Virtual High School Global Consortium: 

For most schools today, online learning has become one piece of a student’s educational menu. Schools are working to bring their curriculum up to the 21st century and appeal to today’s technology generation.

Today, VHS is a collaborative of 575 member schools and students in 30 states and 23 countries that works cooperatively to advance all education, encouraging educators and students to contribute and share in the model. After becoming a member and paying a nominal annual membership fee, schools are able to supplement their in-person courses with 140 online courses that are delivered on-site at the school using the school’s computers. Each of the courses consists of asynchronous, project-based learning opportunities containing cohorts of students in several different countries working together. While the organization today has created an award-winning, proven model that works well for students and teachers, they have learned a number of lessons along the way and continue to evolve to better meet the needs of today’s students and teachers.

From Site-Based to Global Stage

The typical online course consists of students participating from one’s local area. It is VHS’s global reach that has set them apart from the dozens of online course providers. However, the educational benefits students gain by having classmates in different parts of the world was not initially appreciated. Today,VHS supports the development of global awareness and cultural appreciation through its global classrooms.

VHS classrooms not only transcend barriers of place, they also transcend barriers of time. With VHS, students in different time zones are able to access their course 24/7 and continue thinking outside regular school hours. For example, students enrolled in arts courses, such as Poetry Writing, no longer have to “schedule” theircreative inspiration,which can come at any time. Also, for students enrolled in Social Studies courses, debates can continue rather than having to shutoff a hot debate when the bell rings.

In addition, courses now incorporate opportunities for students to learn from one another.This is accomplished through online discussions forums and group projects. For example, in VHS’s AP Environmental Science course students in several different countries, such as Africa, China and Europe, share data about water and air quality. In Macroeconomics, students globally are forced to look at their Consumer Price Index and what is in their own grocery cart.

From Silos to Continuums

When VHS first began over a decade ago, online learning was a foreign concept. Because it was completely different from legacy curriculum it was put into a silo. The growth of online learning and VHS’s footprint has changed that. According to a December report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in the 2006-2007 school year, 61 percent of U.S. postsecondary schools offered online courses.

For most schools today, online learning has become one piece of a student’s educational menu. Schools are working to bring their curriculum up to the 21st 

century and appeal to today’s technology generation. Generation Y is heavily dependent on technology, having grown up surrounded by and with technology. As a result, the lines between in-person and online are increasingly blurred to create hybrid and blended learning classes. There is no longer an either/or situation with face-to-face and online. Thirty-five percent of U.S. middle and high schools in the 2006-2007 academic year reported the offering of hybrid/blended courses, according to NCES.

VHS recognized it could bring a model of more engaging and effective classroom instructional practice through the use of online tools as a part of a teacher’s tool kit. Having realized this is important for instruction;VHS has led the way in supporting schools in their development and support of blended classroom models through their best practices series. As a result, the organization is no longer focused just on delivering quality online courses. They have made it their mission to create and deliver professional development that benefits overall classroom instruction. This is accomplished through the 21st Century Teaching Best Practices Courses, a series that

is focused on supporting schools in their development and support of blended classrooms models. These five, six-week courses span the continuum of introducing the skills needed for 21st century teaching and learning to becoming an online teacher.

One-Time to Ongoing Teacher Preparation

When VHS first began, the emphasis was on developing a professional development curriculum so that classroom teachers would be prepared to instruct online. They soon recognized that, as more technology became available and a stronger vision of global learning was established, the organization needed to not only continually update courses with new technology, but a model of ongoing teacher professional development was also essential. This evolution of the professional development model was essential for teachers to keep current with their online teaching skills and the technological components of each course.

As an extension of their mission to deliver quality, cutting-edge professional development,VHS has expanded its professional development focus to include preparing online teachers to integrate Web

2.0 tools in online instruction. For VHS member schools, this is accomplished through a number of educator support mechanisms and ongoing professional development.

• NetCourse Instructional Methodologies (NIM) — Teaches online pedagogy and methodology while training to teach an existing VHS course.
• Teacher’s Learning Conference (TLC) — Prepares face-to-face classroom teachers to become online course developers and instructors with VHS.
• PROGRESS (Professional Growth Essentials) — A centralized, interactive site where VHS teachers can access resources geared to improve their online tools and facilitation skills, share best practices, engage in discussions, brush up on their technical skills, get suggestions for how to spice-up their classes, review valuable Internet resources and read about the latest research in online education.

VHS is also focused on continually updating their course design standards and training teachers on how to design and execute on these new standards. Presently, the organization is in the process of working with teachers to update their course design standards to include Web 2.0 tools and 21st century skills. This work will be completed by this fall and reflected in courses starting in 2010. Courses are continually improved to include new technologies, such as,Animoto, Delicious, wikis,Twitter and blogging. For example,AP European History incorporates collaboration with other students in research groups using Web 2.0 information tools.

By capitalizing on technological advances, educators can both keep their skills current and connect with their students in a way they never thought possible. VHS is committed to helping improve education for the good of all using technology. Over the last 13 years, online learning has taken on new meaning and VHS has become and will continue to be a thought leader at the forefront of this evolution.