The Missing Piece
By Guest Blogger on July 15th, 2014
Have you ever put a puzzle together only to find out that the last piece or two are missing? Without all of the pieces, you can’t see the whole picture, not to mention the frustration felt from being unable to achieve your goal. Think of education as a puzzle. There is a piece for each different component, but the “access to Wi-Fi” piece is either broken or missing completely.
In this day and age, students need Wi-Fi access at school. It’s as simple as that. They deserve education tailored to preparing them for their future, and that involves newer technologies. Whether they are taking an FLVS virtual course during the school day or needing to access the Internet for a biology project in a traditional classroom setting, Wi-Fi can strongly enhance the learning experience as it allows much more access to a variety of tools. Continue reading
Researching Career Opportunities
By Guest Blogger on July 8th, 2014
High school students may be busy researching colleges to attend, but researching a future career and matching career aspirations with the right college is also important.
This post will cover how to research your future career like a pro as a follow-up to my previous post, Researching Colleges like a Pro.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a free online Occupational Handbook. This is a quick and easy site to use to research careers. It’s so easy that this post will be super short!
Rising to the Top of the Virtual Stack
By Guest Blogger on July 1st, 2014
Gone are the days of paper job applications. Gone are the days of dropping off your resume. Gone are the days of stopping by to meet the hiring manager. We now live in a digital age, in a virtual world. Job applications are now online and can be submitted at the push of a button.
How do you set yourself apart from the hundreds, if not thousands, of other job-seekers vying for the exact same position you want?
You wow them with an amazing resume that puts you right at the top of the virtual stack!
We Got The Green Light!
By Guest Blogger on June 26th, 2014
When I was younger, I had all odds stacked against me when it came to learning how to drive. For starters, I have a winter birthday and grew up in the Northern state of Pennsylvania. Those of you familiar with PA can probably already picture it. Teenage me behind the wheel of my Dad’s car (stick-shift no less) surrounded by snow, freezing rain falling from the sky, low visibility, and my route was none other than the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. My poor father…I had some exciting experiences and he had some pretty terrifying ones as my teacher.
I’m fairly certain that he (and everyone else in my family, including the dogs) wished I could go to the Driver Education class at school. This was a job for a professional. Unfortunately for them, the class was based on a lottery system and I was never lucky enough to ‘win’ a spot and my Dad was on his own. Continue reading
It’s Summer! Go on a College Field Trip
By Guest Blogger on June 20th, 2014
If you’re a high school student, you probably have a list of activities to do over the summer: hang out with friends, watch movies, or go to the beach. Here’s another suggestion – go check out a college campus! This can be a lot of fun with no strings attached. Your family and friends will probably be excited for the trip suggestion! Even if the college that may be close to your home is not your #1 choice, walking around the campus can give you a sense of what you are and aren’t looking for in a college.
While checking out a college campus, you can also get a feel for its town or city by scoping out the college’s surrounding areas. Perhaps you like two different colleges, but like the location of one over the other. You may notice you would rather live on campus then off campus or that you like a large city over a small town. Continue reading
Internet Safety Month: Protect Your Digital Footprint
By Guest Blogger on June 17th, 2014
Today’s teens consume Social Media every day – perhaps every five minutes in many cases! How often, though, do they consider the implications of their online activities?
The Social Media course at Florida Virtual School has been compared to “Driver’s Ed for the Internet” – teaching students about the safe and responsible operation of Social Media. Here are the top five tips from the course:
1) Protect your Digital Footprint – it’s the sum of every interaction involving you, and it lives FOREVER. While it’s obviously important to control what YOU post (photos, status updates, etc.), it’s also important to discover who ELSE is influencing your digital footprint – tagging you in photos, mentioning you in posts, etc. Keep your eyes open. Continue reading
Losing Functionality: The Signs of Burnout
By Guest Blogger on June 10th, 2014
Over recent weeks my wife and I have been trying to sell our house. In an effort to have it sell faster, we purchased a dozen of these air-freshener warmer devices that you plug into your wall. If you haven’t used one, the way it works is that you plug it in and slide a glass jar of freshener into the warmer and set the dial to the level of scent that you want (from low to high). After two days of having the fresheners plugged in, I noticed that the smell wasn’t as tropical as it once was. I checked each one and all seemed to be okay. I left the fresheners plugged in for another week until I realized that there was no longer a divine smell of the tropics in the house. Upon inspection, I noticed that the glass bottles were completely empty and needed to be replaced. I had the fresheners on full blast, causing each one to deplete faster than I anticipated. Continue reading
Meet FLVS Student Sariah Robertson
By Guest Blogger on June 4th, 2014
She’s not your typical video gamer. She’s also not your typical model or cheerleader. In fact, Sariah Robertson is anything but typical – she’s extraordinary! FLVS student Sariah started her own organization called My Girl Code which focuses on inspiring girls to become more interested in advanced technology systems such as coding.
It all started when her mother told her to make something more of her life than just playing video games. Instead of pouting, Sariah turned to the Internet and started researching how to make a career out of game design. Continue reading
You Never Know Who You’re Teaching
By Guest Blogger on May 28th, 2014
For the first time, my wife and I built a house from the ground up. For those who have never done it, it can be a very daunting experience. What you are doing is looking at the potential of what the house should look like instead of knowing what it actually looks like. You start off with a plan and as things arise, the plan can change. In addition to the building itself, you are also choosing the area that is best for your family. There is no guarantee that area will continue to be safe, have good schools, etc. five or 10 years down the road. Essentially, you are making a gamble to reside in a specific house in a specific area.
All of this got me thinking about how similar it is to teaching. Every student who walks into our classrooms (or who logs in for some of us) has the potential to be anyone he/she wants to be. As educators, we have the ability to make a positive impact on our students’ lives that will benefit them for years to come. Continue reading
For Indecisive Ice Cream Eaters
By Guest Blogger on May 20th, 2014
While reading an article about a subject that is near and dear to my heart (ice cream!), I discovered that Ben and Jerry have done it again. They have truly revolutionized the ice cream eating experience. Their new product, Cores, features a column of goodness running right down the center of two different types of ice cream. How amazing is that?! It’s true bliss for indecisive ice cream eaters around the world. You get two types of ice cream, along with an amazing core of ice-cream-topping paradise. Continue reading