Riverside Virtual School Update

DARPA Mentor Award

2012-01-26T16:07:00.000-08:00

A new project, announced on theMakezine blog, aims to bring low cost innovation and alternative manufacturingprocesses to schools in hopes of turbo-charging the next generation ofinventors in the U.S. Very cool stuff!

Dale Dougherty of MAKE and Dr. SaulGriffith of Otherlab, through an award received from The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA), will integrate online tools fordesign and collaboration with low-cost options for physical workspaces where students mayaccess educational support to gain practical hands-on experience with newtechnologies and innovative processes to design and build projects.

Their goal is to reach 1000 highschools over the next four years. They are starting with a pilot program of 10schools in California during the 2012-2013 school year. The Manufacturing Experimentation and Outreach(MENTOR) program is part of the DARPA’s Adaptive Vehicle Make program portfolioand is aimed at engaging high school students in a series of collaborativedistributed manufacturing and design experiments. We are hoping to bring them to Riverside Virtual School.

Read the article at : http://blog.makezine.com/2012/01/19/darpa-mentor-award-to-bring-making-to-education/

College Choices and the Job Market

2012-01-25T11:36:00.001-08:00

Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce has a new report out called "Hard Times: College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal" and it analyses unemployment by major. It shows that students and their families that take on student loans aren't asking what their college major is worth in the workforce.

Too many students aren't getting on-the-job training while they're in school or during summer breaks. As a result, questions about employment opportunities or what type of job they have the skills to attain are met with blank stares or the typical, "I don't know." Worse yet, what they choose might lead to increased challenges in hiring after college.

The reports found that the unemployment rate for recent graduates is highest in architecture (13.9 percent) because of the collapse of the construction. Unemployment rates are generally higher in non-technical majors, such as the arts (11.1 percent), humanities and liberal arts (9.4 percent), social science (8.9 percent) and law and public policy (8.1 percent). Click on the link to learn more...

The Georgetown Report

News from Apple

2012-01-18T08:14:00.001-08:00

Apple will announce, on January 19th, itsnew e-book creation and social interaction tools at their media event takingplace in New York. New York happens to be the heart of the publishing industry.The world will be watching.

Steve Jobs believed that the textbookpublishing industry was ripe for digital takeover. At present it has thepotential of an eight-billion-dollar-a-year paycheck for Apple and its newtechnology. Insiders at Apple say that Jobs was directly and intimatelyinvolved with Apple's efforts in the area right up until his death.

The company states that the tools helpcreate interactive e-books— a "GarageBand for e-books," if you will —andexpands its current platforms to distribute them to iPhone and iPad users.

Frustrated e-book authors and publishers have complainedabout the current state of software tools and openly expressed their desire fora simple app that makes the process "as easy as creating a song inGarageBand."

Apple heard their call and is now claiming to have theproduct. This has the potential of revolutionizing the industry, leveling theplaying field for everyone, and being the first substantial new product for CEOTim Cook in a post-Jobs era.

To read more about this go to: Appleto announce tools, platform to "digitally destroy" textbookpublishing.

UCR Students Link Learning to Future Success

2012-01-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

A group of innovative University of California Riverside students hascome up with an idea that they believe will solve the problem of high tuitionand college debt that plagues the average college student in the presentCalifornia University system.

Their idea is to let students get their education first and then payafter they graduate, when they are earners, rather than pay for school duringthe years they are at the university.

The plan requires graduates to pay five percent of their salariesevery year for 20 years to repay the state for their education.

UCRiverside students propose new tuition payment plan

Back to Basics?

2011-11-30T08:16:00.000-08:00

Everything old is new again. That's seems to be true in design, in politics and in education. I see now that unit blocks are making a comeback in a big way. A unit block is a type of standardized wooden toy block for children. Known also as standard unit blocks or kindergarten blocks, these building blocks are common in preschools and some kindergarten classrooms in the United States.

The New York Times published a recent article titled "With Blocks, Educators Go Back to Basics". It discusses a renewed faith by educators in unit blocks. National school-supply companies are beginning to add more block-related products to their catalogs this year. It's a learning strategy whose time seems to have come again.

Studies going back to the 1940s have proven, among other things, that children absorb basic math concepts better when using blocks. A study published in 2001 titled "Block Play Performance Among Preschoolers As a Predictor of Later School Achievement in Mathematics." tracked 37 preschoolers and found that children got better math grades and standardized test scores if they engaged in sophisticated block play.

There was another study in 2007 by Dimitri Christakis titled, "Block-Play May Improve Language Development In Toddlers", that demonstrated significantly better language skills in those children who played with unit blocks.

