An NCVPS Hot Mess: How to Solve Challenges of Blended Learning in a District or School

View the presentation used in today's e-Learning Community lesson. Search the hashtag #ncvtwest on Twitter to follow the back channel tweets.

Building a PLN: Not Just Another Acronym

We live in a crazy educational world of acronyms. Wouldn’t you agree? How many educational acronyms can you name? Assuredly, we all recognize the power acronyms of the educational landscape: NCLB, AYP, ABC, AIG (and No, I am not referencing the insurance company), EC, ELL.

We seem to be almost rivaling the military as each new day dawns a new learning, acronym paradigm. It is not my intent to minimize the use of acronyms (nor even is it the thrust of this blog post), for each serves a purpose; but in all reality, they can lead to overuse and lose purposeful meaning. Prior to arriving at NCVPS, I worked in a very strategic and progressive district which used 56 different acronyms, carrying 56 different meanings. Leaders and Learners can get lost in the acronym maze.

However, I have one more to add to the growing list, BUT (and this is a big “but”--no pun intended, okay, maybe it was) this one is guaranteed to add value to your professional experience. Let me introduce the PLN, the Professional Learning Network. What is a PLN? How will it add value? In the “social network” (and I really prefer “academic,” “educational”, or “professional”) world of Facebook, Twitter, Edmodo, Ning, or Linkedin, the PLN is a mainstay -- it is what defines these tools, it is what gives these tools substance, it is what shapes these tools, it is what makes or breaks these tools.

A PLN is established when people come together to connect, collaborate, share, and create. I realized the power of the PLN when our staff plugged into Twitter and Facebook. Alvin Toffler penned, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” So, it is here through our PLN where we “learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Continue reading here . . . .

Video Podcast: Overcoming Barriers

Part 1: View here on TeacherTube. View here on SchoolTube.

Part 2: View here on TeacherTube. View here on SchoolTube.

Twitter in Blended Learning

Follow today's Twitter session at 4 p.m. with the hashtag #edcnc.

Director's Chair Blog for 9.22.09

21st Century Leaders and Learners:

Thanks to those who participated in our free “twestival on twitter last Wednesday” as well as our first “Facebook Friday” event. These two sessions were for adult learners in education who wish to understand how to leverage these tools for student achievement. This week, we will offer sessions on Wednesday from 9:30-10:30a.m. on Twitter, and on Facebook, this Friday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. as well. If you are unable to attend, please follow us on www.ncvps.org at both locations by clicking on the Twitter and Face book icons respectively. This way you can log on at night, on the weekends, and/or anytime that best suits your learning.

This week in the e-letter we tackle several e-learning topics that may help you along with providing support for technology directors who may wonder how these tools integrate with your networks. Enjoy the e-letter, the video cast, and the resources we provide for free as you build your own “blended learning” system of face to face and e-learning tools in your school or district.

1. NCVPS video cast can help your web 2.0. View our video cast here.

2. Retweet: Still think cell phones can't advance learning and data decision making? Check this out.

3. What do Chief Information Officers say about Web 2.0.? Check this out.

4. Big grant money from Eli Manning and Samsung here.

5. Exploring How Digital Media Are Changing Education

Digital media are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate civically, and these changes have profound implications for education, according to a panel of experts who conducted a Capitol Hill briefing yesterday. To stay relevant, learning institutions need to focus on participatory learning — learning by doing, which engages young people in their education and can be prompted and facilitated through using digital media. “Learning simply looks different today,” said MacArthur Vice President Julia Stasch. “Digital media are not only changing how young people are accessing and consuming new knowledge, but they are extending the classroom to more informal and unconventional spaces, such as libraries, museums and even online communities. These institutions need to adapt to this new environment.”

The briefing was hosted by the Consortium for School Networking, featured presentations by Common Sense Media and the National Writing Project, and was supported by MacArthur’s $50 million digital media and learning initiative.

6. Check out events on the COSN main page here.

Leveraging Technology as a Weapon Against H1N1: Do You Have A Crisis Preparedness Plan?

CoSN Webcast Series, September 29, 2009, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EST

Have a great week with the virtual advantage

Dr. Bryan Setser

NCVPS Best Practices from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

[Guest blog post from Hope Johnston, Central Office DLA, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools]

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) has been participating in NCVPS since Fall of 2007 when it was first rolled out to NC school districts. Since then, CMS has been learning how to set students up for success in the virtual classroom. Much of what we have learned has been trial and error. The following are some suggestions that we have found to be helpful in ensuring student success:

Middle School Students enrolled in World Languages or Math courses:

1. It is recommend that middle school students take NCVPS classes as part of their regular school day and that they have a facilitator present to help them with questions as they navigate the course.

