Curriculum
Making Connections for the Future
By Elizabeth Fulcher on April 13th, 2017
Life is about the connections we make. Sometimes these connections come from people we’ve known our entire lives, friends next door, colleagues, or even classmates at school.
Because fitting in is a big part of a student’s success, especially during the teenage years, making these connections and collaborating with others can help students grow and learn. Studies have demonstrated this, but I learned it firsthand when I was still in school.
Transitioning from middle to high school was difficult for me, so the 9th and 10th grade years were a trying time in my life. Luckily, I had some excellent teachers who helped me adjust. One particularly important moment was the day my 11th grade computer teacher encouraged me to attend a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) meeting.
When I finally relented and decided to go, I didn’t yet realize I’d made one of the best decisions of my life. Continue reading
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
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
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
Meet an FLVS Curriculum Specialist
By Dr. Jeanne Giardino on November 7th, 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 develops our own curriculum for courses?
The Curriculum Innovation Department works from concept to course delivery to provide an exemplary academic experience. The role of a curriculum specialist is to collaborate with his/her project team to create course content that aligns with the state standards and also engages the learner.
Christina Steele has been with FLVS for eight years and has had the opportunity to work in a variety of roles. Coming on board as an Earth Space Science instructor, she eventually took this expertise and became a literacy coach for several years. Therefore, moving to the Curriculum Department was a seamless move, as she uses her expansive literacy and science knowledge to support rigorous content for a variety of FLVS courses.
It is my honor to introduce you to Christina Steele. Continue reading
Back to School: Virtual Style
By Guest Blogger on August 15th, 2016
It’s August and that means it is back to school!
For much of Florida Virtual School, our teachers and students have been hard at work – even through the summer months.
Of course, the new school year always brings with it anticipation and excitement for the year to come. In traditional schools, there are some eagerly anticipated back-to-school traditions.
So how do we do these in our virtual world?
Let’s walk through a few back-to-school basics!
Continue reading
The FLVS Minions
By Guest Blogger on May 17th, 2016
Young adolescents require drastically different and unique approaches to education.
Middle school educators have always understood that the biological events of puberty fundamentally disrupt the somewhat smooth development of elementary school years and has a profound impact upon the cognitive, social, and emotional lives of young teens.
In line with this important insight, educators see the need for the delivery of special instructional and administrative changes in the way that education takes place for kids in early adolescence.
Continue reading
Networking 3: Infrastructure
By Guest Blogger on May 12th, 2015
Certification Preparation for uCertify
Ever wanted to know what those Networking courses are all about? Prior to enrollment in our Networking 3, Infrastructure certification test prep course, students should display proficient knowledge about installing, configuring, operating, and troubleshooting medium-sized routed and switched networks. Students must also have successfully completed the Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician certification, available through our Networking 2, Infrastructure course.
The purpose of this course is to prepare students for the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) industry certification exam. Students demonstrating successful mastery of the coursework will be provided voucher codes to take the industry certification exam. Continue reading
Innovative Math Instruction
By Guest Blogger on May 8th, 2015
More than ever before, middle school math students are being asked to perform at a higher rate in class and on assessments.
Students are learning higher-level standards and being evaluated in new ways with computer-based testing and interactive tools.
New standards expect students to be able to: make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, model with mathematics, use appropriate tools strategically, look for and make use of structure, and look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. Continue reading
Say No to Car Payments
By Guest Blogger on April 9th, 2015
Did you know that less than half of high school seniors qualify as financially literate?
With student and household debt soaring, it’s time to help change that statistic. High school students can change the way they look at money forever with Dave Ramsey’s Foundations in Personal Finance, now available through Florida Virtual School.
Through this curriculum, nearly 2 million students have been empowered, equipped and entertained while building confidence in their own financial decision-making. Topics covered include saving, budgeting, debt, life after high school, consumer awareness, bargain shopping, investing and retirement, insurance, careers and taxes.
Continue reading