In India, Turkey, and South Korea, leaders are finding ways to put technology into the hands of learners in early grades in order to expand access to learning resources and high quality instruction. We are returning to wooden building blocks. Go figure.

We are getting Closer

2011-11-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a trivia game based on the concept of "the small world phenomenon" and rests on the assumption that anyone involved in the Hollywood, California film industry can be linked through his or her film roles to actor Kevin Bacon within six steps.

This is a play on the "Six Degrees of Separation" concept that refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth. Well, in an article published in the New York Times titled "Separating You and Me? 4.74 Degrees", Facebook and the University of Milan have successfully proven that the number today is really 4.74.

Experimenting over one month, Milan wrote the algorithms and Facebook supplied the cohort: 721 million Facebook users.

Of course this requires re-evaluating the definition of what a friend exactly is. It also has to take into consideration the average age of Facebook users and that these are people who are computer literate. It still demonstrates how small the world is getting and how intertwined we are all becoming.

Where do we go from here?

2011-10-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

Since the death of Steve Jobs there have been numerous articles written about his impact on the world, what a visionary he was and the question was posed, "Will we ever see the likes of a Steve Jobs again?" Of course we will. And that person is sitting in a classroom…or engaged in an online class…and hopefully being encouraged to embrace their inner Steve.

Jules Verne wrote, “What one man can imagine, another can achieve.” That is exactly what sci-fi writers do...they imagine. How many times have you read a book, watched a movie or TV show, and observed things that later came to pass? Think back about the original "Star Trek" TV show. Things that wowed us then (Communicators, Tricorders, digital displays, automatic doors, etc.) are so common now that we seldom notice them.

Are you wondering what the next big thing is? Where innovative thinking might be taking us next? Have some fun and go to the source of inspiration for many innovators, the science fiction writer. Kevin J. Anderson did just that in a recent article for Input | Output (Hewlett Packard’s technology blog). The article is titled "Science Fiction’s Take on the Future of Computers: Visionaries and Imaginaries". Mr. Anderson asks some of the best writers of Sci-Fi for their take on the Future of Computers. Some of them are really out there...or are they?

Inertia and Academia

2011-10-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

This month "The Atlantic" has a wonderful story about the reluctance of higher education to embrace new technology, specifically, online education. It does not just due to lack of funding - traditional institutions have a hard time adjusting to innovation.

A classic example was faced by Akio Morita of Sony Corporation. Sony’s top executives hated the idea of the Walkman. They question its value due to a lack of the ability to record and preferred to focus on a more sophisticated product line – one targeting the high-end consumer. Morita was pursuing a low end innovation strategy and his strategy won. The Walkman propelled Sony to the top of consumer electronics by leveraging the non-competitive children’s market. One that Magnavox and RCA didn't value. They should have.

The traditional education mindset resists innovation in an attempt to protect institution. For-profit schools don't seem to have this problem and they are currently exploiting this advantage with the skill of a guerilla, rebel insurgency. A classic example is the University of Phoenix.

The parent company of UOP just bought Carnegie Learning which made computer -based math tutorials. It was a relatively small acquisition, less than $100 million, but its purchase is a sign of the revolution that's coming.

Carnegie Learning was founded and is run by computer and cognitive scientists from Carnegie Mellon. They use cutting edge science the way a doctor wields a scalpel. Their tutorials tap into the way students learn and what motivates them academically to succeed. Using their proprietary technology, students needs are met at the individual level with a personalization and sophistication that is hard for even an expert tutor to match. These tutorials are used by 600,000 secondary students in over 3,000 schools nationwide. And this is just the beginning.

These secondary students, who initially didn't think of UOP as a college choice, will become familiar and comfortable with these tutorials and the UOP methodology. Much in the same way that Sony sought teenagers…who grew up to be faithful consumers of their higher-end products.

The incumbents should be very worried.

Education Facts from The Chronicle of Higher Education Almanac

2011-09-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

The Chronicle of Higher Education's almanac has released its higher education facts in its most recent issue, 2011. Here are a few that caught my attention.

1. Less than one third of Americans hold at least a bachelor's degree, but at least 30 percent of adults in 16 states--mostly on the coasts--have earned a bachelor's degree or higher. The three interior states among the 16 are Utah, Illinois, and Minnesota.

2. While 347,985 students earned business degrees in 2009, only 15,496 grads walked away with a degree in mathematics.

3. One of the fastest growing degree areas is park, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. During the most recent 10-year period, the number of students earning degrees in this major (31,667) jumped 92 percent.

4. Among common majors, education experienced the biggest drop in interest among undergrads. In a 10-year period, the number of students earning an education degree declined 5 percent.

