E-lert for Dec. 9, 2010

NCVPS Community

Be Empowered
Is your school already using social media? Here are some thought-provoking questions.

E-lert Subscription
Have you subscribed? If not, you can subscribe at the new e-lert site here. Look for the subscription service at the top of the sidebar. You will receive a confirmation email to activate your subscription. Each notice will have an unsubscribe option, too.

E-learning Success Stories
Submit your stories here: http://tiny.cc/d2oby Please tell us about student success stories and district success stories, such as increased virtual enrollment, fulltime DLA positions, teacher facilitators, and other virtual initiatives that have been started in your district. You may also forward to students and principals to complete!

Professional Networking
Are you into networking and social media? Come join over 750 other educators who have fanned us on Facebook. Find our fan page at Facebook/ncvps

Follow the virtual learning consultants on Twitter at Twitter/MyVLC

This Week's E-lert

1) Open Registration

2) OCS Face-2-Face Teacher Training

3) Inclement Weather

4) New Help Desk Information

5) NCVPS Final Exams

6) Speak Up Survey

7) Course Catalogs Available

8) LEO Career and College

9) Lock Sessions

10) Reminders

Registration Is Still Open [E-lert for Dec. 9]

We have over 14,000 students registered for spring, and we are looking at another record enrollment!

Be sure to register your students early to ensure a seat in class! If a course has a waitlist, go ahead and place your student on the waitlist. We are opening new sections every Monday!

OCS Face to Face Teacher Training for Spring [E-lert for Dec. 9]

Reminder for all schools that are registered for OCS courses this spring:

All OCS face to face (f2f) teachers will need to go through an approximate two hour online training prior to the Spring semester start on January 24, 2011. Teachers will be able to decide when they want to complete the training but all f2f teachers will need to complete this training prior to the start of Spring semester. The training is available here: http://ncvps.org/courses/ocs/training.html

Inclement Weather [E-lert for Dec. 9]

Numerous districts have had inclement weather closings this past week. Please have your students (or DLAs) notify the instructors that your schools have been closed, especially if you have students working from a lab setting.

New Help Desk Information [E-lert for Dec. 9]

The Presidium Help Desk has two procedures to help students who have forgotten their passwords or are having difficulties with Blackboard. Follow this link to see these procedures.

When students are having problems with content in the course, they should always contact their instructors.

NCVPS Final Exams [E-lert of Dec. 9]

All students must take their NCVPS final exams. Some districts may exempt students from final exams (usually based on grades and/or attendance). This local policy does not apply to students' NCVPS courses, though.

This, also, does not apply to EOC or VOCATS courses. Those exams will be administered by the local schools.

Speak Up! Survey - Your Reponse is Needed! [E-lert for Dec. 9]

Please participate by visiting - http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2010/.

The password is "ncvps". Locate the North Carolina Virtual Public School in the list of schools. Thank you for participating in the 2010 Speak Up! survey.

Speak Up, a national online research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow®, gives individuals the opportunity to share their viewpoints about key educational issues. Each year, findings are summarized and shared with national and state policy makers. Participating
schools and districts can access their data online, free-of-charge.

Course Catalogs Available for 2011 - 2012 [E-lert for Dec. 9]

Our course catalogs are now available for Fall 2011 and Spring 2012. Registration is not yet open for those courses, but you can include the course listings in any catalogs that your district is publishing.

Follow this link to see the available catalogs.

LEO: Career & College [E-lert for Dec. 9]

The LEO registration is open for spring courses. iSchool and participating Community Colleges have many courses meeting STEM requirements. STEM has opened many courses leading to career certification for students wanting to get into the work force.

Contact your participating Community College, iSchool, or me for more information.

Is your school system interested in getting more students involved in Learn and Earn Online but you have more questions/concerns than answers? I'll be happy to visit, answer questions, discuss policy implications, anything I can do to assist.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Deborah Pedersen

deborah.pedersen@ncpublicschools.gov

LOCK Sessions [E-lert for Dec. 9]

LOCK Session Webinars - Upcoming Schedule

NCVPS LOCK session webinars are scheduled each Tuesday through Dec. These sessions are mini-webinars hosted for DLA and DLC knowledge gain and mini-training. The sessions are intended to be an opportunity for statewide DLAs and DLCs to collaborate on various topics that pertain to the responsibilities of the role. The sessions are hosted in the DLA online Wimba Classroom in the Blackboard DLA Spa (Virtual Office tab). Archive files to recent former session(s) follows the green highlight. The next LOCK scheduled is highlighted in yellow.

TIME: 11:00 AM (unless otherwise specified)

UPCOMING WEBINARS:

Dec 14 - "No Zero Policy" - Presenter: Dr. Tracy Weeks, NCVPS Chief Academic Officer

Reminders [E-lert for Dec. 9]

COURSE REGISTRATION

> OCS Courses for Spring 11. Click here for details on how to register!

