2015-­2016  PROCEDURES  GUIDE

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THE SCHOOL BOARD OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA

Perla Tabares Hantman, Chair  

Dr. Lawrence S. Feldman, Vice‐Chair  

Dr. Dorothy Bendross‐Mindingall  

Susie V. Castillo  

Dr. Wilbert "Tee" Holloway  

Dr. Martin S. Karp  

Lubby Navarro  

Dr. Marta Pérez  

Raquel A. Regalado    

Mr. Alberto M. Carvalho Superintendent of Schools 

Logan Schroeder‐Stephens 

Student Advisor 

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Table of Contents Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 Blended Learning Community (Virtual Learning Lab) Requirements ----------------- 4 Hardware/Software/Communications Requirements -------------------------------------- 4 Selection of Students ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Subject Selection ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 FLVS Registration --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Staff Responsibilities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 Facilitator Responsibilities------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 School Counselor Responsibilities ------------------------------------------------------- 8 Administrator Responsibilities ------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Academic Integrity --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Fuel Education -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 ASPEN and ISIS Setup Guidelines ------------------------------------------------------------ 9 Interim Progress Reports, Sem. grades, Course Exams, and Report Cards ------ 10 Contact Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Appendix A – FAQs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12 Appendix B – Printing Progress Reports ---------------------------------------------------- 16 Appendix C – Template Letters --------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Appendix D – Reservations and Selecting the BLC option ----------------------------- 27 Appendix E – BLC Start-up Guide 2015-2016 --------------------------------------------- 29 Appendix F – FLVS Suggested Ingredients for a Successful BLC ------------------- 32 Appendix G – How to Research Student Status ------------------------------------------ 36 Appendix H – FLVS Communicating with Lync -------------------------------------------- 43 Appendix I – Miami-Dade Public Schools Login and Profile Completion------------ 45

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INTRODUCTION

In an effort for the district to achieve compliance with the Class Size Reduction (CSR) mandate, and to meet the graduation requirement for all students to take an online class, the district has partnered with Florida Virtual School (FLVS), and starting with the 2014-2015 school year, another provider, Fuel Education, will be offering a limited number of courses. This booklet provides guidance for schools implementing FLVS and Fuel Education during the school day.

All senior high schools can use FLVS/Fuel Education to help bring their school into compliance with these two requirements. Students can be enrolled in one FLVS/Fuel Education class during the school day without any impact on the school’s FTE. Students can be scheduled for a FLVS/Fuel Education class any period of the day. However, schools must adhere to registration procedures in this manual in order to avoid any impact to the school’s FTE. Participating schools must establish a Blended Learning Community (BLC). The BLC is the physical location containing computers and Internet access where students will access their FLVS/Fuel Education courses during the assigned period. BLC may be established in existing labs or the library media center. BLC must also have a phone with long distance access for students to communicate with their FLVS/Fuel education teachers and a fax machine in order to transmit any faxed assignments. Each BLC needs to be supervised by a staff member referred as the BLC Facilitator. The primary duties of this staff member are outlined on page 6.

The district has signed agreements with both FLVS and Fuel Education to provide BLC courses at agreed prices, which the district will cover.

The information contained in this document is intended to assist schools in the set-up and management of a BLC. Additionally the appendices contain a number of documents schools can use to inform parents about BLCs and district policies relative to BLCs. Appendix A has FAQs. Appendix C includes templates for letters that can be placed on school letterhead for distribution to parents. These letters have been translated into Spanish and Haitian-Creole and include:

a. Parent Notification letter advising parent that their child is taking a online class; b. Notice of Unsatisfactory Progress in Online Class; and c. Notice of progress report/report card distribution.

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BLENDED LEARNING COMMUNITY REQUIREMENTS 1. No more than one student per computer. 2. Computers must have internet access. 3. If the software and plug-ins listed in the requirements sections below are not already

on the computer, then they must be installed. 4. Long distance phone access is required so that students can speak to their

teachers. The recommended ratio of students to phones is 10:1. 5. Principals may request the Microsoft Lync program from ITS to allow each computer

the ability to be a communication tool to talk to their virtual teacher. 6. A fax machine must be available to the students in order for them to fax assignments

to their teachers. Alternately a scanner can be made available for students to scan their work and send electronically.

