Webinar: Launching A District Virtual School: Featuring Tips for Success from Florida Virtual School

If you have a chance, you may want to take a look at this archive, featuring Phyllis Lentz from Florida Virtual School, Director of Global services. It’s amazing how quickly FLVS enrollment has risen. Forecasting into FY 09-10, they’re projecting enrollment of 250,000.

https://blackboard.webex.com/blackboard/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=46096947&rKey=F70741853A79A157

Here are some of the main tips.

1. Collect data and evaluate program
2. Hire Good Teachers (e.g. they have evaluation in place to survey potential applicants if they are student learning centered and are team players before they grant interviews)
3. Communication (e.g. they have policy to have all teachers make personal call to students at the beginning of each semester and also a requirement for all their teachers to call students to check in on them monthly via phone)
4. Develop policies to provide student success (e.g. 1:1 attention, ability to resubmit assignments, provide teachers with flexible scheduling, self-pacing coursework)
5. Develop quality online challenging and engaging content to equip students w/ 21st century skills (e.g. in survey of their HS students, they found that they wanted their instructors to integrate Web 2.0 strategies within curriculum)
6. Invest in Teachers – provide professional development to online staff (e.g. they provide 5 day f-2-f on boarding training for all new staff and teachers participate on average 50 hours of PD)

Ending quotes:
“In 10 years, computer-based, student-centric learning will account for 50 percent of the ‘seat miles’ in U.S. secondary schools.”
“About 80 percent of courses taken in 2024 will have been taught online in a student-centric way.”

If you don’t have time to view the entire presentation, I recommend that you listen to the Q&A section towards a big chunk of the ending part. Pretty relevant to many common online program FAQs she answered directly with her expertise.