2. Students must have achieved a level III or IV on the most recent reading, math, science EOG and writing assessment to take any virtual courses.

3. Students must have successfully completed a computer related elective course in middle school with a “C” or better.

4. It is suggested that at a minimum students read and write on grade level.

5. It is recommended that NCVPS students have access to a computer with an internet connection at home.

All High School Students:

6. It is recommended that all prerequisite courses must be successfully passed with a “C” or better prior to enrolling in a virtual course.

7. It is recommended that students must have achieved a level III or IV on the 8th grade reading EOG or the English I EOC (whichever is most recent); Students must have achieved a level III or IV on the most recent math EOG, Algebra I EOC or appropriate grade level high school math EOC (whichever is most recent) to take any math or science related course and Students must have achieved a level III or IV on the most recent state writing assessment to take any virtual course.

8. It is recommended that students must have passed all parts of the NC Computer Skills Test.

We have also discovered that students are more successful with an involved DLA.

9. DLAs at each school are requested to follow up with students on a regular basis and should submit a printed copy of their grade sheets every 2 weeks.

10. CMS uses a contact between students, parents and the school to ensure all parties understand what is required of them.

[Hope Johnston has worked in education for over 15 years including 10 as a classroom teacher in both middle and high schools. She holds a BCA from UNC-Charlotte and an MA in Arts Administration from Winthrop University. Her current passion is working with students and teachers in distance learning and video conferencing. She is currently the Distance Learning Advisor for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.]

Succession Planning Preso

Presentation for the Succession Planning Webinar
Presenter: Dr. Bryan Setser



"Succession planning is a process whereby an organization ensures that employees are recruited and developed internally and externally to fill each key role within the company both in the present and in the future. Through a succession planning process, NCVPS/LEO will recruit and develop superior employees in regards to knowledge, skills, and abilities. This process will prepare them for advancement, salary range increases, and promotion into ever more challenging roles" - Bryan Setser

Systems Thinking with NCVPS/LEO

Follow this presentation on Twitter with the hashtag #ncvtwest.

DLA E-lert for September 14, 2009

Day 15 Admin Drops

On Tuesday, Sept. 15, NCVPS teachers will complete the Day 15 Admin Drop process (primarily identifying which students have not logged in and/or submitted ample assignments). On Wed, Sept 16th by 11:00 AM, DLAs will receive the Admin Drop Report in the Registration System under "Reports". NOTE: the report lists ALL students. Scroll to column "AR". There will be two statements: "Admin Drop" and "Do Not Drop". DLAs will need to evaluate these marks, and any student tagged "Admin Drop" - verify this is correct; if it is, no action needed. If a student's record is tagged "Admin Drop" and should NOT be dropped, the DLA needs to send a "Priority" email to their assigned VLC with request NOT to delete the student, and include the following information:

- Student Name / Course / School / County / Section & Teacher if available.

NOTE: CORRECTIONS MUST BE COMPLETE BY 5:00 SHARP - Thurs, Sept 17th.

Click this link to find our Drop Policy.


Requests for Student Drops/Removals

Only medical/504 drops can be processed by VLCs after 5:00 on Tues, Sept 15th. DLAs must submit a drop request form for those drops. The Drop Procedure and Drop Request form can be downloaded from the DLA Spa > Quick Ref Guides > Drop Procedure > (the drop form is the second link listed).


Teacher Info for Data Managers

DPI has established a new process for sharing NCVPS instructor social security numbers for school data managers and the SAR report. NCVPS instructors are being issued Virtual Teacher Information Numbers (VTIN), and those will be shared with school data managers. Those VTINs will sync with the instructors' actual SSNs once entered into NCWise.

The VTINs will be available for data managers in the first week of October.


Final AP Syllabi Approved

AP Micro, AP Macro (both FLVS) and the AP German V (OSU) syllabi have been authorized by the College Board. That completes the approval process with the College Board for all of NCVPS's AP syllabi. The only outstanding ones were with the outside providers.


