Friday, September 4, 2015
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Personalized Learning
What is personalized learning?
Personalized learning is the new buzz-word in education and in some ways goes back to the one-room school house. It is meeting the needs of each and every learner and allowing them to fully master a concept or idea before being taught a new one. It basically means that a student who comes to school knowing his/her letter sounds can be taught to read while other students who do not know their letter sounds can work on phonemic awareness. It also means that students who do well with simple instructions and prefer learning independently can do so while students who are social learners can learn from each other.
Who participates in personalized learning?
Anyone can participate in personalized learning, but those who attended classes through the 80's and 90's probably spent time sitting in desks, listening to teachers describe the process of multiplying by lining up the numbers and carrying the one have to wrap their heads around the teacher not being the center of learning. Personalized learning would mean teaching the multiplication concepts in varying ways and allowing the students to choose which method works best for them.
When does personalized learning occur?
Anytime! Anytime that a student is engaged in learning a concept personalized learning is occurring. Does that have to occur between the hours of 8 AM & 3:30 PM? No! Personalized learning may be while students are playing with a jump rope and counting the number of jumps to learn one-to-one correspondence, or it may be while a student is learning to blow bubbles while swimming and the instructor is telling the story of the Three Little Pigs and using the "Then I'll huff, and puff, and blow your house down," to reinforce not only the action of blowing bubbles in the swimming pool, but to reinforce literary concepts.
Where does personalized learning occur?
Anywhere! Personalized learning doesn't need to be confined to a brick-and-mortar school building. It can happen anywhere, and it should happen everywhere. It could be in the traditional classroom, the library, on a field trip, in a museum, online, in the park, or in a swimming pool. The possibilities of where learning can occur are endless and students who receive personalized learning, learn concepts how and where they learn best.
Why should learning be personalized?
Learning should be personalized because we no longer live in a one-size-fits-all society. The majority of us are able to personalize our entertainment beyond the big three broadcasters and many of us have ditched the concept of television as we grew up with it altogether. So why should learning be any different? Students are no longer going into jobs that have existed for many years, instead, they are going into fields that we may not even have the concepts for yet.
How do we personalize learning?
Students receive personalized learning by being surrounded by people that can provide them with learning opportunities at every intersection in their life. In addition, the world of online and blended learning has opened up a huge window to the data that can help transform a student's learning. Read more about the "How" in the next blog post.
Follow Brandi's board Kirkwood High School Distance Learning on Pinterest.
Personalized learning is the new buzz-word in education and in some ways goes back to the one-room school house. It is meeting the needs of each and every learner and allowing them to fully master a concept or idea before being taught a new one. It basically means that a student who comes to school knowing his/her letter sounds can be taught to read while other students who do not know their letter sounds can work on phonemic awareness. It also means that students who do well with simple instructions and prefer learning independently can do so while students who are social learners can learn from each other.
Who participates in personalized learning?
Anyone can participate in personalized learning, but those who attended classes through the 80's and 90's probably spent time sitting in desks, listening to teachers describe the process of multiplying by lining up the numbers and carrying the one have to wrap their heads around the teacher not being the center of learning. Personalized learning would mean teaching the multiplication concepts in varying ways and allowing the students to choose which method works best for them.
When does personalized learning occur?
Anytime! Anytime that a student is engaged in learning a concept personalized learning is occurring. Does that have to occur between the hours of 8 AM & 3:30 PM? No! Personalized learning may be while students are playing with a jump rope and counting the number of jumps to learn one-to-one correspondence, or it may be while a student is learning to blow bubbles while swimming and the instructor is telling the story of the Three Little Pigs and using the "Then I'll huff, and puff, and blow your house down," to reinforce not only the action of blowing bubbles in the swimming pool, but to reinforce literary concepts.
Where does personalized learning occur?
Anywhere! Personalized learning doesn't need to be confined to a brick-and-mortar school building. It can happen anywhere, and it should happen everywhere. It could be in the traditional classroom, the library, on a field trip, in a museum, online, in the park, or in a swimming pool. The possibilities of where learning can occur are endless and students who receive personalized learning, learn concepts how and where they learn best.
Why should learning be personalized?
Learning should be personalized because we no longer live in a one-size-fits-all society. The majority of us are able to personalize our entertainment beyond the big three broadcasters and many of us have ditched the concept of television as we grew up with it altogether. So why should learning be any different? Students are no longer going into jobs that have existed for many years, instead, they are going into fields that we may not even have the concepts for yet.
How do we personalize learning?
Students receive personalized learning by being surrounded by people that can provide them with learning opportunities at every intersection in their life. In addition, the world of online and blended learning has opened up a huge window to the data that can help transform a student's learning. Read more about the "How" in the next blog post.
