The Virtual Voice

Resources

Thankful for the Mountains We Climb

By on November 22nd, 2016

blog_thankful_challenges2016 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

Start Strong with FLVS: Video Tutorials to Help You Master Online Courses

By on August 28th, 2015

There’s only one person in charge of your academic success…and that’s you!

If you or your student is taking a Florida Virtual School course for the first time this year, the FLVS Quick Start video series is a great place to learn about course basics and topics like academic integrity and where to find important information that will help you become a successful Florida Virtual School student.

Learn the basics of taking an online course with Florida Virtual School through our New Student Orientation. These videos for middle and high school students walk you through our Student Dashboard, navigational tools, school options, and more.

You should know that your instructors will be using proctored exams, online comparisons, and discussion-based assessments to verify the work is yours. To stay on top of your course schedule – be sure to print your pace charts, submit your work on time, and track your progress in your online gradebook. Don’t forget to read your teacher’s comments too! The personalized feedback you receive will help improve your work and give you encouragement to keep going. If you have questions along the way, know that your instructors want you to do well and are here to help. That’s why they’re available via phone, email, text, or IM. You can find your instructor’s contact information inside your student dashboard.

Which brings us to your dashboards. When you’re ready to login, go to flvs.net and click login to access your student dashboard. Once you select a course, you will be taken to what’s known as your course dashboard, where you can find your teacher contacts, course information, grades, messages, pace charts, and more. Spend some time with your dashboards. Almost everything you’ll need is right there!

Even help is just one click away. If you have questions about your course – call, email, text, or IM your instructor.

Thank you for choosing to become an FLVS student. We are really glad you are here!

Continue reading

“Clash Man” Becomes a Leader

By on December 2nd, 2014

leadership blogI sometimes wonder if my three years in middle school were harder than my three years in a refugee camp.

On the fashion front, I wore the same shirt to school three times a week and earned the name “Clash Man.”  In 8th grade, I got kicked off my basketball team and my family was forced to move into low-income housing. At my new school, I got my first D in math, and Cs in some of my other classes.

If you would have asked me if I was a leader, I would have laughed. I was trying to survive each day of school and hoping that life would get better.

Life did get better, but not because I got better housing or a new wardrobe. Continue reading