5. During a 10-year span ending in 2009, undergraduate enrollment has jumped 38 percent, with some of the highest growth occurring in Arizona (149 percent), Georgia (77 percent), West Virginia (56 percent), and Florida (54 percent).

6. Only 9 percent of students attend universities or other state colleges that conduct intensive research.

7. 16 percent of students attend private nonprofit colleges and universities.

8. Between 1999 and 2009, undergrad enrollment at for-profit schools soared 539 percent compared with 32 percent for public institutions.

9. Twenty three percent of full-time undergrads, who are 24 or younger, work 20 hours or more a week.

10. 9.4 percent of all college students attend community college in California.

New grade levels for RVS

2011-08-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

The Riverside Virtual School staff has been hard at work this summer. Not only did several of teachers and administrators travel to Philadelphia for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference to learn from what educators across the country, curriculum design teams have been hard at work. Two major additions to the RVS program are set to be engaged in two weeks.

1. RVS will expand into grades 3 -5, opening opportunities for fulltime enrollment for elementary aged students. The RVS program now serves students in grades 3 - 12 and is eager to welcome homeschooling families from throughout Southern California that have been requesting access the lower grade levels.

2. The middle school curriculum has been revised to incorporate integrated social studies and English Language Arts courses and lab-based sciences. The new curriculum is built on a foundation of project-based learning and designed to ensure students are prepared for the rigorous Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) tracks , including new bio-medical and environmental science tracks, at the high school level.

It just keeps coming,,,

2011-08-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

Mark Crotty has a blog named "To Keep Things Whole" and he recently wrote a great post titled "Questions for Tech Leaders". Read it when you have the time. In the post, Mark talks about technology in education, the nature of change and poses questions to technology leaders about the nature of what they do. It got me thinking about how much and how fast everything has and is changing, in everyday life, in education and in our professional lives because of these technological changes.

Technology isn’t like carpentry or plumbing. In those fields, practitioners build their skills over time. But, one can argue that the tools have remained somewhat fixed for some time. With technology you make a bet that whatever area, tool, or software program you choose to focus on will be around in five years. There is so much road kill littering the Information Super Highway that it isn’t hard to begin to list the names of once high flying, promising tech apps, philosophies, businesses, and technologies that didn't pan out and are now gone.

A while ago the World Wide Web had its 20th birthday. Twenty years ago the first web sites were done completely in applications like Notepad. There were no editors at the time and I think Photoshop was in version 2. People were using the Magellan Browser and Netscape was brand new. Looking back, it was really quite primitive. Since then there has been LINUX, Windows, Mac, HTML, HTML5, JavaScript, Cold Fusion, Perl, PHP, CSS, XHTML, XML, Flash and a long list of computer protocols. We’ve seen the rise and fall of Napster, AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy, Sun, Silicon Graphics, Pets.com, WebVan.com, theGlobe.com, and Yahoo; as well as a completely new world in which Bookstores, Magazines, Newspapers, the Music business, the Movie business, Network TV, Cable TV, Radio exist (or cease to exist).

Every once in a while I’ll talk to someone about technology. They will say something like, “Man, I really missed the boat on that (fill in the blank). I wish I got into it a long time ago.”

To which I reply…What did you choose to invest in today?.

Aspen Institute's Education Innovation Forum

2011-01-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

This past week, I was at the Aspen Institutes Education Innovation Forum and Exposition in Washington DC. It was an invitation-only event that brought together over 500 education innovators, for-profit and philanthropic investors, and the country's most creative public and private sector leaders to address the challenges facing American education. The following link provides details of the event and participants (http://www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/docs/edinno/index.html).

Riverside Virtual School's validation-level Investing in Innovation (i3) proposal was featured as one of the most highly rated, but unfunded, applications received by the Department of Education. The Department of Education received over 1,700 i3 applications in total, from which they funded 49 projects. At this event, the department highlighted 80 applications that they determined worthy of funding via private and public investors and philanthropists. Speakers included Arne Duncan, Alan Greenspan, and leading thinkers in the K12 education and communication technology sectors. At our project booth, I was able to meet with members of the White House Domestic Policy Council staff, the Department of Education's Education Technology Director and staff, and individuals from the Ford, Stupski, Hewlett, and Gates educational foundations.