> LEO Spring 2011 Registration - click here for details.

> SAS Computer Programming - new pilot course - click here for details.

DLA & SCHOOL MAINTENANCE

> DLA Contact Information - Be sure to update your contact information in the registration system. Follow this link to see how to update your contact information.

> Central Office Distance Learning Coordinator: Follow this link to watch a short video that shows how to check your district's enrollment, check grades, and enroll and drop students at the school level.


DISTRICT INFORMATION

> To learn more about our OCS blended learning opportunities, please watch the follow two videos:
1) http://www.schooltube.com/video/71262ea7f4aecc0552ad/OCS-Part-1
2) http://www.schooltube.com/video/3e275d869bea24e5424f/OCS-Part-2

> NCVPS is seeking GO LIVE districts. With customized training and support, the GO LIVE initiative helps leaders develop solutions for e-learning and e-leadership. Click here for more details!

> Watch our Curriculum and Instruction presentation to see an over of online offerings and e-learning strategies. Click here to view!

> If your district is enrolling home-schooled students, follow this link to see the new process: http://www.ncvps.org/parentstudent/homeschool/index.html

> For funding formula information, follow this link: http://www.thevlc.org/2010/07/ncvps-funding-formula-why-what-and-how.html

STUDENT SUPPORT

> Follow this link to see a full list of assistive technologies that are beneficial for a variety of student disabilities: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Am5iphYrw8o_gwzsWHvO3RhhhPop81tLyhfiB-WK4g8/edit?hl=en&authkey=COv327YI&pli=1#

> If your students need tutoring help, be sure to check out our Peer Tutoring Center by following this link.

E-lert for Dec. 2, 2010

The NCVPS Community

Be Empowered

Does your district have an approach to promote digital citizenship and prevent cyberbullying? Check out these two articles to begin or continue your discussion in your distirct: Digital Citizenship: Our Passport to the Modern World and Youth Risk Online.

E-lert Subscription

Have you subscribed? If not, you can subscribe at the new e-lert site here. Look for the subscription service at the top of the sidebar. You will receive a confirmation email to activate your subscription. Each notice will have an unsubscribe option, too.

E-learning Success Stories

Submit your stories here: http://tiny.cc/d2oby Please tell us about student success stories and district success stories, such as increased virtual enrollment, fulltime DLA positions, teacher facilitators, and other virtual initiatives that have been started in your district. You may also forward to students and principals to complete!

Professional Networking

Are you into networking and social media? Come join over 750 other educators who have fanned us on Facebook. Find our fan page at Facebook/ncvps

Follow the virtual learning consultants on Twitter at Twitter/MyVLC

This Week's E-lert

1) Registration Is in Full Swing

2) Speak Up Survey

3) Modular Learning

4) DLA and Student Checklists

5) World Language Tour

6) LEO Updates

7) Upcoming LOCK Sessions

8) Reminders

Registration Is in Full Swing [E-lert for Dec. 2]

We have over 12,000 students registered for spring, and we are looking at another record enrollment!

Be sure to register your students early to ensure a seat in class! If a course has a waitlist, go ahead and place your student on the waitlist. We are opening new sections every Monday!

Speak Up! Survey - Your Reponse is Needed! [E-lert for Dec. 2]

Please participate by visiting - http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2010/.

The password is "ncvps". Locate the North Carolina Virtual Public School in the list of schools. Thank you for participating in the 2010 Speak Up! survey.

Speak Up, a national online research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow®, gives individuals the opportunity to share their viewpoints about key educational issues. Each year, findings are summarized and shared with national and state policy makers. Participating
schools and districts can access their data online, free-of-charge.

Modular Learning Courses [E-lert for Dec. 2]

The modular learning concept was born from this question: "Why should we wait until a students fail a course to offer them credit recovery help?" Now when students fall behind in a course, schools can now enroll them into any one of our 24 modules from English, math, digital communications, and science courses. Students will have the opportunity to master the module's concept (usually over a 1-2 week period) and catch back up with their peers in class.

Right now modular courses are open just to pilot districts, but they will be offered statewide in Spring 2011.

For more information on our modular learning opportunities, follow the link below:

http://www.thevlc.org/2010/11/modular-learning.html

Thanks to Jennifer Nobles, one of our modular learning specialists, for the great overview!

Student and DLA Checklists for Spring 2011 [E-lert for Dec. 2]

Click on the links above to download the documents or follow the links below for the web version.

Follow this link to the DLA Checklist for Spring 2011: https://docs.google.com/View?id=df9w57c6_26hjzx23f9

Follow this link to the Student Checklist: https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1Hiyou-5PJKKeAQMtE6p6Oo-efAGaTK7a_LfPhbXbR10

Around the World in One Hour: A World Language Tour with NCVPS [E-lert for Dec. 2]

NCVPS will be presenting a webinar to give parents and schools a primer on what NCVPS offers, why world languages are critical to 21^st century future-ready students, and why NCVPS is a leader in online world languages.