Follow Brandi's board Kirkwood High School Distance Learning on Pinterest.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
An Intersection Between Traditional High School and Adult High School
The concrete floors glisten, the red, blue, or green lockers clank together while the halls smell of a variety of pleasant and unpleasant body odors and a mixture of both breakfast and lunch permeating from the cafeteria. The noise is the buzz of what happened over the weekend and what the plans are to attend the football game on Friday night. The 8:20 bell rings and students slam their lockers shut and hurry to their first period classes, where they sit and listen, well mostly listen, to their teachers describe the Civil War, infinitive verbs, verb phrases, tone, pitch, and the Pythagorean Theorem. In this brick and mortar building, education is still running as a factory-style model for education.
Contrarily, at an adult high school, one is not likely to find lockers, cafeterias, or the buzz of what is happening over the weekend; however, the expectation is being set that when the clock says 9 AM, the door shuts and you're expected to be ready to begin class. Students enter the adult education world for a variety of reasons with a varying amount of baggage, so it's our job as adult educators to get them to think beyond the baggage and start forward thinking. Here, students are expected to identify their barriers and work collaboratively with others to hold themselves accountable. The instructor guides them, but the work is theirs and connections are made to the students' daily lives.
But what about the students who are still high school age, but don't fit the mold for a factory-style educational system? Are there resources for them? Yes! Kirkwood HSDL is the intersection between the traditional high school world and the adult education world. Students still work through their brick-and-mortar high school, but they also are able to take some flexible classes through our program. These classes could be by book or online and students are able to work at their own pace to complete them, as long as they complete them in 4 months.
In order for students, who are currently enrolled in a brick-and-mortar high school to take courses with Kirkwood HSDL, they must first receive permission from the school. These students are then allowed to take the same courses that the adult high school diploma students take and transfer the credit back to their high school. By being the bridge between what a traditional school has to offer and the adult high school diploma program, we are hopeful that more students will graduate from their own high school.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Think Twice Before Leaving High School
Almost everyday, my colleagues and I hear a million reasons why the traditional school setting doesn't work for a particular student. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons, such as being bullied, or illness; however, for the student that thinks entering the adult high school world will solve all his/her problems, they may be surprised to find that it is not a swim in the wading pool to get to the finish line of a high school credential. Instead, it may well be a dive into the unknown depth of the sea.
For students who have an IEP, it is likely that once you exit the high school doors, the support network that once engulfed you will not look the same. Those teachers that help you succeed, monitor your progress, and assist your classroom teachers with modifications to your assignments may not exist in the high school equivalency diploma world. That doesn't mean that the teachers you do get won't care; it simply means that the same level of support you have right now doesn't exist when you decide to leave your high school.
Our expectations for students getting their high school equivalency diploma are as follows:
1.) Come in for an informational session.
2.) Sign-up to attend a Pathways to Success course
3.) Attend your scheduled Pathways to Success course
4.) Take an enrollment test
5.) Meet with an advisor
6.) Take classes
7.) Take the HiSET® Tests/or high school diploma tests
To reinforce what it takes to complete your high school diploma through a Kirkwood's High School Equivalency program, take a look at this video. Kirkwood High School Completion Programs hope that you will think twice before leaving your high school in hopes of earning an equivalency diploma, but will be here if you need us.
For students who have an IEP, it is likely that once you exit the high school doors, the support network that once engulfed you will not look the same. Those teachers that help you succeed, monitor your progress, and assist your classroom teachers with modifications to your assignments may not exist in the high school equivalency diploma world. That doesn't mean that the teachers you do get won't care; it simply means that the same level of support you have right now doesn't exist when you decide to leave your high school.
Our expectations for students getting their high school equivalency diploma are as follows:
1.) Come in for an informational session.
2.) Sign-up to attend a Pathways to Success course
3.) Attend your scheduled Pathways to Success course
4.) Take an enrollment test
5.) Meet with an advisor
6.) Take classes
7.) Take the HiSET® Tests/or high school diploma tests
To reinforce what it takes to complete your high school diploma through a Kirkwood's High School Equivalency program, take a look at this video. Kirkwood High School Completion Programs hope that you will think twice before leaving your high school in hopes of earning an equivalency diploma, but will be here if you need us.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Highly Qualified Online Facilitators
At Kirkwood HSDL, we fill a very unique need for schools and students that need flexible courses to meet their needs. In order to meet the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), school districts must provide their learners with highly-qualified instructors in content areas. For many reasons, it may be difficult for a school strict to find a highly-qualified teacher and that's where Kirkwood HSDL can help.