Our proposal, called The California Open Campus Initiative (CAOCI), was designed to provide access to innovative tools and resources designed to meet the unique learning needs of students, including students with disabilities and/or limited English proficiency in 16 California school districts. This consortium of school districts, in partnership with businesses, non-profits, and researchers from the University of Southern California, proposes to leverage time, resources, and opportunity to expand access to online learning opportunities, through the Riverside Virtual School, for students and teachers with the overarching goals to increase student achievement in math and science and to enhance college readiness. Federal funds would expand access to rigorous, evidence-based, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) resources via virtual learning environments accessible from the classroom, from home, or from any location with access to the Internet.

RVS Moves to a New Home

2010-02-18T16:18:00.000-08:00

The Riverside Virtual School staff and students end the month of February with a new place to call home. Now located at the Educational Options Center (EOC) in Riverside, the RVS program benefits from the wide range of services already housed on the EOC campus. School activities will commence at the new address on Monday, February 22.

RVS Accreditation

2010-02-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

The Riverside Virtual School received full accreditation through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), becoming one of the few fully accredited public (non-commercial or charter) virtual school programs in the State of California. Way to go RVS team!

Way to go Riverside!

2009-10-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

Riverside has been identified as one of 21 "Smart Cities in the world for 2010. This is in large measure to the SmartRiverside program. The Riverside Virtual School is proud to be partnered with the City of Riverside in several technology initiatives that support our school program. Click on this link to read about the 21 cities honored this year.

College and Career Fair

2009-09-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

Just returned from the 5th annual Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce College and Career Fair. What an incredible event! Over 5,000 students attended workshops, visited with representatives from 64 college and universities, and various other programs. The Riverside Virtual School occupied a booth for the second year in a row. This year was particularly enjoyable for me as I watched RVS students, teachers, and parents work the booth and openly recruit for THEIR program. I was listening to RVS students tell potential recruits why they decided to pursue online learning and how it has impacted their lives. It certainly makes all of the hard work worthwhile. Teachers, students, and parents...Thank you! I am proud to be on your team.

P.E. - Family Style!

2009-09-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

I arrived back on campus yesterday afternoon to find my staff developer (in shorts I never wanted to see him in), teachers, and even a parent or two preparing to run the mile on a very ward Southern California day. Although running the mile is only a requirement for our students, it was fun to see staff and families making exercise a group activity. Scott Hanes (our PE teacher) and Courtney Hanes (our Instructional Supervisor for grades 9-12) are to be congratulated for their work in supporting a family-oriented atmosphere at the Riverside Virtual School. Ready to Run, Dr. Miller? How about you Mrs. Cloud? Come on and join us next time!

Enrollment Swells As School Year Begins

2009-09-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

This week brought new faces into the Riverside Virtual School family. Full-time enrollment has grown 300% since June. Students from throughout the Inland Empire have responded to this unique learning opportunities RVS provides, including whole families of students in grades 6 - 12. Home-schooling families have found a true partner in RVS. We are excited to have you all on board and look forward to continued growth throughout the school year as you help us spread the word.

The concurrent program also experienced significant growth this fall, forcing the school program to establish waiting lists for many classes for the first time. Fall concurrent enrollment requests were up by 260% from this time last fall as RVS expanded the number of courses available for concurrent enrollment.

Parent Advocacy

2009-08-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

The George Lucas Foundation posted an interesting article regarding how parents can advocate for their school program...

"In Philadelphia, Kevin and Nancy Peter have long been boosters of public education and their neighborhood elementary school, C.W. Henry Elementary School, which their son attended when he was in grades K-4. The Peters's enthusiasm for the school has led them to reach out to other local families to encourage them to enroll their children as well."

Here is a link to the article, which contains their recommendations about getting out the message.

Beginning a New School Year

2009-08-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Students were back on campus (both in person and online) today! The Riverside Virtual School staff met this past week to prepare for the return of full-time and concurrently enrolled students from across Southern California. What an exciting time for RVS, as the full-time student group grows and we add courses and grade levels. We are excited to welcome eight new teachers (Karen Bennett, Clinton Ball, Jeremy Standerfer, Charles Andersen, Rusty Bailey, Anne Hendrickson, Dave Dillon, and Kelly McAllister) to the staff room. They will join our returning teaching staff as we expand our curriculum to meet the learning needs of students in grades 6 through 12.

Full-time students are gathering together for a 2-day "RVS Boot Camp" experience at the Grant Education Center in Riverside. Students and teachers are participating in team building and academic planning activities designed to result in development of personalized strategic learning plans for the coming year.

I am excited to report that the full-time student population has doubled since school let out in June and the phone calls keep coming in. The seeds planted in the past several month are beginning to take root in the homeschooling community and families are embracing the RVS "value-added" approach to student learning experience.

New Year Brings New Course Options

2009-08-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

The Riverside Virtual School has had an incredibly busy summer! In June, we offered summer school opportunities to RUSD students for the first time. Nearly 800 students accessed summer work through the RVS Blackboard system.

