1. Future Now! the is © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Going Beyond Read-Write-Respond: An inside look at Virtual High School Courses Donna E. Scribner Virtual High School: www.goVHS.orgwww.goVHS.org TeleCoop Conference, April 2007

2. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Virtual Education Today K – 12 Growth zJune, 2005: 21 states have STATEWIDE online learning programs zJune, 2006: 24 states have STATEWIDE online learning programs and an additional 14 states have policies about virtual schooling or programs zCurrently: > 50% of all school districts offer online coursework – 30% increase from 2004

3. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Virtual Education Today K – 12 Students Enrolled z2000 – 2001: approximately 40,000 – 50,000 z2002 – 2003: approximately 328,000 z2005 – 2006: > 500,000 Project Growth rate: 30% per year

4. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. zA non-profit collaborative: 10+ years of experience zOriginally funded by the Federal DOE through a 7.8M tech. grant – five years of research & development zEntirely self-supporting through school memberships & PD fees VHS, Inc.

5. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. 400+ Schools; 29 States

6. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. 30 Countries

7. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Considerations Instructor Facilitated Independent

8. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Scheduled Considerations, con. Self-paced

9. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Asynchronous Considerations, con. Synchronous

10. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Considerations, con. Student-to-student & teacher-to-student Interactions Student-teacher interactions only

11. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Considerations, con. Internet time: 24/7 School-in-session time

12. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Courses are Scheduled Asynchronous, Web-based y 15 week semester-based schedule y Unit begins Wednesday and ends Tuesday y Teachers and students different time zones y Students access course any time, any place, any computer VHS courses are credit-bearing y Recommend course scheduled part students’ day y No more than 25 students per course y Students work with Site Coordinator/Coach y Teachers and students communicate in the classroom Delivery

13. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. VHS Model

14. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. VHS-School Partnership Expands curriculum offerings Helps meet individual students’ interests and learning Solves scheduling conflicts – flex w/ asynchronous online courses Provides student & teacher global collaboration Give students a competitive advantage for college

15. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. z101 Ways to Write a Short Story zAP Biology zAP Economics zAP Calculus AB/BC zAP Statistics zAstronomy: Stars and the Cosmos zPre-AP Calculus zScreenwriting Fund. zArt and the Internet zFolklore and Literature of Myth, Magic and Ritual zThe Holocaust zIntro. to Programming in VBasic zPre-AP English Essay zBasic Mandarin Chinese Curriculum: 225+ courses

16. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. The Tour: Digital Geography

17. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Digital Geography

18. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Explore

19. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Lessons

20. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Wikki

21. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Multimedia

22. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Basic Mandarin Chinese

23. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Basic Mandarin Chinese

24. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Explore

25. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Multimedia

26. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Audio Files

27. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Explore

28. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. zSatisfaction with VHS course quality: y 92% superintendents y 100% principals y 98% Site Coordinators zCourse features, teacher satisfaction: y 92%: engagement in course work y 78%: collaborative learning y 97%: 21 st century skills development The Result: Surveys

29. © 2006 Virtual High School. All rights reserved. Thank you!