VIRTUAL SCHOOL

1
VIRTUAL SCHOOL

• Parent University
• August 23, 2008

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What is Virtual School?

• Georgia Virtual School (GAVS) is part of the
  Georgia Department of Education's Office of
  Technology Services. GAVS is fully accredited and
  operates in partnership with Georgia parents and
  schools to offer high school level courses across
  the state. 
• Web resource http//www.gavirtualschool.org/

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Is my child a good fit for Virtual School?

• If your child is organized, self-motivated and is
  familiar with computer skills like email,
  downloading files and word processing, then he or
  she may be an ideal Virtual School student.
• (self-test follows)

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PERSONAL ATTITUDESOnline Course Self-Assessment
Inventory

• Never 1 Sometimes 3 Always 5
• 1 3 5
• I am self-motivated and do my schoolwork and
  homework without being told twice.
• 1 3 5
• I stay on task when doing schoolwork.
• 1 3 5
• I schedule my time well at school.
• 1 3 5
• I schedule my time well outside of school.
• 1 3 5
• I stay on task while doing work on the Internet.
• 1 3 5
• I follow through on requests from my teachers.
• 1 3 5
• I answer e-mail in a timely manner.
• 1 3 5
• I turn in my assignments on time.
• 1 3 5
• I ask teachers for help when I need it.

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TECHNOLOGY SKILLS Online Course Self-Assessment
Inventory

• Yes No
• I have a computer at home.
• Yes No
• I have access to the Internet at home.
• Yes No
• I know how to login to my home Internet
  provider.
• Yes No
• My home computer has a word processing program
  like Word, WordPerfect, or Works.
• Yes No
• I know how to use a word processing program.
• Yes No
• I know how to use e-mail.
• Yes No
• I know how to do Internet research.
• Yes No
• I know how to copy and paste text.
• Yes No
• I know how to download a file from a Web page.
• Yes No

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How to enroll my child in GAVS

• Go To http//www.gavirtualschool.org/
• The actual registration process is simple
• Create an account by choosing this option in the
  login box .
• Verify your email address. GAVS requires that you
  have a valid email address to create an account.
  You will be sent an email to which you will have
  to respond for verification.
• Login and apply for classes.
• After you apply for classes, your facilitator
  (local school approver) will be notified and
  asked to approve your course.

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School Approval for GAVS

• You must be approved by your local school in
  order to participate in GAVS courses. If you ever
  have any questions about your registration
  status, just login to view your current status.
  Also feel free to contact your local school
  facilitator.

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How many courses can a student take during the
school year?

• With local approval, students can take up to 1.0
  Carnegie unit of courses as part of their
  state-funded school day schedule each semester.
• Students may also take courses for tuition in
  addition to their state-funded school day
  schedule each semester. Unlike state-funded
  seats, there is no set limit to the number of
  tuition courses students can take however, all
  courses require local approval

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Is there a cost for courses?

• If public, private, or home school students take
  Georgia Virtual School courses as part of their
  state-funded school day schedule, they may be
  eligible for FTE-funded seats during fall and
  spring semesters. Although these seats are at no
  cost to students, the seats are limited and
  approval for them rests with students local
  approvers.
• Supplemental courses taken in addition to the
  state-funded school day cost 300 per .5 Carnegie
  unit course or 600 per 1.0 Carnegie unit course.
  

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How much time is involved in taking an online
course?

• Students need to plan on spending 610 hours a
  week per .5 Carnegie unit course. This doubles
  (at least!) for a full Carnegie unit or 1 block
  course.
• While students have the flexibility of
  participating in courses anywhere, from any
  Internet-connected computer, they are required to
  log in and possibly turn in assignments daily.

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How does a virtual school course compare to a
classroom course?

• According to one student who has been enrolled in
  an Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry virtual
  class, the class was quite in-depth and required
  a lot more work than he had previously
  experienced in a Math class at BHS.
• He also felt that by the end of the semester, he
  had covered a lot more material in the subject
  than he otherwise would have in a regular Math
  classroom. The syllabus is set at the beginning
  of the course and everyone is expected to adhere
  to the schedule. (There is no Fall or Spring
  break, for example.)