Professional Development from NCVPS

Discovery Education, the NCDPI and North Carolina Virtual Public School
cordially invite you to participate in an Interactive Thought-Leader Session:
21st Century Digital Modeling
in the Active Learning Environment
Keynote PANEL by Hall Davidson
Discovery Education Speakers Bureau
http://discoveryedspeakersbureau.com/node/15
September 18, 2009
1:00-4:00PM


German "Proctor" Requirement

German courses (taught by Oklahoma State University, OSU) do require a proctor when quizzes are administered, since they are closed-book. In cases where a student takes the course at home, parents are allowed to be the proctor. In this case, parents are asked to sign a proctor agreement (administered by OSU).
The OSU proctor expectations for their assigned teachers is spelled out in the section ‘Teacher Information’ on the OSU homepage, http://germanonline.okstate.edu If you have students enrolled in German courses, please coordinate this proctor requirement ASAP.


Coaching Schedules for Chinese, Arabic and Russian

For any student enrolled in Chinese, Arabic or Russian, please complete the form at http://tinyurl.com/fall09student with details about when students can work with their coaches. Students will work with their coaches twice a week for 45 minutes each session. We will also need to have their Skype username, so DO NOT complete this form until that is available. Skype software can be downloaded at www.skype.com and needs to be tested on computers that the student will be using for coaching sessions.

If you feel that you have put incorrect information for a student, please complete the form again and resubmit. I will use the most recent information submitted.


Important Dates

Fall 2009 Early Calendar classes begin August 6.
Last day to enroll for Early Calendar: August 12.
Last day to drop for Early Calendar: August 19.
Fall 2009 Traditional and Credit Recovery courses begin on August 25.
Last Day to Register Traditional Calendar: Aug. 31.
Last Day to Drop Traditional Calendar: Sept. 8.


Registration Manual

Click this link to access the online user's manual for the new registration system. You can also find this in the DLA Spa in Blackboard.


Resource Guide

Click this link for an online resource guide for the Distance Learning Advisor.


Healthful Living and Health and P.E. Permission Form

DLAs, students you have enrolled in NCVPS's Healthful Living 9 week course or the Health and PE Course 18 week block course need to have their parent's permission as the course contains "Human Sexual Content." Completing this form is a requirement of DPI. Although you have registered your student(s) for the course, s/he (they) will not be put into the course until you have submitted the Parental Permission form.

You can fax this form to 919-513-2557, photocopy the form to Tammy Pearson at tpearson@dpi.state.nc.us, or you can snail mail the form to Tammy Pearson, NCVPS 1017 Main Campus Drive Partners I Building -Room # 1610, Raleigh, NC 27606

Please, make sure if you email the form to the parents of the students whom you have enrolled that they are aware that you have emailed them the form. This past semester the emailed form to the parent went into the parent's spam of her email account. It was by accident that this situation was discovered.

Download a PDF version of the form here.


Credit Recovery Survey

The NCVPS Credit Recovery staff works closely with the schools providing bi-weekly updates on Credit Recovery students to help keep you informed of their progress. To better serve you, we need some information on the Credit Recovery implementation at your school. If you could take a few moments of your time to complete a survey created to gather the informtion needed, we would greatly appreciate it.

For those of you that are new to the NCVPS Credit Recovery program, we have created several "training" pieces and published them in the DLA Spa under the Credit Recovery tab. We recommend you spend a few moments going through the training folder as it will help you understand the foundation and procedures for our program.

Link to Credit Recovery Survey


Message from DPI NCWISE Concerning Course Codes and EOC Testing for all Credit Recovery

Effective July 2009, credit recovery was redefined as earning credit for a course initially failed, either through partial modular remediation or taking the full course over again.

As a result:

1. Regardless of the amount or length of the course being repeated, the correct state course code for the subject must be used as designated by NCWISE. This includes courses taken through the NC Virtual Public School.

2. All courses (including those repeated by students who are recovering credit) must be entered into NC WISE. Courses must be entered either:

a. As a scheduled class (e.g., fall block, spring block, year-long), or

b. As a credit history record (e.g., summer school, afterschool, etc.).

Note: All course attempts must be entered into eSIS regardless of the outcome (e.g., failure, incomplete, credit awarded) and appear on the student’s transcript. It would not be appropriate to omit a course because a student failed the course.