7. Labs should be open before and after school as possible to give students the opportunity to work on their classes outside of the scheduled class period. Class assignments are not adjusted for time lost due to testing, field trips, student absences, etc. so students can fall behind pace somewhat easily if their class period is subject to interruptions.

8. All tests and quizzes must be taken at the school site and monitored by the facilitator.

HARDWARE/SOFTWARE/COMMUNICATIONS REQUIREMENTS

Browser Plug-ins and Settings

x Sun Java 1.4.2 JRE or higher x Sun Java 3D 1.3 or higher - Required in some courses x Flash 9.0 or higher x Shockwave (Operating System Dependent) x Acrobat Reader 7.0.9 or higher x Cookies enabled x Microsoft Silverlight

Software Requirements

x Microsoft Office, Open Office or Google Docs (Some Business courses require Microsoft Office which will be notated within course registration)

x Internet Explorer version 10.0 or higher, Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox version 2.0 or higher

PC Requirements

x Pentium III (500 MHz minimum, higher recommended) x Minimum of 10 gigabytes free HDD space

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x 128k internet connection. A broadband connection is strongly recommended. x Windows Vista, Windows 7 or higher x 512 MB Ram x 12x CD-ROM (CD/DVD Recommended – Some courses require CD/DVD which

will be notated within course registration) x Display setting 1024x768 resolution x Students need a method to save work to a portable medium (USB, OneDrive) x Audio: Sound card with speakers, microphone or headset

Apple Requirements

x Power Mac G3 (350 MHz) x OS X 10.7(Lion), OS X 10.8(Mountain Lion), OS X 10.9(Mavericks), OS X

10.10(Yosemite) x Students need a method to save work to a portable medium (CD, USB) x 256 MB Ram x Minimum of 10 gigabytes free HDD space x 12x CD ROM (CD/DVD Recommended) x 128k internet connection. A broadband connection is strongly recommended. x Display setting 1024x768 resolution x Audio: Speakers and microphone or headset

Printer

x Printer/scanner or printer/fax is required.

Long Distance Phones

x A phone with long distance access is required. Cordless phones – at a ratio of 1 per 10 students are highly recommended. This requirement can be substituted by requesting Microsoft Lync from ITS.

SELECTION OF STUDENTS Beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2011-2012 school year, at least one course within the required 24 credits must be completed through online learning. A school district may not require a student to take the online course outside the school day or in addition to a student’s courses for a given semester. An online course taken during grades 6 through 8 fulfills this requirement. This requirement shall be met through an online course offered by the Florida Virtual school, an online course offered by the high school, or an online dual enrollment course. A student who is enrolled in a full-time or part-time virtual instruction program under s. 1002.45 meets this requirement. This requirement does not apply to a student who has an individual educational plan under s. 1003.57 which indicates that an online course would be inappropriate or a student who is

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enrolled in a Florida high school and has less than 1 academic year remaining in high school. The above is quoted from State Statute 1003.428(2)(c). SUBJECT SELECTION

1. Subject selection forms must identify courses that will be offered online. 2. During subject selection, students should “opt in” indicating their willingness to

take an online course from FLVS/Fuel Education.

FLVS REGISTRATION 1. Schools must provide FLVS with course and enrollment figures according to FLVS

deadlines in order to ensure that students can be placed in classes the first week of school. This includes making reservations for the number of students/seats needed for each FLVS course.

2. Schools should schedule students for FLVS classes (see page 9). 3. All students whose schedules are in ISIS slated to take an FLVS course will be

automatically enrolled after ITS shares a data feed with FLVS. 4. School counselors DO NOT need to approve courses. 5. Facilitators DO NOT have to register students for a course. 6. Students should log into their FLVS accounts by way of the Miami-Dade Student

Portal. Those unable to use their portal can use the FLVS password provided by the Blended Learning Specialist and login through www.flvs.net. The Blended Learning Specialist (BLS) will be sending out username and passwords, so students can log-on and once prompted confirm information in order to begin working.

7. FLVS staff will visit schools with new BLCs, the first week of school, to assist schools with student profile completions.

STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES Facilitator Responsibilities First Day of Each Semester

1. Send home the Notification Letter (See Appendix C) advising parents that their child is taking an online class from FLVS/Fuel Education. a. Schools may optionally want to distribute FAQs (See Appendix A)

Daily

1. Take attendance each period. 2. Supervise students in the Blended Learning Community.

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3. Monitor student progress and student “on task” behavior. (Students that fall behind may be removed from the course by FLVS (with a failing grade) so facilitators must be vigilant to ensure that students stay on pace.)

4. Follow-up, on a timely basis, with all requests from FLVS/Fuel Education teachers to speak to students, confirm enrollment, etc.

5. Communicate problems to FLVS/Fuel Education and to parents as needed. 6. Promptly report academic integrity issues to FLVS/Fuel Education and to the

school’s administration.

Weekly 1. Review weekly reports from FLVS/Fuel Education to identify students with

pacing/progress issues. (If you are not receiving these, please contact the BLC Program Administrator at the District Office.)

Seniors a. Monitor seniors closely to ensure that they will successfully complete

courses in time for graduation. a. Semester courses must be completed by January 29, 2016, in

order to be included in the GPA calculation. 2. Use the pace charts for each course as checklists of the required work that the

students should be focusing on and ultimately submitting each week. Generic pace charts are included in this manual. (Course specific pace charts are available on FLVS/Fuel Education teachers’ announcement web pages. FLVS/Fuel Education will also distribute pace charts during the first week of school while visiting.)

3. Advise students who are struggling and/or behind of ways to catch up, such as: a. Complete one extra assignment per week b. Participate in live sessions conducted by FLVS/Fuel Education teachers

4. Offer assistance to struggling students by a. Providing access to computers before and after school b. Offering tutoring sessions as feasible c. Encouraging students to contact their FLVS/Fuel Education teachers and

allowing them to do so during lab time 5. Communicate problems to FLVS/Fuel Education and to parents as needed.

Monthly

1. Direct students to print progress reports to take home to their parents on the 15th of each month. If the 15th falls on a non-school day, the reports should be printed on the next school day. These reports are available from the student's Cumulative Academic Report. Instructions for printing progress reports can be found in Appendix B.

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2. Collect reports, signed by parents, during the next class period.

School Counselor Responsibilities

1. School counselors should only approve course registrations in the FLVS system that are being taken outside of the school day (not in the BLC lab).

2. Since all BLC enrollments are made through the ITS data feed to FLVS, counselors do not have to approve or classify (BLC) these students. After logging into the VSA Guidance Dashboard, counselors see a new column titled “Registration Method.” In this column there is a drop down menu that allows the user to select BLC or part-time. This should only be used to designate the part-time students who are taking a virtual course after school.

3. School Counselors have to reserve “seats” equivalent to the number of students per course to be taken with FLVS during the school day. Instructions on how to reserve seats and selecting the BLC option is included in Appendix D. Counselors must make reservations based on FLVS deadlines, in order to achieve a prompt start to the virtual classes.

4. Counselors are also responsible for providing grades to the registrar for students that complete their courses after the semester ends.

Administrator Responsibilities

1. Principals will be asked to choose an administrator to be the main virtual contact for the school as well as providing the list of school employees who will be the virtual facilitators for the year.

2. Ensure that staff is performing the duties outlined above and that parental notification has occurred.

3. Authorize staff to move students with performance or pacing/timeline issues to traditional classes if such placements are in the best interests of the students. (Please notify BLC Program Administrator at the District Office of planned changes so they can be conveyed to FLVS.)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY (AI) FLVS takes academic integrity issues seriously and utilize a variety of tools to ensure the integrity of students’ work. Among these tools are:

• Turnitin.com – this internet tool compares student work against a variety of databases.

• Academic Integrity Database – FLVS maintains its own database of student integrity issues.

