Jelly Beans You Ask???

•Eat one… •Save the other one for an activity later in the presentation…•Hope you picked your favorite colour.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

             Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978)

Presenters: Kelli Boklaschuk & MJ Sherven

What are we all about?

“First it is necessary to stand on your own two feet. But the minute a man finds himself in that position, the next thing he should do is reach out his arms.“

  Kristin Hunter November 2003

Let’s put it all into context shall we?

Who is the AOK12S?

• AOK12S is made up of online educators, developers, administrators as well as entire online K-12 schools.

• The Association Structure members are all educators or associates of the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School.

What is the AOK12S?

• The goal of the Association is to provide a location where K-12 online educators, developers and administrators can gather.

• This virtual community will offer an environment which will be conducive to communication, resource sharing and team building.

• People from all nations should feel welcome to apply for membership as long as they are K-12 online educators, developers or administrators. Schools as a whole or individuals may also become members.

When was the AOK12S established?

• The Association was established Friday January 28, 2005 by Darren Cannell, Assistant Principal of the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School.

• During the inaugural year there have not been membership fees.

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. “Henry Brooks Adams (1838 - 1918) US historian, author

Where is the AOK12S based?

• The AOK12S is based out of Saskatoon Saskatchewan.

• The AOK12S is housed at the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School.

Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School - How it all began

• January 1999, Darren Cannell, SCCS Assistant Principal was given release time to research the project.

• January 2000 project begins with four developers (Info Pro 10, English 30 B, Physics 20 & Math 90).

• Three courses were offered in the first semester of 2000-2001.

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it now.”Arthur L. Costa (Creating the Future)

High School Information• All courses have no face to face component and all

material is delivered via an Internet learning platform.

• The Web CT platform makes it possible to create a vibrant online learning environment for high school students.

• Students can take between one and five online courses at a time.

• The start date for these courses is flexible.

• Students are given 150 calendar days to complete the required material.

Grade 12 Courses Currently Being Offered

Calculus 30 Chemistry 30 Christian Ethics 30 English Language Arts A30 English Language Arts B30 History 30 Mathematics A30 Mathematics B30 Physics 30

“My grade 12 Calculus mark wasn’t good enough to get me into the college that I wanted, so I took Cyber School and upgraded my Calculus mark.”

Grade 11 Courses Currently Being Offered

Christian Ethics 20 Chemistry 20 Creative Writing 20 Information Processing 20 Journalism 20 Math 20 Media Studies 20 Physics 20

“I really enjoy taking my sciences online as I can view the online

labs over and over again, which helps me to understand the concepts better.”

Grade 10 Courses Currently Being Offered

Christian Ethics 10 English as a Second

Language Information Processing

10 Mathematics 10

“I took English as a Second Language and it really helped me to improve my English and I was able to work at my own pace.”

Grade 9 Courses Currently Being Offered

Mathematics 90 Mathématiques 90

Elementary School Information• Since 2002 SCCS has been offering

non-credit courses to elementary classes via the Internet.

• The online material provided by SCCS for the elementary schools comes in two forms: – Online classrooms – Learning objects.

• Unlike independent high school classes, elementary homeroom teachers use the resources to enhance what happens in face to face classrooms

Grade 7 & 8 Mathematics Resources

• The grade 7/8 Mathematics resources are designed to be a supplemental resource for students to use, to help reinforce Math concepts.

• The resources are organized by strand and then by unit, with each unit placed parallel to the objectives in the curriculum.

• Each unit contains a short lesson, as well as ten interactive questions to help reinforce the math objectives.

Grade 4 & 5 Technology Lessons

• These courses are essentially secure online elementary school classrooms.

• The classrooms include lessons and projects to fulfill each component of the technology scope and sequence for the grade 4 & 5 levels. The lessons are however, appropriate for students in grades 3 - 8.

• The classroom has other resources including secure e-mail, chat rooms & a bulletin board.

• This classroom allows teachers to monitor their students’ activities while logged into the course.