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What if I want to withdraw from a course?

• Withdrawals must be initiated and approved by
  students facilitators. No withdrawals are
  complete without Georgia Virtual School
  administrations final approval. For specific
  information concerning withdrawals, including
  policies and procedures, visit the website at
  www.GAVirtualSchool.org.
• No refunds are given after 72 hours of finishing
  the Student Orientation Course, and all refunds
  are subject to a 25 administrative processing
  fee. No refunds will be issued after the last
  start date of the session

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20082009 Course Offerings

• Advanced Placement
• 50.3921000 AP Art History
• 26.3140000 AP Biology
• 27.3720000 AP Calculus AB
• 40.3530000 AP Chemistry
• 45.3530001 AP Comparative Government
• 11.3160000 AP Computer Science A
• 26.3620000 AP Environmental Science
• 45.3840000 AP European History
• 60.3170000 AP French Language
• 45.3770000 AP Human Geography
• 23.3430000 AP Language Composition
• 23.3650000 AP Literature Composition
• 45.3620001 AP Macroeconomics/
• 45.3630001 AP Microeconomics/
• 53.3230000 AP Music Theory
• 40.3830000 AP Physics B
• 45.3160000 AP Psychology
• 27.3740000 AP Statistics

• Career Technical Education
• 07.3211000 Banking and Investing
• 11.3180000 Beg. Computer Programming
• 10.3111000 Broadcast Video Prod. I
• 07.3621000 Business Procedures
• 07.3411000 Computer Applications
• 11.3120000 Computing in the Modern World
• 07.3220000 Financial Literacy
• 11.3310000 Fundamentals of Web Design
• 07.3861000 Multimedia Pres. Comm.
• 07.3110000 Princ. of Accounting I
• World Languages
• 62.3110000 Mandarin Chinese I
• 60.3110000 French I
• 60.3120000 French II
• 60.3130000 French III
• 61.3120000 German II
• 62.3310000 Japanese I
• 62.3320000 Japanese II

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20082009 Course Offerings

• Math
• 27.3650000 Adv. Alg./Trig.
• 27.3910000 Accelerated Math I Alg., Geo. Stat
  
• 27.3610000 Algebra I
• 27.3640000 Algebra II
• 27.3661000 Algebra III
• 27.3560000 Concepts of Algebra
• 27.3550000 Concepts of Problem Solving
• 27.3690001 Discrete Math
• 27.3630000 Euclidean Geometry
• 27.3620000 Informal Geometry
• 27.3810000 Math I Alg., Geo. Stat.
• 27.3440000 Math I Support (Elective)
• 27.3530000 Math for Money Management
• 27.3470000 Pre-Algebra
• 27.3670000 Pre-Calculus-Analysis
• 27.3510001 Statistics
• Language Arts
• 23.3610000 9th Literature/Comp.

• Social Studies
• 45.3570001 American Government
• 45.3210000 Anthropology
• 45.3720000 Asian Studies
• 45.3550001 Constitutional Theory
• 45.3610001 Economics/
• 45.3320000 Ethnic Studies
• 45.3150000 Psychology
• 45.3310000 Sociology
• 45.3810000 U.S. History
• 45.3910001 U.S. World Affairs
• 45.3710000 World Geography
• 45.3830000 World History
• Science
• 26.3730000 Anatomy Physiology
• 40.3210000 Astronomy
• 26.3120000 Biology I
• 40.3510000 Chemistry I
• 40.3640000 Earth Systems

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Some Virtual Schools Tips

• It is vitally important to monitor your childs
  progress weekly (if not daily). The instructor
  usually posts grades daily. Grades may be viewed
  by the parents through the parents own login
  code. The instructor is supposed to provide this
  code within a few days after the course starts.
• The Virtual School is an excellent way to solve
  scheduling problems and is an excellent source
  for language courses other than Spanish or AP
  courses not yet offered by BHS. However, these
  classes are not to be taken lightly. The student
  (and parent) must be diligent about following the
  schedule it is a very important part in
  achieving success in the course.