburban Schools Need a Plan
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