Parent Edition
Meet the Team Blog Series
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on December 28th, 2016
Have you ever thought about becoming an FLVS instructor? Or wondered what it’s like to be a lead teacher or principal at a virtual school?
Maybe you want to know more about the different staff members that support our instructional team. From counselors to learning coaches to curriculum specialists, our team has some amazing talent!
To celebrate the 2016-17 school year, we have been sharing posts all semester long featuring FLVS faculty and staff. Everyone on our team is passionate about delivering a high-quality, technology-based education that provides the skills and knowledge students need for success. Want to learn more? Browse the following posts to meet the creative and dedicated individuals who make every day a great day at FLVS.
Let us know who else you would like to see featured in the comments below! Continue reading
Homeschooling: The Big Question
By Guest Blogger on December 26th, 2016
Choosing to homeschool was not something I initially chose.
Sometimes, I think it chose me. At the age of 2, my son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Although the illness is very serious, I truly thought that schooling at the local public school near our home was going to be just fine. After all, I successfully attended public school growing up, so I really didn’t think it would be that different.
Sadly, I was shocked to discover just how much things had changed since I was a child. Within the first two weeks of Kindergarten starting at the local brick-and-mortar school, I found myself having to withdraw my child from public school and enroll him into Florida Virtual School. The bottom line was that the brick-and-mortar school could not truly handle my son’s diabetes, and homeschooling appeared to be the solution.
The idea of homeschooling my son seemed to be rather intimidating, scary, and far-fetched. Continue reading
FLVS Corkboard: December Edition
By Florida Virtual School on December 14th, 2016
Dashing through December…in an FLVS kind of way…completing all assignments…improving all the way…ho, ho, ho!
Can you feel it? That sudden surge of excitement that loudly exclaims we are at the mid-year mark and ready to scratch off another year under our belts. Students, let me let you in on a secret…you’re not the only one excited about a break…shhh.
Whether you are a student or teacher sitting in a brick-and-mortar classroom or you plug in daily for online education, the rush from Thanksgiving to New Years can make it hard to focus. But buckle up—we are almost there!
December certainly has been bustling with activities and many of our students enjoyed immersing themselves deeper in technology during Computer Science Week with an Hour of Code (FLVS style, of course). Others recently journeyed to faraway lands, all from the comforts of home during the FLVS 2016 World Fest. No passports were needed, just the willingness to tune in and celebrate different cultures and hear travels and tales from some of our amazing teachers. Continue reading
Catching Up with a Computer Science Expert
By Guest Blogger on December 9th, 2016
To get a better idea of what Computer Science Education Week and Hour of Code is all about, FLVS Content Writer Irene Pynn-Cunha sat down to chat with Amie Ross, FLVS Computer Science instructor.
Mrs. Ross looks forward to Computer Science Education Week every year. In the past, she’s worked with students both online and face to face. She loves watching mental light bulbs go off all around the room as, one by one, students who thought they would never learn to code begin solving programming puzzles.
“When something works,” she says, “the excitement on their faces, that’s really cool.”
This year, she’ll be helping students with one of her favorite puzzles: a storybook about Santa’s missing socks. It may seem like a simple exercise, but by the end, students discover they’ve just worked through a challenging computer science concept: the binary search.
Mrs. Ross says one of the great benefits of Computer Science Education Week and Hour of Code is that participants “tackle very complicated concepts without even realizing it.” In many ways, this is the key to showing students that programming actually is for anyone. In fact, she says, programming is a heavily creative field. “I’ve watched a lot of students really surprise themselves,” she says. “There isn’t just one type of person who gets into programming.” Continue reading
FLVS Attends GOES-R Satellite Launch
By Florida Virtual School on December 7th, 2016
On Saturday, November 19, I had the privilege of watching the GOES-R weather satellite launch from Kennedy Space Center.
Now you may be wondering what GOES-R stands for. It’s the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, a satellite system that orbits the earth and sends data back to National Weather Service computers. The R indicates what number or version the GOES satellite is on, so there have already been versions A-R. GOES-S is slated to launch next year and is the twin to GOES-R.
Of course, weather satellites get launched all the time, so why would this one be any more special than the others?
Well, right now we receive images of satellite scans every 30 minutes or so. The GOES-R satellite will provide data at least every five minutes, and in some circumstances every 30 seconds! So not only will it be five times faster than current weather satellites, but it will also gather three times more data and it will have four times better resolution. Continue reading
Being Competitive in Tomorrow’s Workforce
By Tina Leslie on November 30th, 2016
The year was 1989.