3. When repeating all or part of a course that has an EOC requirement, all students taking the course must meet the EOC requirement.

a. If students are repeating the course and previously scored Level III or IV on the EOC, the student is NOT eligible to take the test again. In other words, once a student receives the proficiency standard, the test must not be administered again. For this student, the EOC score on record in NC WISE will be used as at least 25% of the student’s final grade in the course.

b. If a student is repeating a course and has failed to score an Achievement Level III or IV on the EOC previously, he/she is required to take the test again and the score must count as at least 25% of the final course grade.

4. To assist LEAs in monitoring who needs to be assessed at the end of the course and which students have EOC scores of Achievement Level III or IV on record, a new ABCTools report will be developed. The report will be by LEA by school by teacher. RACs will receive training on the new report in September.


For more details, please visist the DLA Spa in Blackboard.

Twestivals and Facebook Fridays

NCVPS is excited to announce our new video cast feature each week at www.ncvps.org ( http://www.ncvps.org/ ). This week the video cast is tilted "Twestivals and Facebook Fridays". The purpose of these two events is listed below, and we hope you find them valuable as we continue to provide your district and school with the virtual advantage.

Twestivals - These are events on twitter where multiple people come together for a common cause, learning, and/or to contribute. The best part about them, however, is by following the hashtag, a twitter location, you do not have to log on at the exact time to benefit from the learning. Therefore, NCVPS will host a twestival session each Wednesday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. These sessions focus on systemic and systematic leadership for not just schools and districts, but for any organization struggling to make "what is said" turn into "what is actually done". This week's twestival will be at this hashtag site on twitter.com - Follow, participate, or retweet at #ncvtwest. If this is your first time to use twitter, use this video to help you and/or your team learn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o&feature=fvw

Facebook Fridays - This session will be a facebook interactive event on Friday, 9/18/09 @ 9:30-10:30 a.m. and/or in a rolling fashion where participants will post ideas to key questions and remarks regarding how each of you build capacity in your organization to train the next generation of leaders. Login to your facebook account and join the conversation here: http://www.facebook.com/editevent.php?success=1&picture&eid=131233492965&new&m=1#/event.php?eid=131233492965

Have a great week using the virtual advantage of www.ncvps.org ( http://www.ncvps.org/ ) and Learn and Earn Online www.nclearnandearn.gov ( http://www.nclearnandearn.gov/ ).

Bryan

Barriers for Breakfast: Failing Forward with NCVPS

Dr. Setser, Executive Director, of the North Carolina Virtual School presents at Campbell University this Saturday, September 12, 2009 on Barriers for Breakfast: Failing Forward with NCVPS. The presentation focuses on how strategic vision and planning pulled NCVPS out of one hot summer mess in 2007 and propelled the organization to the 8th Ranked Virtual School in the Nation today! Dr. Setser's presentation will be to graduate students at Campbell University studying school administration in the focus areas of vision and strategic planning.

Networking, Productivity, and e-Learning 9.7.09

1. Moving Forward Wiki

The Moving Forward wiki houses a collection of resources to help presenters and change agents as they help move schools and universities forward into the 21st century.

Here’s the link to Moving Forward’s list of education blogs by discipline.


2. Back to School: 15 Essential Web Tools for Students

“There are a number of web-based and social tools to help you get through the school year. From staying organized to improving study habits to making sure you reference your research sources properly, the web can help you be a better student.”

3. Can a School Library be Replaced by E-Readers? Apparently It Can

“The administrators of Cushing Academy, a prep school near Boston, have done exactly that. Instead of the 20,000 books the school currently has, the students of Cushing Academy will have 18 e-readers at their disposal. The learning centre – the replacement for what was once the school’s library – will also have three large TVs, a coffee shop, and laptop-friendly booths.”

4. How to Write with a Knife

Good advice for creating a well-written, concise blog post.

NCVPS Teams with the Discovery Channel

Discovery Education, the NCDPI and North Carolina Virtual Public School cordially invite you to participate in an Interactive Thought-Leader Session:

21st Century Digital Curriculum Modeling in the Active Learning Environment

Keynote PANEL by Hall Davidson
Discovery Education Speakers Bureau

http://discoveryedspeakersbureau.com/node/15

September 18, 2009
1:00-4:00PM
MCNC
Building 3, Room: Seminar A
3021 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

Agenda:
1:00-2:30PM Keynote Panel: Engaging Students Through Digital Curriculum, Case Studies
2:30-2:45PM Networking Break
2:45-4:00PM ThinkTank: The North Carolina Learning Environment

Co-Facilitator: Dr. Bryan Setser, Executive Director, NCVPS
Co-Facilitator: Neill Kimrey, Section Chief, Instructional Technology , NCDPI

Please RSVP by clicking the link below:

https://discoveryed.wufoo.com/forms/raleigh-interactive-leadership-session/

E-Learning Commission Update

Governor Bev Perdue has appointed Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton to chair the E-Learning Commission, once chaired by her. This commission is the organizational body that helped define the NC Virtual Public School and helped launch it in 2007. NCVPS Executive Director Dr. Bryan Setser has been reappointed to serve on the E-Learning Commission.