DATE:

Thursday, December 9 at 8:00 pm

LOG ON INFO:

Access via the web at - http://ncvpsclassroom.wimba.com/launcher.cgi?room=_ncvps_s__4100_1_883357

PIN number for conference – 15007821

Call In Access – (201) 549-7595
* Use same PIN number for phone access.

LEO: Career & College [E-lert for Dec. 2]

The LEO STEM requirements have had an unintended consequence of opening opportunities for career-ready as well as college-bound students. Community Colleges include in the STEM courses, career certificates such as Child Care, Law Enforcement, Forestry, and many others. Talk with your participating Community College about LEO career certificate options for your students.

Is your school system interested in getting more students involved in Learn and Earn Online but you have more questions/concerns than answers? I'll be happy to visit, answer questions, discuss policy implications, anything I can do to assist.

Email is the fastest way,

deborah.pedersen@ncpublicschools.gov

Both iSchool and Community Colleges are registering for spring courses. Visit the iSchool web site or contact the Community College with which you work.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Deborah Pedersen

deborah.pedersen@ncpublicschools.gov

LOCK Session Webinars - Upcoming Schedule [E-lert Dec. 2]

NCVPS LOCK session webinars are scheduled each Tuesday through Dec. These sessions are mini-webinars hosted for DLA and DLC knowledge gain and mini-training. The sessions are intended to be an opportunity for statewide DLAs and DLCs to collaborate on various topics that pertain to the responsibilities of the role. The sessions are hosted in the DLA online Wimba Classroom in the Blackboard DLA Spa (Virtual Office tab). Archive files to recent former session(s) follows the green highlight. The next LOCK scheduled is highlighted in yellow.

TIME: 11:00 AM (unless otherwise specified)

UPCOMING WEBINARS:

Dec 7 - "Funding Formula Update" - Presenter: Dr. John Brim, Assistant Director, NCVPS

Dec 14 - "No Zero Policy" - Presenter: Dr. Tracy Weeks, NCVPS Chief Academic Officer

Reminders [E-lert for Dec. 2]

COURSE REGISTRATION

> OCS Courses for Spring 11. Click here for details on how to register!

> LEO Spring 2011 Registration - click here for details.

> SAS Computer Programming - new pilot course - click here for details.

DLA & SCHOOL MAINTENANCE

> DLA Contact Information - Be sure to update your contact information in the registration system. Follow this link to see how to update your contact information.

> Central Office Distance Learning Coordinator: Follow this link to watch a short video that shows how to check your district's enrollment, check grades, and enroll and drop students at the school level.

> Fall 2010 VTINs list here.


DISTRICT INFORMATION

> To learn more about our OCS blended learning opportunities, please watch the follow two videos:
1) http://www.schooltube.com/video/71262ea7f4aecc0552ad/OCS-Part-1
2) http://www.schooltube.com/video/3e275d869bea24e5424f/OCS-Part-2

> NCVPS is seeking GO LIVE districts. With customized training and support, the GO LIVE initiative helps leaders develop solutions for e-learning and e-leadership. Click here for more details!

> Watch our Curriculum and Instruction presentation to see an over of online offerings and e-learning strategies. Click here to view!

> If your district is enrolling home-schooled students, follow this link to see the new process: http://www.ncvps.org/parentstudent/homeschool/index.html

> For funding formula information, follow this link: http://www.thevlc.org/2010/07/ncvps-funding-formula-why-what-and-how.html

STUDENT SUPPORT

> Follow this link to see a full list of assistive technologies that are beneficial for a variety of student disabilities: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Am5iphYrw8o_gwzsWHvO3RhhhPop81tLyhfiB-WK4g8/edit?hl=en&authkey=COv327YI&pli=1#

> If your students need tutoring help, be sure to check out our Peer Tutoring Center by following this link.

E-lert for Nov. 11, 2010

The NCVPS Community

Be Empowered

Your school and district should help prepare students to be good digital citizens. Check out this slide show for starters.

E-lert Subscription

Have you subscribed? If not, you can subscribe at the new e-lert site here. Look for the subscription service at the top of the sidebar. You will receive a confirmation email to activate your subscription. Each notice will have an unsubscribe option, too.

E-learning Success Stories

Submit your stories here: http://tiny.cc/d2oby Please tell us about student success stories and district success stories, such as increased virtual enrollment, fulltime DLA positions, teacher facilitators, and other virtual initiatives that have been started in your district. You may also forward to students and principals to complete!

Professional Networking

Are you into networking and social media? Come join over 750 other educators who have fanned us on Facebook. Find our fan page at Facebook/ncvps

Follow the virtual learning consultants on Twitter at Twitter/MyVLC

This Week's E-lert

Read the items below for this week's e-lert. Be sure to check out the reminders at the end for important information from previous e-lerts. Contact your virtual learning consultant if you have any questions!

