District Administration - February 2009 - (Page 25)

access to the folders for student or parent communication with that teacher.” Such issues can involve the amount of time teachers spend online with students, as well as the feedback they give students. Cobb also surveys students and parents at the end of each term, although, says Rowley, “it’s more about how they feel about online learning than about individual teachers.” Still, she continues, “if a parent isn’t happy with an online teacher, we are going to find out.” At Florida Virtual School, founded in 1997 as the country’s first statewide Internet-based public high school, teachers undergo four days of initial training face-to-face with administrators and students, including a day and night so they can get used to working later hours, says Jeff Murphy, director of instruction in the Florida school, which serves students in grades 6-12 throughout Florida and other states. They undergo four additional training days in the first 60 days. For the first year, each new online teacher also is assigned a mentor— an experienced online teacher with a reduced teaching load. Most teachers have three to 10 years of traditional classroom experience in Florida schools, although some are recruited from out of state “if there is a critical need,” Murphy says. “It’s not easy to find Latin teachers, Mandarin teachers, AP calculus teachers,” he explains. All FLVS teachers possess a valid Florida teaching certificate and are certified specifically in the subjects they teach. And Florida’s certified teachers will also teach for the newly created Florida Virtual School’s Connections Academy, which is a partnership between the state’s public virtual school and the Florida Connections Academy. It was created last summer to meet a new state law that requires all districts to offer full-time, online learning to public elementary and middle school students. Although online teachers work from their own homes, “we get tons of data” about their performance, Murphy reports. It comes from electronic surveys and other feedback from students and parents. “We ask them what communication with the www.DistrictAdministration.com teacher is like and whether they think the teacher cares about them,” Murphy says. Florida Virtual School and the University of Central Florida are offering future teachers a first-of-its-kind training called virtual internships. It will give UCF education graduates an edge because they can teach in both traditional and virtual classrooms upon graduating. Intriguing Students The feedback from students often reveals that they are self-motivated and intrigued with the work. Ross of Michigan Virtual High School finds that online students are so much more responsive. “They took responsibility for their own learning, which I really liked,” she says. “There weren’t any of the usual classroom battles—discipline problems, kids talking and not paying attention. Online, they are by themselves. They take in more information and they are more personable. I become more a facilitator than a nag. I feel the students really benefit, and I love it as well.” James Montesano, superintendent of the Paramus (N.J.) Public Schools, is starting a virtual high school program in his district this spring, similar to the one he administered previously as superintendent of the neighboring Dumont (N.J.) Public Schools. “It’s hard to run a comprehensive high school with all the course offerings that will really interest and excite kids. The course offerings are tremendous— Caribbean history, Mandarin Chinese, things like that. They open doors for selfmotivated kids who have a genuine interest in areas that we don’t cover in a regular curriculum,” Montesano explains. Teaching at a Distance Takes Skill While students are intrigued, ensuring teachers have the necessary special skills to teach online is another challenge. “We can teach them the technology,” says Jeanne Ross, principal of the Denver Public Schools Online High School, which teaches students throughout Colorado. “They have to be good teachers who are open to 21st-century learning.” All the online teachers at the Denver online school are former DPS traditional high school classroom teachers who are certified by the state for the subjects they teach. They work during typical school hours from a single DPS facility, receive the same pay and benefits as DPS classroom teachers, and are members of the local teachers union, Ross says. Being open to 21st-century learning takes “a great deal of professional development,” which DPS provides to its online teachers for 90 minutes weekly, Ross explains. “The most important thing, which we work on constantly with them, is to establish a presence online so students feel comfortable, just as they would in the classroom.” Online teachers also undergo a program provided by the district to ensure they have “the warmth and caring” to teach online, Ross adds. “Attitudes are important. They have to respect their students, and students have to feel welcome,” she says. Michigan State University’s basketball coach Tom Izzo gave an inspirational speech to online instructors at a Michigan Virtual School event. February 2009 25 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of District Administration - February 2009

District Administration - February 2009 Contents Advertiser Index Editor's Letter News Update Security Curriculum Crisis Response Supervisor's Opinion The Rise of the Virtual Teacher Speaking Their Language Alternate Transportation Routes Opinion The Aftermath of the New 403(b) Regulations How Well Does This Web Site Work? Problem Solution New Products Product Focus Professional Opinion

District Administration - February 2009

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