On the Lighter Side! Jellybean Research

Why was the AOK12S formed?• The purpose of the Association of Online

K-12 Schools is to develop interest, participation and cooperation in a sharing environment with the online K-12 school membership community.

• Further, the membership will provide a virtual association which will utilize the latest advancements in technology and services to assist its members in teaching and developing online."

Benefits of AOK12S Membership

• Newsletters – released quarterly • Showcase Units• Online collaboration in AOK12S

Learning Community• SCCS Learning Communities• Worldwide communication with

online k-12 educators• Networking.

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.”

SCCS Learning Communities• Cyber School has developed various

Online Learning Communities.

• The Learning Communities serve as a collection of useful resources for grade levels from kindergarten to grade 12 and encompass all subjects; from Physical Education to Aboriginal/First Nations Education.

• The resources are for both online uses as well as printable copies for classroom use.

• Blog system in place to facilitate the evaluation of web sites and units while also categorizing them.

AOK12S Web SiteAs an AOK12S member you will receive log in credentials to access the AOK12S Learning Community as well as the Showcase unit area.

AOK12S Registration• Free to register• Fill out the online form on the AOK12S

web site.

AOK12S Current Members• Membership spans 3 continents

(North America, Australia & Africa) • Number of schools memberships - 16• Number of educator memberships -

60

“A world community can exist only with world communication, which means something more than extensive shortwave facilities scattered about the globe. It means common understanding, a common tradition, common ideas, and common ideals.” Robert M. Hutchins (1899 - 1977) US educator, writer

From the Perspective of an Online Educator

• The Association is an incredibly effective way to share materials with other educators. Users can go online to find lessons or materials in the Learning Communities. A great many of them are print-friendly which makes it useful for classroom work as well. No use re-inventing the wheel!

• Since the materials are sorted by grade and subject it makes the search so much easier.

From the Perspective of an Online Educator

• Teachers are given actual content to teach to their students.

• The elementary computer lessons are user-friendly for both students and teachers.

• There are many units of study that can be either completed online or printed off and worked on in the classroom.

From the Perspective of an Online Educator

• The information offered online through the SCCS Learning Communities is user friendly so that the members can follow without much need for support.

• The high school courses developed by Cyber School teachers can be accessed through the Learning Communities. Exams are not available.

From the Perspective of an Online Educator

• This is a way for educators to interact with each other. Besides, they’re a blast to use!

• Ex. A grade 5 teacher posts a message on the bulletin board requesting materials for a Language Arts unit. Another teacher replies stating she has materials on the unit that is requested and will send them via email or by regular mail.

Where do we go from here?• Members can decide what direction they would like

to see the Association move towards.• How will it benefit you?

– Collaboration– Collegiality– Networking

• What can be done to make this venture even more useful?– Ideas???

• Join in and share in the bulletin board.– A place to share web sites, lessons & ideas– A place to ask questions, share successes and

failures and to search out feedback.

“Community cannot for long feed on itself; it can only flourish with the coming of others from beyond, their unknown and undiscovered brothers.”Howard Thurman (1900 - 1981) US educator, theologian

Group Task1. In your group, discuss and record

three ways in which you might contribute to the benefit of the Association

2. Discuss and record three ways in which the Association might benefit you.

3. You will be given approximately 7 minutes to complete this task.

4. Designate a group presenter.

Suggestions From Small Groups

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Do you have any questions???

Web Sites used in the Presentation and other interesting K-12 Online Learning Sites

• AOK12S: http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/aok12s/home.htm• Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School:

http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/• Teaching and Developing Online:

http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/vschools/ • AOK12S Current Newsletter:

http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/aok12s/newsletters/newsletter3.htm

• AOK12S OLS 2005 Presentation: http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/aok12s/ols2006.pps

• I Know That: Includes information and activities for every grade and every subject iknowthat.com

CBC News: the WiRE: http://www.cbc.ca/newsreal/teachers.html

Thank You!The AOK12S would like to thank you for

attending our presentation.

We hope that the Association will serve the needs of many online educators all over the world.