Riverside Virtual School staff, RUSD teachers, and RUSD curriculum specialists have worked diligently to construct the online curriculum for grades to be added for the 2009-2010 school year. These new courses include the core 6th, 7th, and 8th grade curriculum, AP Environmental Science, Earth Science, Music Appreciation, British Literature, AP Computer Science, and Fitness for Life (RUSD's virtual PE course). This work, which will continue throughout the school year, was funded through several grant applications and a 2009 congressional appropriation through the US Department of Education.

Thank you to all of the teachers and RUSD staff who partnered with us this summer to get the work done.

New Federal Study Shows Promise of Virtual Learning

2009-08-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

A 2009 report released by the Department of Education in Washington DC shows that students clearly benefit from the learning opportunities provided through online learning. The meta-analysis of 1,000+ empirical studies on online learning found that students performed best in blended learning classes, which combine the best of online and face-to-face instruction within a virtual learning environment that both extends and enhances the instructional program of the school.

“This new report reinforces that effective teachers need to incorporate digital content into everyday classes and consider open-source learning management systems, which have proven cost effective in school districts and colleges nationwide,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Technology presents a huge opportunity that can be leveraged in rural communities and inner-city urban settings, particularly in subjects where there is a shortage of highly qualified teachers. At the same time, good teachers can utilize new technology to accelerate learning and provide extended learning opportunities for students.”

The report suggests that online learning is gaining momentum for good reason. The blended (hybrid) learning model, promoted by programs like the Riverside Virtual School, is found to have the highest effect; producing results greater than both traditional face-to-face instruction and 100% online classes.

When Challenges Provide Opportunities

2009-07-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

Over the past several weeks, the Riverside Virtual School has been meeting with county schools officials regarding how online learning might provide enhanced opportunities for students in residential facilities. The more we talk, the more interesting the discussions become and the more powerful the potential outcomes. I am excited that disadvantaged students might benefit from the learning environment at RVS, but more so that the flexibility provided by the virtual learning environment will allow students to engage in learning opportunities currently and historically beyond their reach. This is a fine example of how collaboration between two discrete school systems, partnering with community-based organizations, can be leveraged to meet individual student learning needs. We truly do our best work when we work together as a community.

Reflections

2009-07-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

We have completed our benchmarking trip and are preparing to return to Southern California. Rick Miller, Jay McPhail and I arrived on the East Coast last Sunday evening and have since visited with 10 districts, in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland.This opportunity to "get out of the mix" and look at what others are doing has provided clarity of vision and new energy to fuel our work in Riverside.

Special Thanks to Randy and his team at BOSS (incredible stuff), Rick with NNDS, John at JeffCo (you are a leader who get's it), Bert and Mike at BCPS (we will be in touch), Tommy and Tony from the School of the Future (your passion is contagious), and the gang at Centennial (what a team). Also, thanks go to Chad at Blackboard and Scott at Microsoft for their assistance in setting up the trip.

Benchmarking Trip

2009-07-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Preparing to head out to Blackboard World '09 in Washington DC. While in the area, we will conduct benchmarking visits to several school districts to observe technology-integration implementations that incorporate virtual learning environments in both on-site and online settings. Visits will include districts in the Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Baltimore areas. We look to return with a wealth of new ideas to consider as we develop and deploy 21st learning opportunities for students. Thank you to our partners at Blackboard, Intel, and Microsoft who assisted in facilitating the visits.

Broadband Technology Use in California

2009-07-09T16:32:00.000-07:00

Californians and Information Technology and Just the Facts - California's Digital Divide are summary reports of our 2009 survey, the second of five surveys conducted annually to track the progress of broadband deployment and adoption throughout California. Californians have increased adoption and access:

62% subscribe to broadband (55% in 2008)
76% use the internet (70% in 2008)
75% own a computer (72% in 2008)
37% use social networking (26% in 2008)
51% access government services (43% in 2008)
63% access news (55% in 2008)
58% shop (52% in 2008)
55% access health information (50% in 2008)
53% access Community Information (47% in 2008)
44% access housing information (44% in 2008)

Californians and Information Technology CETF In collaboration and partnership with the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) and ZeroDivide.

Will Federal Innovation Funds Lead to Smarter Schools?

2009-07-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting article in Education Week today that poses an interesting question regarding the role that the current fiscal crisis might have in spurring innovation in the schools. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) targets $5 billion new and innovative practices in schools. But will school reformers seek new practices or simply resort to extending past practice in terms of pace or content. It reminds me of the old adage "If you don't like what you are getting, change what you are doing." Innovation infers a shift in action, driven by a change in thinking. Applying new $ to existing ideas seems to be off the mark. It will be interesting to watch how the funding rolls out into the field.