Setser states, "The cutting edge efforts of our Governor to appoint Mr. Dalton into this important role demonstrates a commitment to prepare our students for a global society. Together, we are all shaping a remarkable future for North Carolina with virtual innovation at the core. I am proud to serve on this Commission to help move North Carolina forward."

Blackboard Outages and Updates

On Tuesday, September 1, 2009, NCVPS released a video message on our website from Dr. Setser regarding a number of unexpected issues with our Blackboard Learning Management System. Due to unprecedented growth in enrollments, which are up 100% from summer and are now at 16,000+ students, the system has had several instances of downtime. As a result we have met with Blackboard Executives in Raleigh, N.C., and have been in constant contact with their Washington, D.C. office this week to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. To our dismay, server issues are still causing some problems that are impacting your students and their learning time. This is unacceptable.

We at NCVPS apologize for this inconvenience and accept full responsibility for the resolution of this issue. We want to assure that your online students will not be penalized due to these occurrences and we are working closely with teachers to provide prompt communication and feedback of this requirement. Blackboard has taken measures to ensure stability of the Blackboard environment by increasing the hardware resources dedicated to the NCVPS Blackboard environment and improving the software efficiency of the system to allow for increased capacity. At this time we are working with Blackboard on an hourly schedule to ensure not only that the system is stable, but that they can handle such growth in the future.

In the meantime, these are some specific steps for district and school leaders.

Superintendents: please assure your principals and distance learning advisors that students will not be penalized and the situation will be resolved very soon.

Principals: please assure your students that our teachers are contacting them by phone and via the web in the next 24 hours to keep them on pace and on target with their studies.

Distance Learning Advisors: please do not drop students as a result of a short term technology event. This event, while unacceptable to NCVPS, is not too dissimilar from a student and/or parent who is concerned about a class and/or teacher in the first week. What we typically do in the face to face is investigate, look at data, and try to resolve the problem. In addition, when the lab is double booked at a school, educators are resilient and can find other ways for students to study, read, and work until learning materials become available. This is a very similar process in the virtual world.

We are working around the clock to provide better stability for our NCVPS system. We have had several indicators today that we are getting very close. We will update you tomorrow before the weekend as well to let you know of our progress and expect to be fully operational very soon. Should you have any questions as a superintendent or principal, please contact Bryan Setser at 919-513-8550, and he will return your call promptly and respond accordingly with solutions to your situation.

David Edwards, our Chief Professional Learning Officer, will ensure that our distance learning advisor spa and facebook account, http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/ncvps, are updated three times tomorrow in the a.m., at lunch, and at the close of business to keep your informed. In addition, you can reach out to your LEA virtual learning consultant here www.thevlc.org and here http://www.ncvps.org/lea/studentsupport/ for immediate support needs

Our LMS Administrator, Nathan Thanos, will also update twitter on the hour at http://twitter.com/ncvps throughout Friday to give you updates.

Thanks for your patience and understanding as we work to resolve these issues.

E-Leadership: Where there is Risk, There is Reward

There is a basketball coach, Ken Carter, quite famous actually, who once locked out his entire basketball team for not following his rules and living up to the high expectations he set for his team. The rules that Coach Carter demanded his players abide by revolved around grades and character. The coach’s rules were simple—Do your homework, study, get good grades, and be the best person you can be—or no one plays basketball.

I’m sure that you know the story. But for those who don’t…

After a team progress report was delivered, Coach Carter learned that the team, as a whole, was failing. The doors of the gym were locked, games were forfeited, and as the coach promised, no one played basketball—at least not until the entire team followed his simple rules. After a small rebellion by the players, the team got on board with the coach. They buckled down, studied, their grades skyrocketed, and the team went forward with their season. As the Coach himself said, “I came to coach basketball players. I ended up with students.”

Continue reading . . . .