• Teacher expertise – checking for originality in student’s work. • Discussion Based Assessments(DBAs) – these are regular discussions

between the teacher and student

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• Proctored Exams – if academic integrity is an issue. • Academic Integrity Hotline/Email – for anonymous phone calls or emails on

Academic Integrity issues Any school staff member who becomes aware of a potential AI issue should notify school administration, who should then report the issue to the FLVS District Relations Manager. FUEL EDUCATION REGISTRATION For information on Fuel Education courses and registration schools may contact their representative whose information is on page 11. ASPEN and ISIS Course Setup Guidelines Instructions for entering Florida Virtual School courses in ISIS are provided below. The information must be entered in the order listed. 1. Create a course sequence using the actual FLVS subject code. The subject code

must be active on the curriculum bulletin file (CBI) or it will not be accepted. 2. Please be advised that when entering the course codes for FLVS courses, the

letters FV must be added to the end of the number. If the course is to be taken with Fuel Education, the code K1 has to be used. These two letters would be in the tenth and eleventh positions of a course code. This is important so that on cursory examination of a student’s schedule on the PF1 screen you will be able to identify courses provided by FLVS/Fuel education.

3. Complete the following steps on the Course Record screen (PF9): a. Modify facility code to 20 b. If necessary, semesterize the course. All FLVS courses are awarded in half-

credit increments c. Press [Enter]

4. Enter the following information for the FLVS instructor in ASPEN: a. Period – Period the student participates in the FLVS course b. Teacher Employee Number – The assigned 900000 series employer

identifier number assigned by Personal Operations and Records. (This number will be provided by district staff in Instructional Technology when the school provides the name of the FLVS teacher.)

c. Teacher Num – FVS d. Teacher Name – FL VIRTUAL SCHL e. Instructor Number (I#) – Principals will be asked to choose an administrator

to be the main virtual contact for the school as well as providing the list of school employees who will be the virtual facilitators for the year.2 (This action will create a second line for adding the M-DCPS e-Learning facilitator information to the same course sequence section.)

f. Press [Enter] 5. In ISIS on the second line provided, enter the following information for the e-Learning

facilitator:

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a. On PF9 enter Instructor Number (I#) – 2 (This action will create a second line for adding the M-DCPS e-Learning facilitator information to the same course sequence section.)

b. Press [Enter] c. Employee Number d. Teacher Number e. Teacher Name f. Press [Enter]

6. Add the course on the student record/subjects screen (PF1). INTERIM PROGRESS REPORTS, SEMESTER GRADES, COURSE EXAMS, AND REPORT CARDS Interim Progress Reports 1. Schools may opt to send home the Interim Progress Letter (See Appendix C) with

VLL students. (This is optional as schools are required to send home the monthly progress reports from FLVS.)

Semester Course Exams 1. All students must take and pass semester exams in order to successfully complete

their online courses. 2. Since some students may be behind pace, FLVS will be flexible in scheduling

semester exams. FLVS/Fuel Education will forward exam schedules to schools. Schools with conflicts should advise FLVS immediately.

Semester Grades 1. Each semester, FLVS will provide the district with a data file with grades for students

that have completed their courses within the semester. School sites do not have to enter individual grades for students who complete their coursework on time.

2. An error report will be provided to schools through the Control-D web viewer after the batch load date on any student for which ITS could not post the grades automatically (either because there was a date entry issue with the student ID or course). Schools should review the report and post these grades manually in ISIS.

3. The deadline for students to complete their online course is January 29, 2016. (Please refer to the pace chart for the spring 2016 deadline for seniors and regular students.) Students, who have not completed course work by this time, will not have a FLVS course grade reflected on their report cards.

4. Course grades for students who complete their coursework after January 29, 2016 and June 6, 2016 will have to be entered manually by school personnel. The academic grade information must be entered on the student record/subjects screen (PF1) in ISIS. Once grades are entered manually for these students, schools must request replacement report cards reflecting the FLVS course grade.

5. Schools should encourage their seniors to finish on time so that their grades will be part of the batch load, and not entered at a later date.

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6. Report card comment #30 will be printed for courses with FV or K1 course code notifying parents that the course is being taken with FLVS and that the grade will be available at semester’s end.

Report Cards

1. Comment number 30 will be printed on the report cards of students enrolled in Florida Virtual classes coded with FV/K1. This is an automated process and requires no action on the part of the school or facilitator. The comment reads as follows:

Online course provided by Florida Virtual: Grade posted at semester end.