We saw the birth of the World Wide Web, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the television debut of The Simpsons, and my epic walk onto the stage to receive my high school diploma.
As I proceeded to college, I used the skills that I had learned in high school: doing research using a card catalog, typing reports using an electric typewriter, and doing accounting class projects that required a calculator, a pencil, and a lot of erasers.
If I were to list these skills on my resume today, I would be considered an unqualified candidate.
You may wonder how a college student with outdated skills became an online technology teacher.
It’s simple, really. By updating my skill sets and being able to evolve with new advancements in technology, I honed the skills to which I am referring. Those skills are soft, hard, and transferable. Continue reading
Meet our College Recruiting and Diversity Staffing Specialist
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on November 29th, 2016
We are celebrating the 2016-17 school year with a blog series featuring FLVS faculty and staff. Meet the creative and dedicated individuals who make every day a great day at FLVS!
Did you know that FLVS has a college internship program that draws in students from all over the state of Florida who are looking to become virtual educators? Well, we do!
The College Recruiting and Diversity Staffing Coordinator serves as the guru for the FLVS Intern program, all college recruiting, and assists with diversity recruiting efforts. The Coordinator identifies and targets colleges and their teacher-prep programs, and organizations to improve the diversity of FLVS recruiting pipeline. The Coordinator also develops and leads a strategic instructional internship program designed to grow FLVS talent into the digital future.
The FLVS guru who leads this program has made a name for herself over the years. Dawn Towle is known for her rapier wit and brilliant smile. In past years, she has performed at the FLVS Talent Show demonstrating her penchant for stand-up comedy that is inspired by her love of education.
It is my honor to introduce you Dawn Towle, College Recruiting and Diversity Staffing Specialist. Continue reading
Thankful for the Mountains We Climb
By Guest Blogger on November 22nd, 2016
2016 is an incredible time to be a teacher.
I am grateful for each and every day I get to work alongside the best of the best in education.
While expectations are high, standards seem impossible to meet, and the everyday trials and struggles we face seem endless, this time in our country and our world is truly an incredible time to be a teacher. We have so much more access to research about how and why we learn. We have clearer pictures of our brains and all they can accomplish.
We might be up against some very difficult mountains to climb, but the teachers that have gone before us have never been as well equipped as we are today.
As a teacher I’ve always been fascinated with the brain – how it operates so much more than just our physical bodies. Each and every day, new research is published confirming something I think teachers have always known. Continue reading
FLVS Corkboard: November Highlights
By Florida Virtual School on November 18th, 2016
November is whirling by as we travel ever-closer to saying farewell to 2016. As we celebrate things we’re thankful for at FLVS, we want to note just how thankful we are for YOU!
With the Thanksgiving holiday break upon us, sounds of “Woot, Woot!” can be heard across the nation. As a reminder, November 23-25, 2016, has been designated as the Thanksgiving holiday break for all Florida Virtual School teachers and staff.
The FLVS Customer Care Center will be closed November 24-27. Although teachers will not be available, you are welcome to continue regular progress in your course.
Whether you are traveling to loved ones or are going to be vacationing at home, we are so thankful for you and wish you a most wonderful and safe holiday!
By this point in the year, students, teachers, and families are well on their educational journey, navigating the school year waters. While some students are treading diligently at their pace, there are others setting their sights on life after high school. Continue reading
Meet an FLVS Academic Integrity Manager
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on November 16th, 2016
We are celebrating the 2016-17 school year with a blog series featuring FLVS faculty and staff. Meet the creative and dedicated individuals who make every day a great day at FLVS!
Do you know what the word “integrity” means? It means to be honest and to have honor.
At FLVS, integrity means everything. We instill the importance of academic integrity throughout a student’s time in our courses. Students and parents review our academic integrity policy upon registering for courses, teachers talk about integrity with families in the Welcome Call, and students are reminded of being honorable with most every point of contact during the course.
The position of FLVS Academic Integrity (AI) Manager is one immersed in the search for truth and the tenacity for teaching integrity to students in a meaningful manner.
Here’s the job description for an AI Manager at FLVS:
The Academic Integrity Manager manages the Academic Integrity program at FLVS. The Academic Integrity Manager communicates academic integrity policies and procedures to be implemented by FLVS instructional staff. Continue reading