Dual Enrollment Possibilities

2009-07-06T15:25:00.001-07:00

I just concluded a conversation with local college officials and a representative from the Mayor's office that focused on laying the groundwork for a dual enrollment program for students enrolled in the Riverside Virtual School. Dual enrollment and early college programs are ways that schools can structure learning environments to meet the specific needs of each student, build a bridge between high school and institutions of higher education, and allow students to challenge themselves as they pursue learning and career goals. We hope to be able to offer these opportunity to full-time students beginning in the fall of 2009.

First Session of Summer School is Over!

2009-07-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

The Riverside Virtual School has concluded the first of two sessions of summer school for 2009. What an exciting time it has been here at the Grant Education Center, with rooms full of students and teachers who are meeting for face-to-face sessions, midterms and finals. The online courses provided opportunities for students to complete their classes with some flexibility, both in terms of place and time. From the Middle East, to Spain, to the wireless networks in several RV parks, RUSD students kept up pace in their classes and in touch with their families. Way to go!

The Army and Facebook - Schools Lag Behind

2009-07-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

I am posting a link to a great blog post (thank you, Ewan Macintosh @ EduBlogs) that poses a great question.

If the Army sees the potential in Facebook, why not schools?

Schools seem to be having a difficult time understanding and leveraging the power behind social networking as a learning tool, due to a fear of losing control of the conversation. From my vantage point, schools need to do embrace these "new languages" or risk losing our relevance in the lives of young people.

Welcome Courtney Hanes!

2009-06-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Hanes has been teaching for the Riverside Virtual School since fall of 2008 and starts her full-time assignment with RVS in August. A native Riversider, Mrs. Hanes hiking, camping, and snowboarding, as well as reading, learning, and spending time with her husband and their three children (Mr. Hanes also teaches computerrs, health and PE at RVS). A graduate of CSUSB and Humbolt, Courtney holds a single subject teaching credential in English and a counseling credential.

Mrs. Hanes will be teaching secondary language arts classes and working with the full-time RVS student population. Join me in welcoming Mrs. Hanes to the RVS staff.

Welcome Karen Bennet!

2009-06-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

Karen Bennett was born at HillAFB in Utah and has since lived in Utah, Georgia, Maine, Texas, Japan, Arkansas, Louisiana, and California. She moved to California 1984 just one month after her daughter, Jennifer, was born. Three years later, Karen graduated Cum Laude from the University of California, Riverside with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology; she also fulfilled the requirements for a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and recently completed her Single Subject Credential in Social Science. Ms. Bennett’s teaching career included assignments in grades K - 8; including a multi-age classroom for GATE students (grades 3-5); self-contained classrooms (grades 1 - 6); and, middle school Language Arts and History. She served most recently as the Teacher Librarian at Earhart Middle School.

Ms. Bennett is a passionate, life-long learner who has much to learn and discover; she is always on the search for a new adventure or challenge. There is no doubt that she found a challenging new adventure when she signed on with the Riverside Virtual School as our newest full-time staff member.

Why all the fuss about Twitter?

2009-06-19T09:44:00.001-07:00

Twitter represents one of the newly emerging personal networking and collaborative learning tools born out of Web 2.0 technologies that is quickly finding a place in both educational and social settings. Twitter, by definition, is a form of "micro-blogging" where students, teachers, and school officials send 140 (max.) character "tweets" a group of individuals who have chosen to follow their posts. For some, twittering is a way to stay in contact and/or "follow" people they find interesting. For others, it is a quick and easy ways to transmit ideas or links relating to interests they have in common. These mini-networks, which can grow to be quite large, provide a virtual space in which users share ideas, experiences, and perspectives. A learning network has value only if it includes others from whom you can learn, so choose your group members wisely.

My network includes system leaders, school and curriculum innovators, homeschooling advocates. and others whose thinking feeds my own thought process. Why do you "follow" and why?

Activity at the GEC

2009-06-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

There is so much going on at the Grant Education Center; the home of the Riverside Virtual School. New students are roaming the halls (both the virtual and brick-and-mortar variety) as summer school classes begin. Over 1,200 requests for enrollment were made for online summer school courses during our first summer school session. These include three pilot courses, Algebra I, Geometry, and Physical Education. The mathematics courses utilize artificial intelligence software, which measures student understanding of the required content prior to delivering individualized instruction to specific student learning deficits. We anticipate this personalized learning will provide more productive "time on task" and result in positive student achievement gains over time.