1) OCS Registration

2) Virtual Advantage Digest

3) Assistive Technologies

4) LOCK Sessions

5) Reminders

OCS Registration for Spring 2011 Starts Nov. 15 [E-lert for Nov. 11]

Overview and Registration Information

Michelle Lourcey, our Director for Credit Recovery and Occupational Course of Study, discusses NCVPS OCS courses for Spring 11. Be sure to follow the link at the end for the survey that is available Monday, Nov. 15th. Schools must complete this survey before they can register for the OCS courses.

Please follow the two links below to view the archives for the Nov. 9 presentation. The third link takes you to our OCS page.

1) OCS Blended Learning Part 1: Michelle gives an overview of the program and gives numerous testimonials from the pilot districts.
http://www.schooltube.com/video/71262ea7f4aecc0552ad/OCS-Part-1

2) OCS Blended Learning Part 2: Michelle explains how to register for OCS courses and what training is involved for the classroom EC teacher.
http://www.schooltube.com/video/3e275d869bea24e5424f/OCS-Part-2

3) Here's the link to our OCS information page. Schools will need to complete the survey before they can register for OCS courses. The survey will be available on Nov. 15.
http://www.ncvps.org/courses/ocs/

Virtual Advantage Disgest for Nov. 12

The Virtual Advantage Digest highlights the NCVPS blogs, tweets, bookmarks, check ins, e-lerts, and social mentions from the past two weeks. Click here to see the latest digest.

Assistive Technologies [E-lert for Nov. 11]

Follow the link below to see a selection of assistive technologies that have been researched and reviewed by NCVPS. These technologies may be beneficial to students with a variety of disabilities. Each technology is organized by category; some technologies appear in more than one category. Links and descriptions are provided for each technology.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Am5iphYrw8o_gwzsWHvO3RhhhPop81tLyhfiB-WK4g8/edit?hl=en&authkey=COv327YI&pli=1#

LOCK Session Webinars - Upcoming Schedule [E-lert for Nov. 11]

NCVPS LOCK session webinars are typically hosted the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. These sessions are mini-webinars hosted for DLA and DLC knowledge gain and mini-training. The sessions are intended to be an opportunity for statewide DLAs and DLCs to collaborate on various topics that pertain to the responsibilities of the role. The sessions are hosted in the DLA online Wimba Classroom in the Blackboard DLA Spa. The Archive file to this month's session(s) already presented follows the green highlight. The next LOCK scheduled is highlighted in yellow.

TIME: 11:00 AM (unless otherwise specified)

Nov 9 - "OCS" (Occupational Course of Study) - Presenter: Michelle Lourcey, Director of NCVPS Credit Recovery and the NCVPS OCS Program.

Nov 16 - "Modular Learning Program" - Presenter: Jennifer Nobles, NCVPS Credit Recovery and Modular Learning Consultant.

Nov 23 - "Curriculum Guides" - Presenter: Dr. Bryan Setser, NCVPS Executive Director.

Nov 30 - "Curriculum Guide Best Practices" - Presenters: Dr. Tracy Weeks, NCVPS Chief Academic Officer; and Melissa Davis, NCVPS Regional Virtual Learning Consultant.

Dec 7 - "Funding Formula Update" - Presenter: Dr. John Brim, Assistant Director, NCVPS

Dec 14 - "No Zero Policy" - Presenter: Dr. Tracy Weeks, NCVPS Chief Academic Officer

ARCHIVED Sessions, passed two LOCK sessions:

OCT 12 - "Learn & Earn Online (LEO) Update" - Presenter: Deb Pedersen, NCVPS Director for LEO. ARCHIVED FILE: http://ncvpsclassroom.wimba.com/launcher.cgi?room=_ncvps_s__4100_1_883357_2010_1012_1105_53

Nov 2 - "Open Forum" (Topics: briefing of OCS, Modular, 9-wk Health course, SAS, student progress, NC WISE imports/missing students) - Presenters: School Services VLCs, Adam, Connie. ARCHIVED FILE: http://ncvpsclassroom.wimba.com/main/classroom.html?channel=_ncvps_s__4100_1_883357_2010_1102_1110_33&X-Wimba-IntegrationType=classroom&X-Wimba-RoomId=_ncvps_s__4100_1_883357&X-Wimba-PlatformType=blackboard&X-Wimba-CourseId=DLA_Spa&X-Wimba-IntegrationVersion=4.2.0-4&X-Wimba-CoursePkId=_4100_1&X-Wimba-PlatformVersion=8.0.422.0&x=1289068670

Reminders [E-lert for Nov. 11]

COURSE REGISTRATION

> Spring registration is open. Click here for details!

