Thursday, March 25, 2010
Message from DPI about NCVPS Accreditation
We know that many of you have received an email calling into question the NC Virtual Public School's course validity because of accreditation issues. Please note that the NC Virtual Public School is not a degree- or diploma-granting school. It is a service provider that offers courses of value and interest to students and schools in North Carolina. It is not eligible for accreditation, and no student's standing for credits is in jeopardy by that fact.The courses offered through NCVPS are evaluated by the the NC Department of Public Instruction's NCVPS staff, The College Board AP Audit, Independent Evaluator teams through SREB/iNACOL, and the Friday Institute to ensure that standards of quality are upheld. They are expected to meet the objectives of the Standard Course of Study, just as brick-and-mortar classes are.
Students who take courses through the NCVPS participate in appropriate state or other examinations as required, and their schools provide the proper credit for the completed course. This is not in jeopardy.
NCVPS Community [E-lert for March 25]
Be Empowered: 60second Recap uses video trailers to summarize and interest students in great works of literature. Check out their trailer for Shakespeare's Hamlet.
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!
Join NCVPS on Facebook: Are you into networking and social media? Come join over 500 other educators here: http://www.facebook.com/ncvps
Registration Opening & Maintenance Outage [E-lert for March 25]
The NCVPS registration system will experience a scheduled maintenance outage starting Tuesday, March 23 at 5pm. This outage is to upgrade the student data to be in sync with the NCWise database. As a result, DLAs will no longer have to add new students to the NCVPS registration system. However, the DLAs will still be responsible for entering a contact email for students and identifying if they have an IEP or are free/reduced lunch.
Training information on the new system and processes will be posted later this week in the DLA Spa. If you have questions, contact your VLC.
The system will be re-opened no later that Monday, March 29th. On that date, Summer 2010 and Fall/YL 2010 registration will be open.
The catalogs for Summer 2010 and Fall 2010 are here: http://ncvps.org/courses/
The student checklist for Summer 2010 is here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfwwcvfq_1644g3rfcrxk
Fall 2009 Top Pass Rates and Enrollment by District
Check out the top North Carolina districts by enrollment and pass rates.Top 20 Enrollments by District
Top Pass Rates by District (for districts w/ 50+ enrollments)
We are still collecting EOC data. This data will be easier to pull in the future with our NCWISE sync.
New Health Education Registration Process and Permission Form [E-lert for March 25]
In accordance with the G.S. 115C-81(e1) (7), NCVPS has a new process for the Health Education course is in place. First, we will have two separate courses, Physical Education (P.E.) worth .5 credit and Health Education worth .5 credit. We will no longer offer the combination full credit Health and PE course. Students can be enrolled in both courses simultaneously if a student needs credit for both courses. Alternatively, students can be enrolled in either course separately if a student only needs 1 of the courses.
Effective immediately, DLAs will no longer need to provide a copy of the Health permission form(s) to the NCVPS office. Instead, each school will be responsible for getting the forms from parents and keeping the permission forms on file at school.
The registration system will have a new feature that will be required for enrolling students in the Health Education course. You will select a radio button indicating whether you have a copy of the permission form already on file. If you check yes, you will be able to proceed with registration for the student in the Health Education course. If you check no, the system will not allow you to register the student in the Health Education course.
A new permission form is attached below for your convenience. Please make sure you obtain the permission form from parents prior to registering students for the Health Education course. On the form parents will be able to indicate they give permission for their child to take the Health Education course. Prior to the enrollment rush, we suggest you obtain the permission forms in advance to ensure a smooth registration process.
Please share with parents the online course that they can preview before giving permission for their child to take the Health Education course. Information for accessing the course is included below as well as on the permission form.
To access the Sample Health Education course, go to http://ncvps.blackboard.com. Login with the User ID: healthful_living and Password: physical.
Important Note: A permission form is not required for the P.E. course, only for the Health Education course.
Dropping a LEO Course [E-lert for March 25]
LEO students may drop courses through the end of this month. Check student grades. If a student is failing a LEO course take action. That action will be up to your school, perhaps the students needs assistance, perhaps there are technical difficulties. There are serious consequences if a student fails a LEO course:
-a college transcript with a failing grade is generated
-failing college courses can impact college loan applications
Be aware of your students' grades in LEO courses.
For more LEO information, contact Deborah Pedersen at deborah.pedersen@ncpublicschools.gov
Credit Recovery Updates [E-lert for March 25]
1. Mastery Charts and Status ReportsThe mastery charts were messaged to the students within Blackboard and emailed to parents and DLAs by 5pm on Monday, March 22nd. The Status Report was made available in the registration system on Tuesday, March 23rd. Mastery Charts and Status Reports will be provided bi-weekly during the spring semester. If you are new to this program and this is your first time receiving Mastery charts, you may wish to view this presentation detailing how students are assessed in Credit Recovery and how to "read" Mastery charts and status reports. http://content.flypaper.net/
2. Teacher Contact
Just a reminder that the Credit Recovery teachers are required to make weekly contact with your students. If the teachers are having trouble contacting a student they may reach out to you for assistance and/or advice. They may ask if you have an updated number for the student, a work number for the parent, if you know of a good time to contact the student, or even if you could arrange a time during the day that the student could speak with the NCVPS teacher. We greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide and all that you do to encourage the Credit Recovery students.