School Innovation Reflection

2009-06-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

Michael Horn (Co-author of Disruption Class) was recently interviewed by ACSD for their Education Update. In the interview he addresses the future of schools:

Q: Are big public schools destined for the fate of the mainframe computer?

A: When Clay [Christensen] wrote his first book, The Innovator's Dilemma, that really was the message. Even if you do everything right, you're going to die. And it was a pretty depressing, pessimistic message. When he wrote the The Innovator's Solution, he wanted to find a way to help big organizations manage disruptive changes so that they can continue to exist and continue to bring value. That was the approach we took with Disrupting Class. We really want schools to manage these changes and find the pathways to adapting so that they can bring student-centered learning forth. We know educators want this; they want what's best for students. I think there is a pathway forward, and it's one of the reasons we called the book "disrupting class," not "disrupting schools."

School Districts of Choice

2009-06-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

One possible escape route from underperforming schools will be shut off at the end of the month, unless legislation is passed to keep it open. The "district of choice" program has allowed school districts to enroll students from outside areas and is scheduled to expire July 1. Under the program, a school district can declare itself a "district of choice," meaning it's willing to accept a specified number of outside students. I am hopeful that this legislation will be continued, and SB 680 (Gloria, D-Los Angeles and Huff, R-Diamond Bar) would make the districts of choice option permanent.

Proposed changes in the law could open a new era of entrepreneurship in education in which schools would be have incentive to improve their programs in order to retain and attract students. Choice encourages excellence. The best possible education for students should take precedence over attendance boundaries.

Huge Showing at RVS Tonight

2009-06-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

There were nearly 400 people in attendance at tonight's RVS information meeting. Many of the attendees were looking for summer school; however, there were also a large number of parents interested in concurrent and full-time enrollment for fall 2009. These are exciting time for the virtual school program in Riverside Unified School District.

New Courses for Fall 2009

2009-06-08T10:17:00.001-07:00

Our curriculum specialists and teaching staff are collaborating RUSD staff to develop numerous online courses to be deployed when students return in the fall. These include Earth Science, Environmental Science, and AP Environmental Science at the high school level and full curriculum to support the new full-time enrollment in grades 6 - 8. It is exciting to monitor the development of online curriculum. I am fascinated with the development of Physical Education courses by site-based PE teachers across the Riverside Unified School District. Funding for these efforts are provided by multiple federal and corporate grants and the resources will be available to techers and students throughout the school district to support online and face-to-face instruction.

Final Parent Meetings for Summer School

2009-06-05T07:06:00.001-07:00

As we ramp up for the beginning of summer school, the Riverside Virtual School will hold two more parent information meetings on June 8th and 11th. Each meeting is held in the auditorium of the Grant Education Center between 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Prospective students and their parents will learn about the RVS program and have the opportunity to investigate an online course to determine if online learning if right for them.

Over 1,000 Riverside students have processed requests for enrollment in 2009 online summer school classes through their local high schools. Summer school classes begin on June 15th and will conclude on July 17, 2009.

Drop-out Recovery Program

2009-06-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

The Riverside Virtual School is investigating options for repatriating high school dropouts and at-risk students to the school program in Riverside. The model is designed to provide a small school setting (blended learning environment) that supports differentiated instruction and self-pacing through a standards-based curricular program. Goals include increasing the overall RUSD graduation rate, reconnecting at-risk students to a supportive learning environment, and providing opportunities for students who have fallen behind to catch back up and graduate from their home high school.

2009-05-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

A report published by The Sloan Consortium (January 2009) found that...

75 percent of public school districts offer online or blended courses.
districts anticipate these online offerings will grow, particularly with regards to blended learning opportunities.
Enrollments in online courses grew 47 percent from 2005-06 to 2007-08.
Online courses are meeting the needs of a range of students—from credit recovery to Advanced Placement courses.
School districts are relying on multiple online learning providers, giving students different choices to meet their learning needs and styles.
Online courses represent an lifeline for small rural school districts, helping them offer courses that they may otherwise have not been able to offer.
Department of Education reports that 25 percent of schools don’t offer any advanced courses (anything above Algebra 2 in math and Biology in science, or honors English).

These statistics support the need for programs like the Riverside Virtual School, which seeks to provide supplemental services to smaller school districts who might not otherwise be able to provide access to these types of courses to their own students.

Partherships that Work!

2009-05-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

Met this morning with staff from the City of Riverside Public Utilities to draw-up plans for implementing two new programs that demonstrate the power of school-to-community partnerships.