> OCS Courses for Spring 11. Click here for details on how to register!

> LEO Spring 2011 Registration - click here for details.

> SAS Computer Programming - new pilot course - click here for details.

> October Health Course (1/2 credit) - click here for details.

DLA & SCHOOL MAINTENANCE

> DLA Contact Information - Be sure to update your contact information in the registration system. Follow this link to see how to update your contact information.

> Central Office Distance Learning Coordinator: Follow this link to watch a short video that shows how to check your district's enrollment, check grades, and enroll and drop students at the school level.

> Summer 2010 Final Grade - click here for eSIS directions.

> Follow this link to the DLA Checklist for Fall 2010.

> Fall 2010 VTINs list here.


DISTRICT INFORMATION

> NCVPS is seeking GO LIVE districts. With customized training and support, the GO LIVE initiative helps leaders develop solutions for e-learning and e-leadership. Click here for more details!

> Watch our Curriculum and Instruction presentation to see an over of online offerings and e-learning strategies. Click here to view!

> If your district is enrolling home-schooled students, follow this link to see the new process: http://www.ncvps.org/parentstudent/homeschool/index.html

> For funding formula information, follow this link: http://www.thevlc.org/2010/07/ncvps-funding-formula-why-what-and-how.html

STUDENT SUPPORT

> If your students need tutoring help, be sure to check out our Peer Tutoring Center by following this link.

> Follow this link to the Student Checklist for Fall 2010.

NCVPS Community: E-lert for Nov. 5

Be Empowered

Check out Prezi Meeting in the classroom! A powerful free communication tool for the districts.

E-lert Subscription

Have you subscribed? If not, you can subscribe at the new e-lert site here. Look for the subscription service at the top of the sidebar. You will receive a confirmation email to activate your subscription. Each notice will have an unsubscribe option, too.

E-learning Success Stories

Submit your stories here: http://tiny.cc/d2oby Please tell us about student success stories and district success stories, such as increased virtual enrollment, fulltime DLA positions, teacher facilitators, and other virtual initiatives that have been started in your district. You may also forward to students and principals to complete!

Professional Networking

Are you into networking and social media? Come join over 750 other educators who have fanned us on Facebook. Find our fan page at Facebook/ncvps

Follow the virtual learning consultants on Twitter at Twitter/MyVLC

This Week's E-lert

1) Grade Report Updates
2) School Survey for Curriculum Guides
3) No Video Editing Course for Early Calendar
4) LEO Registration and Textbook
5) SAS Computer Programming Still Open for Spring6
6) LOCK Session Updates and Schedule
7) Reminders

Update on Grade Reports [E-lert for Nov. 5]

Grade reports are now separated into two reports: yearlong and block. If you have students enrolled in both yearlong and block, you will need to download both grade reports in the Reports section of the registration system.

Remember that OSU for German and FLVS for AP Micro/Macro do not report grades to us. Students enrolled in those courses will have a "null" grade in our grade reports. You will get German and AP Micro/Macro grades directly from those providers.

SEEKING INPUT FROM SCHOOLS [E-lert for Nov. 5]

Central Office and Charter Schools:

NCVPS is in the process of helping districts develop and integrate our online courses into district curriculum guides. In an effort to gain feedback into your planning process, NCVPS would like for you to answer a few questions. These questions will help us ascertain how your district is promoting online opportunities for your students.

Here's the survey link: https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/ncpublicschools.gov/viewform?formkey=dEdhUzY5bUxZeDA4Nzh4bWl4MTE0cHc6MQ

Thank you and have a good weekend.

No Early Calendar Video Editting - Attention All Schools [E-lert for Nov. 5]

Attention all schools. NCVPS is NOT offering Video Editting on an Early Calendar schedule. If you have enrolled students in this section, please move all students to a traditional calendar section. Thank you.

LEO Registration & Textbooks [E-lert for Nov. 5]

Questions about Learn and Earn Online? Deborah Pedersen will be glad to visit with DLAs, high school counselors, the DLC from your system, anyone interested in talking about LEO. Contact information below, let's schedule a day!

iSchool and participating Community Colleges are still registering for spring semester. Only science, technology, and math courses qualify for LEO funding.

Visit here for a list of iSchool courses,

http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/web/ischool/online_courses/course_descriptions.php

Contact your participating Community College to register for courses.

LEO Textbooks belong to the school not the student. LEO college textbooks are very expensive and purchased with state money. Textbooks for LEO courses should be treated just as another textbook in the high school and can be used by students in other semesters.

If you have any questions about the LEO registration process check out the LEO tab in the DLA Spa.

As always, please contact Deborah Pedersen with any questions, deborah.pedersen@ncpublicschools.gov

SAS Slots Still Open [E-lert for Nov. 5]

NCVPS and SAS Institute are partnering to offer high school students a course in SAS Computer Programming. The prerequisites for the course are Algebra I and at least 1 programming course such as Visual Basic, C++, Java or Python.

