WCET is supporting the launch of
a national K-12 online teaching and learning organization. The
new organization will ultimately form an independent 501(c)3
non-profit organization.
Our preliminary vision is: To facilitate
collaboration, advocacy,
and research to enhance quality K-12 e-learning.
This project is made possible through the generous support
of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation.
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Background
For more than two years, leaders of virtual K-12 programs have
been discussing their need to organize, share knowledge, and
associate as a group. They have done this through conferences
and gatherings that were developed in response to the high level
of individual inquiries to individual schools and programs.
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation sponsored two meeting
to discuss the needs of the schools and the states involved
with virtual school programs. The first meeting was held October
15, 2001 in conjunction with the CiTE Virtual High School Symposium
in Chicago. Following this meeting, a series of conference calls
took place to determine an issues agenda and to plan the next
meeting.
The second meeting, a Virtual
High School Summer Institute, was held August 15-17, 2002
in Santa Cruz. Additionally, there were several conference calls
with interested parties to determine next steps and to identify
the agenda for the Summer Institute.
The Virtual High School Summer Institute
http://oasas2.ucsc.edu/vhsconf
The Virtual High School Summer Institute was held at the University
of California Santa Cruz Inn, hosted by the University of California
College Preparatory Initiative (UCCP) and WCET. It was attended
by more than 50 virtual high school leaders from across the
country from Hawaii and Alaska to New Jersey and Connecticut.
An open dialogue and spirited sharing of knowledge on multiple
levels took place over three days.
Out of this meeting, the group generated a preliminary vision
and formed a planning committee.
Resources
"A New Organization
for K-12 Online Teaching and Learning" (PowerPoint
presentation)
Presented at NSBA T+L, November 15, 2002
Conference agenda,
background and planning documents
http://oasas2.ucsc.edu/vhsconf/
VHS Summer Institute Proceedings
(PDF file)
This summary of the Virtual High School Summer Institute was
written and compiled by George Lorenzo. It encapsulates the
extensive amount of information that came our discussions on
August 15-17, 2002.
"The California Virtual
School Report: A National Survey of Virtual Education Practice
and Policy with Recommendations for the State of California,"
This 120-page study was authored by Knowledge Base, LLC, and
the Clovis Unified School District and is available for download
here. (PDF file)
Guide to Online High School Courses
Guide to Online High School Courses is a product of the National
Education Association, Virtual High School, Inc., and American
Association of School Administrators, CNA Corporation, IBM
Corporation, National Association of State Boards of Education,
National School Boards Association, Verizon Communications
http://www.nea.org/technology/onlinecourseguide.html
History: The Need for a K-12 e-Learning Organization
Read about the history of this project.
For more information, please contact Karen Middleton at kmiddleton@wcet.info
or 303-541-0285.
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