First, the water department will work with our 6th grade teacher curriculum development team to integrate "Going Green" lessons into the science and social studies experience for full-time RVS students. This will include interaction between RVS students and City leaders and opportunities for students to make real-world connections between their studies and the work of the City.

Second, RVS high school and middle school students will participate in virtual internship programs that engage them with the fields of green urban planning, green architecture, and computer game design. The latter will be built on a four-legged platform supported by RVS staff, Public Utilities personnel, a software development company in Colorado, and Cal State LA. This is truly innovative stuff!

New Grant Award for RVS

2009-05-18T06:06:00.000-07:00

The Riverside Virtual School was the grantee for a HP Innovations in Education grant ($265k) to fund the equipment and teacher training start-up costs of the "Going APES!" project.

Going APES! (Advanced Placement Environmental Science) will focus on development of online environmental science curriculum and deployment of technology in three APES science labs in the Riverside Unified School District that will be used by students in online and face-to-face APES classes. RVS will partner with teachers and administrators at Ramona and Arlington High Schools in this endeavor.

2009-05-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

Many state education and school leaders are excited about the possibilities of online learning. When they start an online school, however, they quickly confront all the challenges of managing a high-quality, successful online program: creating online courses; finding, hiring, and managing teachers; supporting students; managing technology; and evaluating their programs to determine if they are successful. Fortunately, many online schools have years of operating experience, have developed and revised formal operations and management structures, and provide examples of successful management. This webinar explores emerging practices in online program management and operations outlined in the recent iNACOL Promising Practices white paper, Management and Operations of Online Programs: Ensuring Quality and Accountability. This session will look strategies and processes used by many people working with an online learning program, from executive-level school leaders to department managers to teachers trying to find ways to improve their effectiveness with online students. Experts from different types of online schools will share their experiences on how their programs ensure quality and accountability through innovative approaches to program management.

Speakers:
Butch Gemin, Evergreen Consulting Associates, Moderator
Kathy DePalma, Director of Instruction, Florida Virtual School
Mary Gifford, Vice President of Student Services, K12 Inc.
David Haglund, Principal, Riverside Virtual School

This week in the "Sand Box"

2009-05-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

A big welcome to Riverside Unified School District 6th grade teachers who will begin the process of constructing the online curriculum for new full-time students in fall of 2009. This team of highly-experienced 6th grade teachers, district curriculum specialists, and online learning specialists will work together to produce a dynamic, integrated curriculum that incorporates the best strategies available to students in a blended learning environment. A similar process continues for our middle and high school physical education teachers who are making good progress on developing the first truly standards-based virtual PE program in California.

Summer School

2009-05-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Student enrollment in RVS Summer School offerings is climbing as summer approaches. Over 700 students have already signed up for online courses this summer, as Riverside Unified School District offers summer classes through the virtual school for the first time. Summer courses are one way that AVID, band, and IB students can prepare for impacted fall schedules; other students can repair a poor grade or recover lost credits. The number of enrollments is expected to climb closer to 900 by the the start of classes on June 15th.

RVS Expanding in 2009

2009-05-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

The Riverside Virtual School is growing to include students in grades 6 through 12 in the 2009 - 2010 school year. This innovative full-time school program supports the needs of homeschooling families in Riverside, Imperial, San Bernardino, Orange, and San Diego counties. Local Riverside students benefit from the opportunity to participate in athletic and fine arts programs at the local high schools. Concurrent enrollment opportunities are also available through local community colleges and universities. Click here for more information.

New Grant Award for RVS

2009-05-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

Riverside Unified School District has been awarded a substantial Federal grant designed to increase access and achievement for low-income students, enabling successful passage of courses and exams. Access the AP Advantage! (AAPA!) project goals include increasing: 1) participation of low-income students in AP courses; 2) the number of AP tests taken and passed by low-income students; and, 3) AP access and success rates for low-income students through on-line AP and pre-AP coursework.

Because it is one of the goals of this program to increase the number of low-income students taking and passing AP exams, the AP Re-Boot Camp will guide students through the process of registering and preparing for AP exams in the spring. Students will also become familiar with the types of questions they should expect to see on an AP exam and will strategize methods for preparing responses to AP question prompts. Students will work in pairs to develop sample AP questions and then facilitate an online discussion with other students relating to how to develop a strong response. While activities in the Re-Boot Camps class will support preparing students for testing days, the course itself will remain open on-line throughout the year so that students can continue accessing the planning strategies and resources and participate in ongoing discussions with their study group partners throughout the school year.

The AP Re-Boot Camps will be hosted by the Riverside Virtual School (RVS), which will support students and teachers with access to technical support via the Internet, telephone, and in the RVS computer lab.