For more information, please contact Karen Creech at karen.creech@ncpublicschools.gov.

LOCK Sessions [E-lert for Nov. 5]

NCVPS LOCK session webinars are typically hosted the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. These sessions are mini-webinars hosted for DLA and DLC knowledge gain and mini-training. The sessions are intended to be an opportunity for statewide DLAs and DLCs to collaborate on various topics that pertain to the responsibilities of the role. The sessions are hosted in the DLA online Wimba Classroom in the Blackboard DLA Spa. The Archive file to this month's session(s) already presented follows the green highlight. The next LOCK scheduled is highlighted in yellow.

TIME: 11:00 AM (unless otherwise specified)

Nov 9 - "OCS" (Occupational Course of Study) - Presenter: Michelle Lourcey, Director of NCVPS Credit Recovery and the NCVPS OCS Program.

Nov 16 - "Modular Learning Program" - Presenter: Jennifer Nobles, NCVPS Credit Recovery and Modular Learning Consultant.

Nov 23 - "Curriculum Guides" - Presenter: Dr. Bryan Setser, NCVPS Executive Director.

Nov 30 - "Curriculum Guide Best Practices" - Presenters: Dr. Tracy Weeks, NCVPS Chief Academic Officer; and Melissa Davis, NCVPS Regional Virtual Learning Consultant.

Dec 7 - "Funding Formula Update" - Presenter: Dr. John Brim, Assistant Director, NCVPS

Dec 14 - "No Zero Policy" - Presenter: Dr. Tracy Weeks, NCVPS Chief Academic Officer

ARCHIVED Sessions, passed two LOCK sessions:

Reminders [E-lert for Nov. 5]

COURSE REGISTRATION

> Spring registration is open. Click here for details!

> OCS Courses for Spring 11. Click here for details on how to register!

> LEO Spring 2011 Registration - click here for details.

> SAS Computer Programming - new pilot course - click here for details.

> October Health Course (1/2 credit) - click here for details.

DLA & SCHOOL MAINTENANCE

> DLA Contact Information - Be sure to update your contact information in the registration system. Follow this link to see how to update your contact information.

> Central Office Distance Learning Coordinator: Follow this link to watch a short video that shows how to check your district's enrollment, check grades, and enroll and drop students at the school level.

> Summer 2010 Final Grade - click here for eSIS directions.

> Follow this link to the DLA Checklist for Fall 2010.

> Fall 2010 VTINs list here.


DISTRICT INFORMATION

> NCVPS is seeking GO LIVE districts. With customized training and support, the GO LIVE initiative helps leaders develop solutions for e-learning and e-leadership. Click here for more details!

> Watch our Curriculum and Instruction presentation to see an over of online offerings and e-learning strategies. Click here to view!

> If your district is enrolling home-schooled students, follow this link to see the new process: http://www.ncvps.org/parentstudent/homeschool/index.html

> For funding formula information, follow this link: http://www.thevlc.org/2010/07/ncvps-funding-formula-why-what-and-how.html

STUDENT SUPPORT

> If your students need tutoring help, be sure to check out our Peer Tutoring Center by following this link.

> Follow this link to the Student Checklist for Fall 2010.

E-lert for Oct. 28

The NCVPS Community

Be Empowered

Check out Kentwood High Schools (WA) efolio requirement.

E-lert Subscription

Have you subscribed? If not, you can subscribe at the new e-lert site here. Look for the subscription service at the top of the sidebar. You will receive a confirmation email to activate your subscription. Each notice will have an unsubscribe option, too.

E-learning Success Stories

Submit your stories here: http://tiny.cc/d2oby Please tell us about student success stories and district success stories, such as increased virtual enrollment, fulltime DLA positions, teacher facilitators, and other virtual initiatives that have been started in your district. You may also forward to students and principals to complete!

Professional Networking

Join NCVPS on Facebook. Are you into networking and social media? Come join over 750 other educators. Find us at Facebook/ncvps

Follow the virtual learning consultants on Twitter at Twitter/MyVlc

SEEKING INPUT FROM SCHOOLS!!! [E-lert for Oct. 28]

Central Office and Charter Schools:

NCVPS is in the process of helping districts develop and integrate our online courses into district curriculum guides. In an effort to gain feedback into your planning process, NCVPS would like for you to answer a few questions. These questions will help us ascertain how your district is promoting online opportunities for your students.

Here's the survey link: https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/ncpublicschools.gov/viewform?formkey=dEdhUzY5bUxZeDA4Nzh4bWl4MTE0cHc6MQ

Thank you!

Health Permission Form [E-lert for Oct. 28]

It is no longer required to send the health education parental permission forms back to the NCVPS office. It is the school's responsibility to keep this on file.