We employee about 18 part-time online facilitators that hold their Iowa teaching license in the subject area that they are assigned. They help answer students' content questions and do virtual face-to-face meetings with students on an as-needed basis. When it comes to technical questions or Kirkwood FT HSDL staff take care of that.
The online facilitators are responsible for welcoming students to their course, giving them any additional course expectations that they have, and keeping the students on target to finish in their four-month window.
By taking the burden of finding highly qualified content-area experts away from the local school district, the district can focus on helping the student(s) achieve success. They can do this by assigning coaches to monitor students' progress and having regular check-ins with the students.
We employee about 18 part-time online facilitators that hold their Iowa teaching license in the subject area that they are assigned. They help answer students' content questions and do virtual face-to-face meetings with students on an as-needed basis. When it comes to technical questions or Kirkwood FT HSDL staff take care of that.
The online facilitators are responsible for welcoming students to their course, giving them any additional course expectations that they have, and keeping the students on target to finish in their four-month window.
By taking the burden of finding highly qualified content-area experts away from the local school district, the district can focus on helping the student(s) achieve success. They can do this by assigning coaches to monitor students' progress and having regular check-ins with the students.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Flexible Enrollment
Flexible Enrollment
Who can enroll in Kirkwood HSDL courses?
Students in Iowa high schools may enroll in Kirkwood HSDL courses. Students should be working with their school counselors to see if the courses Kirkwood HSDL offers are the right fit for them. Once students have permission from their local Iowa high school, then they may complete our registration form and begin working on classes.
What are Kirkwood HSDL courses?
Kirkwood High School Distance Learning offers more than 50 online and book-based courses. Courses range from middle-school level courses for students needing to review the basics all the way to pre-AP courses. Kirkwood uses content providers for their online courses and uses mostly AGS textbooks for the book-based courses.
When can one enroll in Kirkwood HSDL courses?
Kirkwood offers flexible enrollment to students taking their courses. This means that a student may sign up for a course any day that the HSDL office is open. From the time the registration is processed, a student is allowed to take up to four calendar months to complete the course. However, because we offer flexible enrollment, a student may start the course on the first of October and be finished with it by November 15th. Once the student finishes that course, he/she may enroll in another course immediately.
Where can one enroll in Kirkwood HSDL courses?
Students may call the HSDL office at 319-784-1517 to schedule a same-day appointment if they want to start immediately. Additionally, there are three other easy ways to submit a registration. School administrators or parents may mail the registration form and payment to Kirkwood HSDL. For faster service, parents or administrators may email it, or fax it the HSDL office and then call with a Visa, Master Card, or Discover Card payment.
Why would one enroll in Kirkwood HSDL courses?
Students around the state of Iowa enroll in Kirkwood HSDL courses for a variety of reasons. One reason may be that a student failed a course and he/she needs to make up the credit for graduation. Another reason may be that a student would like to graduate early and he/she needs the credit to advance. A final reason may be that a student goes to a very small school and Spanish and government are offered at the same time, so he/she can only take one course at school.
For more information visit our website.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Successful World Language Acquisition in Online and Blended Learning?
World Language Acquisition
In the US, world language has been mostly reserved for high school and college students. For those students who follow the traditional route in the US, is it possible to be successful at learning a world language through online and blended learning?
Student Enrollments in Kirkwood HSDL Online French and Spanish Courses
During the 2014-15 school year, Kirkwood HSDL enrolled 32 students in French I and French II. Of these 33 students, 3 were dropped from the course for various reasons. Kirkwood HSDL also enrolled a total of 7 Spanish students in levels I, II, and III; 3 of which were dropped from their courses for various reasons.
From a total of 40 enrollments between French and Spanish across all levels, 85% of the students finished their semester-length courses. Of those students that finished (34), 47% (16 students) finished with scores between 90 and 100%, 50% (17 students) finished with scores between 80 and 89%, and 3% (1 student) finished with scores between 70 and 79%.
What This Data Says about Successful Language Acquisition in Online and Blended Learning
Kirkwood HSDL enrolled approximately 960 students for the 2014-2015 school year. Of those 960 students, only 40 students enrolled in world language courses. This is only about 4% of the total enrollments in online courses, so the sample size is quite small; however, the outcome shows that the majority of students enrolled in the Kirkwood HSDL world language courses complete the course with a mastery level of 80% or higher.
Successful World Language Acquisition?
The minute amount of data given here, suggests that students are able to be successful in an online and blended learning environment; however, further research is needed to determine what factors contribute to student success in world language acquisition in an online and blended learning environment.
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