COMMONWEALTH
OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
P.O.
BOX 2120
RICHMOND,
VIRGINIA 23218-2120
PRINS. MEMO NO. 42
August 20, 2002
ELEMENTARY / MIDDLE / SECONDARY
|
TO: |
Principals |
|
FROM: |
Patricia I. Wright Assistant Superintendent for Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Distance Learning Courses for Students and
Educators |
The Virginia Department of Education and Virginia
Satellite Educational Network (VSEN) announce the availability of student
distance learning courses and staff development opportunities for the 2002-2003
school year. The following courses are offered via satellite, online, and
through recorded media.
As the 2002-03 school year begins, it is not too
late to register K-12 students in courses offered through VSEN. Courses are
offered via satellite and include Advanced Placement courses in English, U.S.
History, Government, Statistics, and Calculus. Three years each in Latin and
Japanese are also available through VSEN. There is no tuition charged for
Virginia public school students this year. Students may participate in classes
live or tape delayed.
Visit the VSEN website at: http://www.vsenvirginia.org for specific
information on courses and registration. Schools may enroll students through
the first full week of September.
A number of staff development distance learning
courses from VSEN are offered this fall. Staff development offerings will be delivered
via satellite, online, or recorded media to enrolled students.
Virginia Tech offers graduate credit for two
mathematics courses developed for the Department of Education. The first course
focuses on algebra content for middle school mathematics teachers and the
second is designed for geometry teachers.
Math Connects - Algebra was initially produced by
Prince William County for the Department of Education. The course was packaged
on videotape and delivered to every school in the commonwealth. Virginia Tech
has offered graduate credit for participation in the course for the past four
years.
Virginia Tech professor Susan Hagen has tailored
this course to address the needs of middle school algebra teachers.
Reduced tuition of $435 is offered to Virginia
educators for three graduate credits. The course will only be delivered online
and through videotape. The Department of Education will provide a set of
videotapes to enrolled teachers upon request.
Registration information is available on the Tech
website at http://www.vto.vt.edu/course.php?id=MATH5614.
Math Connects - Geometry was produced by the
Department of Education in conjunction with Virginia Tech. This course is a
self-paced, three graduate credit offering delivered via the Internet and CD
ROM.
For the fall semester, through a federal grant,
Virginia educators are eligible to enroll in Math Connects - Geometry
for graduate credit at no charge. Grant funds are limited and
are available only to the earliest enrollees.
Registration information is available on the Tech website at http://www.vto.vt.edu/course.php?id=MATH5614A.
Teachers enrolled in the geometry course are
required to attend an orientation session in Blacksburg on September 7.
Orientation lodging and meal charges for educators are also paid through
federal grants.
Contact course professor Susan Hagen at (540)
231-7229 for specific information.
Praxis I Test Preparation
Old Dominion University has developed a
course for provisionally licensed teachers, teachers aides, and others
scheduled to take the Praxis I test this fall. On five consecutive Saturdays
beginning October 19, Old Dominion University will broadcast via C-Band
satellite Praxis test training in the reading, writing and mathematics
components of the Praxis examination. The series concludes prior to the fall
administration of the Praxis tests.
Tuition for each component is $99 per student per
course or $249 for all three. Old Dominion is offering a stipend to schools
willing to participate as regional downlink sites. Contact Old Dominion University at (800) 262-0009 for more
information on the course or to volunteer as a host site. Information is also
available on the Internet at http://web.odu.edu/dl/pcl/.
Civil Rights in U.S. and Virginia History is offered
by the University of Virginia Center for Digital History. This three-credit
graduate course is based on the documentary series, Ground Beneath Our Feet,
and examines Virginia's role in the civil rights struggle. The Standards of
Learning for history, civics, and government are emphasized in each
lesson. The course examines local
perspectives on national and state events through the eyes of participants and
focuses on understanding the relationship between national and local civil
rights issues in history.
Virginia
teachers may enroll for credit at reduced tuition of $435. Educators may record lessons and access course
materials on the Internet for non-credit at no charge.
Course information is available online at http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/reHIST604/.
Registration is available through the University of
Virginias Division of Continuing Education at http://uvace.virginia.edu/.
The course title is HIST 604 and begins August 28,
2002.
The Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute (CEPI)
at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) announces Leadership for Reform,
online and video courses for school leaders.
The host for the multi-media modules is Dr. William
C. Bosher, recently named Dean of the School of Education at VCU, as well as
executive director of CEPI, and a former State Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
The first course, School Finance, consists of six
30-minute video modules with accompanying online instruction. Video modules
will be broadcast via satellite and later on public television from the DOE
Staff Development Hour. The video modules offer research-based "best
practices" through interviews with practicing educators and educational
consultants from K-12 and higher education.
Each module focuses on today's emphasis on
accountability and its impact on the role of school leaders in these major
responsibilities: Data-driven Management, Planning, Personnel Administration,
Public Relations, Technology, and Ethical Leadership.
Internet resources supporting the video modules will
be available to Virginia educators on the CEPI website at http://www.edpolicyvcu.org/. Graduate
credit for this course will be available from VCU in the spring of 2003.
For additional information on these or other
distance learning courses, contact Greg Weisiger (mailto:gweisige@pen.k12.va.us),
associate director of teleproduction, at (804) 692-0335.
PIW/gww