LEO Textbooks, Drops, & Registration [E-lert for Oct. 28]

LEO Textbooks belong to the school not the student. LEO college textbooks are very expensive and purchased with state money. Textbooks for LEO courses should be treated just as another textbook in the high school and can be used by students in other semesters.

Last day to drop a LEO course is quickly arriving. Check with the Community College providing your LEO courses for their drop date.

Spring Registration is open for Learn & Earn Online Courses. Only science, technology, and math courses qualify for LEO funding.

For a list of iSchool courses visit,
http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/web/ischool/online_courses/course_descriptions.php

For a list of Community Colleges/courses visit,
http://vlc.nccommunitycolleges.edu/learnEarn/index.html

A number of steps must be followed to participate in either LEO course option. Visit the iSchool website or contact a participating Community College for registration information.

If you have any questions about the LEO registration process check out the LEO tab in the DLA Spa.

As always, please contact Deborah Pedersen with any questions, deborah.pedersen@ncpublicschools.gov

Accounting, Personal Finance and Principles of Business and Finance Mid Term Exams

As new and revised courses, Accounting, Personal Finance and Principles of Business and Finance will be field tested for the school year 2010-2011. What does that mean for you and our students? Students are required to take a two part field test for the course this semester. The first part will be administered at the midpoint of the semester and cover the first half of the course content. The second part will be administered at the end of the course and cover the second half of the course content. Both parts are to be administered at the face to face school. District policy should be followed in terms of using the field test scores to calculate an exam score; district policies regarding field tests vary greatly.

You may obtain a copy of the appropriate Mid Term and Final Exam from your CDC (Career Development Coordinator) or your testing coordinator. Please be aware, this is a DPI assessment, not an NCVPS assessment and standard testing procedures should be followed.

Early Calendar Schools Transitioning to Traditional Calendars Due to Flooding

Due to the inclement weather of flooding earlier in the semester and other hardships, some schools needed to transition from the Early Calendar Schedule to Traditional, yet, the schools will need to get NCVPS grades on the Early Calendar Schedule. If your school falls into this situation, DLAs will need to begin coordinating with teachers and their students now. NCVPS teachers will need to be informed so discussion and planning can be arranged. DLAs also need to take on the responsibility to coach students to have their course work completed well in advance so teachers can provide the final grades on the DLA's requested time scale.

Seeking GOLIVE Districts [E-lert for Oct. 28]

Would you like to be a GOLIVE district?

A GO LIVE leading edge district will learn from solutions created by other LEAs and will develop own solutions that focus on e-learning and e-leadership strategies. Each LEA will receive customized training and support, both face-to-face and virtually and be extended an invitation to serve on our advisory board. To learn more visit this link . . .

https://docs.google.com/a/ncpublicschools.gov/document/edit?id=1KHsO1ZeiOJRd-gpXBizpW1SZVTF1lN6jr-KHgmnWTD4&hl=en&pli=1#

SAS Programming Slots Still Open [E-lert for Oct. 28]

NCVPS and SAS Institute are partnering to offer high school students a course in SAS Computer Programming. The prerequisites for the course are Algebra I and at least 1 programming course such as Visual Basic, C++, Java or Python.

Here is a brochure with more information on the course(s).

SAS Programming

For more information, please contact Karen Creech at karen.creech@ncpublicschools.gov.

OCS Courses for Spring 2011 [E-lert for Oct. 28]

The NCVPS OCS Blending Learning courses for the Spring 2011 semester will be available for enrollment on November 15! This exciting and unique program is proving to be a tremendous success for students across North Carolina who are involved in the pilot of these courses. NCVPS is excited to off four courses in the Spring to all OCS students and OCS teachers of North Carolina.

The courses available will be OCS English I, OCS English II, OCS Algebra I, and OCS Biology. Directions will be posted by November 15 on the NCVPS website with more information for schools.

Follow this link for more information:
http://ncvps.org/courses/ocs/

Schools who plan on registering students for any of the available courses can begin to prepare for the Spring semester by considering the following:

1. The NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program is a collaborative effort between the NCVPS teacher and the face-to-face (f2f) OCS teacher. Schools who plan on enrolling students need to be able to identify the OCS f2f teacher who will be teaching the OCS students and working with the NCVPS teacher.

2. All OCS f2f teachers will need to go through an approximate two hour online training prior to the Spring semester start on January 24, 2011. Teachers will be able to decide when they want to complete the training but all f2f teachers will need to complete this training prior to the start of Spring semester. More details on this will be available on November 15.

3. NCVPS Technical Requirements are posted on the main page. Additional sites for each course will be provided as well through the Course Descriptions also located on the NCVPS main page.

If you have any questions about the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program, please contact Michelle Lourcey (michelle.lourcey@ncpublicschools.gov) or Jennifer Nobles (jennifer.nobles@ncpublicschools.gov).