If you have any questions concerning the updates, please contact Jennifer Nobles at jennifer.nobles@ncpublicschools.gov.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Share Your E-learning Success Stories [E-lert for March 11]
Please tell us about e-learning success stories in your district! We will share your story, and your district may be featured on our homepage! Tell us about student success stories and district success stories, such as increased virtual enrollment, fulltime DLA positions, teacher facilitators, virtual high schools that have been created in your district, etc.
Submit your stories here: http://tiny.cc/d2oby
You may also forward to students and principals to complete!
Submit your stories here: http://tiny.cc/d2oby
You may also forward to students and principals to complete!
What Does It Mean to "Fail Forward"? [E-lert for March 11]
21st-century educators have embraced the concept of "failing forward," but what does that mean exactly?John Maxwell writes in this book Attitude 101 that two art teachers did an experiment. They told half the class that they would be graded on the quantity of pots that they produce. 50 gets an A, 40 a B, and so on. The other half would be graded on the quality of their work, but they had to make a perfect pot to get an A.
Guess what they discovered? You'll be surprised.
Find out here from North Carolina's Cool Cat Teacher Blog: http://tiny.cc/ZhXZ8
Join NCVPS on Facebook [E-lert for March 11]
Are you into networking and social media? Come join over 500 other educators here: http://www.facebook.com/ncvpsHere's three ways that educators are using social media to embrace education: http://mashable.com/2010/01/10/educators-social-technology/
Learn and Earn Online Survey [E-lert for March 11]
Thanks to everyone completing the LEO survey. Very interesting results. Please take a minute to answer the 5 questions here: http://tiny.cc/DANpD .Some indicated their school did NOT have students participating in Learn and Earn Online courses. If students in your school currently do not take LEO courses and you would like more information about the possibilities please contact me (contact info below).
If you would like to share your online course policy please send it, via email, to me. Lots of folks, without policies, ask me to share with them.
Deborah Pedersen
deborah.pedersen@ncpublicschools.gov
Format of Progress & Grade Reports [E-lert for March 11]
There is currently a constraint on the design and appearance of progress and grade reports. We regret these reports cannot yet be condensed, whereas, showing the most pertinent data fields pertaining to grade and progress marks. The most recent spring 2010 progress report posted on March 8 shows grade marks recorded in column AU with comments in column AV. The report can be saved in your Excel files allowing you to redesign the report making it more suitable for your reporting needs. Thank you for your tolerance using this reporting method for the time being.
Summer Semester (Calendar, Catalog, Enrollment Period) [E-lert for March 11]
The summer course catalog is now available for review of courses available in the summer 2010 semester. http://www.ncvps.org/courses/catalogue/ Be sure to click on the course title and review course descriptions to verify any pre-requisites have been covered before enrollments are made. Enrollment period for summer courses is anticipated to open mid-next week or the week of March 22.
The summer calendar is due to be posted to the NCVPS website within the next few days. In the meantime, it is listed below.
NCVPS 2010 Summer Semester Calendar
Monday, June 14, 2010 | Start of Traditional Courses and Credit Recovery Courses |
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | Day 3 Student Status Report due from Teachers |
Thursday, June 17, 2010 | Day 3 Student Status Report sent to DLAs |
Friday, June 18, 2010 | Last Day to Add (5 Days) |
Sunday, June 20, 2010 | Week 1 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms due from Teachers |
Monday, June 21, 2010 | Week 1 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms sent to DLAs |
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 | Admin Drop Reports due from Teachers |
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 | Admin Drop Reports sent to DLAs |
Friday, June 25, 2010 | Last Day to Drop without Penalty (10 Days) |
Monday, June 28, 2010 | Week 2 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms due from Teachers |
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 | Week 2 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms sent to DLAs |
Saturday, July 3, 2010 | Week 3 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms due from Teachers |
Monday, July 5, 2010 | Observance of Independence Day |
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 | Week 3 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms sent to DLAs |
Monday, July 12, 2010 | Week 4 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms due from Teachers |
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 | Week 4 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms sent to DLAs |
Monday, July 19, 2010 | Week 5 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms due from Teachers |
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 | Week 5 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms sent to DLAs |
Monday, July 26, 2010 | Week 6 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms due from Teachers |
Tuesday, July, 27, 2010 | Week 6 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms sent to DLAs |
Monday, August 2, 2010 | Week 7 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms due from Teachers |
Tuesday, August 3, 2010 | Week 7 Progress Report and/or Mastery Charts/Status Forms sent to DLAs |
Monday, August 9, 2010 | End of Traditional Courses and Credit Recovery Courses |
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 | Final Grade Report due from Teachers with Cumulative Grade |
Fall 2010 Semester [E-lert for March 11]
The fall 2010 semester course catalog and calendar is due to be posted on the NCVPS website by the end of March. Enrollment period will open at the same time or shortly thereafter.
Credit Recovery Updates [E-lert for March 11]
1. Mastery Charts and Status Reports
The mastery charts were messaged to the students within Blackboard and emailed to parents and DLAs by 5pm on Monday, March 8th. The Status Report was made available in the registration system on Tuesday, March 9th. Mastery Charts and Status Reports will be provided bi-weekly during the spring semester. If you are new to this program and this is your first time receiving Mastery charts, you may wish to view this presentation detailing how students are assessed in Credit Recovery and how to "read" Mastery charts and status reports. http://content.flypaper.net/
2. Teacher Contact
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)