A New Online Option for Students in Iowa

Trading the classroom for the computer. A virtual school is being offered to students here in Iowa, but local schools have some questions about it.

With the click of a mouse, your child could be enrolled as a student at the Iowa Connections Academy, The first kindergarten through 12th grade virtual school in the state of Iowa.

“Students will work from home with Iowa licensed teachers using a very robust, very rigorous curriculum that includes both online and offline materials,” said Susan Stanger, from ICA.

ICA is a fully accredited, free online school that currently operates in 23 other states. There are over 600 courses offered to students through this program.

“We have a really advanced technology that allows it to be more interactive, more adaptive and to provide students, especially in a rural states, like Iowa, more course selections,” said Stagner.

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Pay-for-performance in teacher

Nontraditional schools

“The school choice movement is charter schools, partnerships with private schools, virtual schools and home-schooling, it’s all of these options.

“Vouchers? I don’t have a problem with public funds going to private entities so long as they are open to everyone, just like the public school is … and they are held to the same level of accountability.”

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Homeroom Period 1/28/2011

There’s an interesting post over at blog The Quick and the Ed about opposition to virtual classrooms. Career Education Corporation’s Diane Auer Jones argues that fears of Big Brother are discouraging virtual education from being accepted in the mainstream.

Illinois recently passed new regulations to help combat food allergies at school, but now some are saying that its still not enough. I have a nephew with a severe peanut allergy, and know how serious those can be.

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Best Online High Schools gets new design

Best Online High Schools has now been updated with a new design and new features. This new version will continue to provide you with the best information available on the Internet about online high schools.

Come take a look!

Administrators learn about laptop program

The laptops may give PCM students an advantage when they leave the district. Bridges said he has talked with PCM alumni, who have told him that classes, even those based on campus, have moved to more online work. PCM students will know how online classes work before they leave high school, and may not need as much time to learn the fundamentals as other students may need.

PCM has taken precautionary measures with the laptops. Every one is insured against loss or damage. Parents participate in any repair costs their children may incur. Each laptop comes with a padded carrying case for safe transport. Students will return their laptops in the summer, and each computer will be “wiped” before it is returned in the fall.

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Why online learning might be a better option for your student

(ARA) – Today’s middle and high school students, who have been called the “iGeneration,” are the first to crave and benefit from on-demand education – or, in other words, the option to choose where, when and how they want to learn.

To put it in context, the iGeneration (where the “i” stands for “information”) has never known life without the Internet, being mobile, using avatars, instant messaging or choosing and watching content whether they are at home, in the car, at a football game or shopping at the mall. To reach them in their high-tech, high-touch world, many parents and educators are looking at how to rewire schools to match how the iGeneration learns.

Taking classes online is one way to give middle and high school students (and their school districts) new options to learn using preferred tools in a familiar environment. Through online learning, students can even experience enhanced, one-on-one relationships with educators. Whether they’re in need of more assistance, looking for a wider range of classes or simply prefer to learn in a medium that they have grown up with, online learning can be a great way to fit your child’s needs.

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Virtual schools ‘clicking’ for many students this school year

A record number of students are heading back to school this year – without ever stepping foot inside a classroom. A growing number of virtual schools (also known as cyber schools or e-schools), combined with booming parent (and student) demand for high-quality virtual education, have more students than ever logging on, instead of boarding a school bus, this back-to-school season.

More than 2 million children in kindergarten through 12th grade are learning online, and their ranks are growing by almost 20 percent each year, according to research by Ambient Insight. Currently, 45 states have significant supplemental online learning programs, or full-time programs, in which students take most or all of their courses online.

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School officials report gains for online students

WATERLOO — Students enrolled in self-paced online classes at East and West high schools during the past year are completing more credits, earning higher grades and behaving better, school officials say.

The performance-based diploma academies started last fall at both schools for those that struggle with traditional classroom learning approaches. Classes are offered in math, English, social studies and science using an Internet-based curriculum aligned to Waterloo Community Schools’ standards.

Students complete computer-guided tutorials, practice the concept and take a test. To move on to another concept, they need to earn at least 80 percent on the test. Plato Learning created the software.

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Iowa’s AEAs to provide k-12 schools with Google’s online tools

All Iowa educators have opportunity to be trained in Google Apps for Education

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) announced today that they have entered into an exciting agreement with Google to provide all K-12 schools in Iowa with free access to Google Apps for Education. 550,000 students and educators will have the opportunity to be connected to a common e-mail, chat and calendar system (Gmail, Google Talk and Google Calendar), cloud collaboration tools (Google Docs, Google Sites, & Groups) and multimedia tools (Google Sites & Video) that will enable them to work together and learn more effectively.

“Iowa’s AEAs are proud to work with Google to bring these innovative tools to our classrooms,” Brent Siegrist, Director of Iowa AEA Services, said. “As a former teacher, I can see how these tools will engage students, make the classroom a more vibrant place and allow teachers to work together more collaboratively.”

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Ashford University Recognized Among Top Universities for African Americans

CLINTON, Iowa, June 29 /PRNewswire/ — Ashford University, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs online and at its Clinton, Iowa, campus, has been recognized by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as a Top 100 degree producer for African American students.

Annually, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education identifies universities that confer the most degrees to students of color. The magazine is focused on the coverage, commentary and analysis of higher education for and about underrepresented and historically excluded groups.

The publication’s analysis was based upon U.S. Department of Education reports on data submitted by institutions for the year 2008-2009.

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