LOCK Session Webinars - Upcoming Schedule [E-lert for Oct. 28]

NCVPS LOCK session webinars are typically hosted the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. These sessions are mini-webinars hosted for DLA and DLC knowledge gain and mini-training. The sessions are intended to be an opportunity for statewide DLAs and DLCs to collaborate on various topics that pertain to the responsibilities of the role. The sessions are hosted in the DLA online Wimba Classroom in the Blackboard DLA Spa. The Archive file to this month's session(s) already presented follows the green highlight. The next LOCK scheduled is highlighted in yellow.

TIME: 11:00 AM (unless otherwise specified)

Nov 2 - "Open Forum" (Topics may include: upcoming DLC/DLA training, OCS and 9 wk Health course offered in spring semester, student progress, and any topics participants would like to inquire about.) - Presenters: School Services VLCs, Adam, Connie, James and Melissa.

Nov 9 - "OCS" (Occupational Course of Study) - Presenter: Michelle Lourcey, Director of NCVPS Credit Recovery and the NCVPS OCS Program.

Upcoming sessions -- Dates TBA:

"Curriculum Guides" - Presenter: Dr. Bryan Setser, NCVPS Executive Director.
"Curriculum Guide Best Practices" - Presenters: Dr. Tracy Weeks, NCVPS Chief Academic Officer; and Melissa Davis, NCVPS Regional Virtual Learning Consultant.

"No Zero Policy" - Presenter: Dr. Tracy Weeks, NCVPS Chief Academic Officer

OCT 12 - "Learn & Earn Online (LEO) Update" - Presenter: Deb Pedersen, NCVPS Director for LEO. ARCHIVED FILE: http://ncvpsclassroom.wimba.com/launcher.cgi?room=_ncvps_s__4100_1_883357_2010_1012_1105_53

Reminders [E-lert for Oct. 28]

COURSE REGISTRATION

> Spring registration is open. Click here for details!

> LEO Spring 2011 Registration - click here for details.

> SAS Computer Programming - new pilot course - click here for details.

> October Health Course (1/2 credit) - click here for details.

DLA & SCHOOL MAINTENANCE

> DLA Contact Information - Be sure to update your contact information in the registration system. Follow this link to see how to update your contact information.

> Central Office Distance Learning Coordinator: Follow this link to watch a short video that shows how to check your district's enrollment, check grades, and enroll and drop students at the school level.

> Summer 2010 Final Grade - click here for eSIS directions.

> Follow this link to the DLA Checklist for Fall 2010.

> Fall 2010 VTINs list here.


DISTRICT INFORMATION

> Watch our Curriculum and Instruction presentation to see an over of online offerings and e-learning strategies. Click here to view!

> If your district is enrolling home-schooled students, follow this link to see the new process: http://www.ncvps.org/parentstudent/homeschool/index.html

> For funding formula information, follow this link: http://www.thevlc.org/2010/07/ncvps-funding-formula-why-what-and-how.html

STUDENT SUPPORT

> If your students need tutoring help, be sure to check out our Peer Tutoring Center by following this link.

> Follow this link to the Student Checklist for Fall 2010.

NCVPS Community: E-lert for Oct. 22

Be Empowered

Storybirds: Storybirds are short, visual stories that you make with family and friends to shareand (soon) print.

E-lert Subscription

Have you subscribed? If not, you can subscribe at the new e-lert site here. Look for the subscription service at the top of the sidebar. You will receive a confirmation email to activate your subscription. Each notice will have an unsubscribe option, too.

E-learning Success Stories

Submit your stories here: http://tiny.cc/d2oby Please tell us about student success stories and district success stories, such as increased virtual enrollment, fulltime DLA positions, teacher facilitators, and other virtual initiatives that have been started in your district. You may also forward to students and principals to complete!

Professional Networking

Join NCVPS on Facebook. Are you into networking and social media? Come join over 750 other educators. Find us at Facebook/ncvps

Follow the virtual learning consultants on Twitter at Twitter/MyVlc

Spring 2011 Registration Now Open [E-lert for Oct. 22]

Registration is now open. NCVPS will open additional course sections each Monday. If there is a waitlist for a course, go ahead and place your students on the waitlist. This will let us know how many sections to open each week.

Please check out these resources:

Course Descriptions, Prerequisites, Textbooks, & Tech Requirements
Follow this link to course descriptions, prerequisites, and tech requirements: https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASUfjGU4wbEIZHJrcXJrbl8zOXMzY3htYmNo&hl=en

Before schools commit to a registration, please assure the student meets any pre-requisite listed with the course description, and the school can also meet the tech and textbook requirements as they may apply.

Registration System User's Guide
Follow this link to the user's guide for the registration system: https://docs.google.com/View?id=dfwwcvfq_1663fhnxccc6

Student Contact Information
Be sure to update the student's email address and phone number when you register if there has been a change.