2. Schools may opt to give students conduct grades each quarter.

Contact Information: Miami-Dade County Public Schools Richard A. Benvenuti Executive Director Division of Instructional Technology 305-995-2424 rbenvenuti@dadeschools.net Peter R. Ho Tung Instructional Support Specialist, (BLC Program Administrator) Instructional technology 305-995-2909 photung@dadeschools.net Florida Virtual School Felicia M. Brunson, Ed.S District Relations Manager – Miami-Dade 954-668-3373 fbrunson@flvs.net Fuel Education Danica Wright (Cawthorn) Education Consultant (503) 708-2330 dawright@getfueled.com 

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Appendix A Florida Virtual School (FLVS)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is Florida Virtual School? Is it accredited? FLVS is a public school providing middle and high school curriculum to Florida residents. All FLVS courses are fully on-line, and FLVS is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA). All courses meet the Sunshine Standards developed by the State of Florida.

2) Are FLVS courses approved by NCAA? Yes, to see approved courses go to: https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/general/index_general.html enter your school information.

3) Do students get actual live teachers? All FLVS courses are taught by a State Certified Instructors certified in their fields. Teachers communicate with students on a regular basis by phone, email and online discussions.

4) Are textbooks required? All course materials are provided online. Should a particular course need any special text or material, FLVS will provide it.

5) Are Honors Courses available? Almost all FLVS courses may be taken for Regular or Honors credit. You will register for regular, and then inform your teacher once placed in the regular version of your desire to work for honors credit.

6) How long do the courses last? Courses are 16-18 weeks per half credit. All courses provide the entire spectrum of components required by Florida.

7) Can I accelerate and complete faster? Yes you can! Students will be given a Traditional Pace chart which shows students doing an average of 2-3 lessons a week for a rate of about 3-5 hours of study time a week. Students can elect to do extra assignments a week therefore completing the course in less time.

8) Which course can I take that will start right away? All students will be placed as quickly as possible, in most cases within 1-2 weeks after completing registration and required approvals.

9) When do courses begin? Courses begin at different times of the year for those students taking courses outside of the BLC at home. FLVS does not follow a traditional school calendar, therefore start time is flexible. As students are assigned to instructors, a welcome call must then be completed. Once the welcome call is complete, you may begin working in the course. Students taking courses during the school day are expected to follow the school’s schedule throughout the semester and complete their course at the same time as the brick and mortar classes.

10) How many courses am I allowed to take at once? Due to the amount of time each course takes to complete, we recommend: Public / Private School Students: Not more than 1-2 courses at a time.

11) Do students automatically get an official transcript sent to them? Official final grade reports are sent out electronically to the school of record immediately upon completing a course or semester of a course. (Exception: Advanced Placement credits are issued upon verification of AP exam participation at the end of each exam cycle in May.) What makes a transcript official is when it’s sent sealed and/or directly to the school or entity. They have to be the ones to open it. As soon as our instructors complete the student and issue a final grade, a document is automatically sent to your official documents file to process. Students can print Unofficial Transcripts via their FLVS account.

12) How do I request courses at FLVS? (Questions 12-15 applies only to those students taking courses outside of the school day)

13) First you will need to create an account at: http://www.flvs.net/areas/signup/Pages/default.aspx. Then you will login with your FLVS Student account username and password and click on "Request a Course".

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14) How do I check the status of my course request? Login to your account twice a week, using your username and password. Check your Student Dashboard to see if there is a green x next to your course.

15) Other important information about requesting courses: Please make sure the email address you entered during the admissions process is always up to date, as FLVS will send important emails to this address. Due to spam filters, users with an AOL email address may experience issues receiving emails from FLVS.

Login FAQs (Does not apply to BLC courses)

1) I forgot my username. How can I recover it? BLC students should only be logging through the student portal. Go to https://vsa.flvs.net/RecoverInformation.aspx and enter the information in the lower half of the form. Your information will be emailed to your email address. (If you do not receive an email, please go to http://help.flvs.net/)

2) I forgot my password. How can I recover it? Go to https://vsa.flvs.net/RecoverInformation.aspx and enter your username in the top part of the form. Your password will be emailed to your email address. (If you do not receive an email, please http://help.flvs.net/)

3) What do I do if I can't login with my username and password? Go to http://help.flvs.net/ and submit a help ticket so that a technical representative can assist you.

4) How do I login to my account or my courses? Students, parents/guardians, and counselors go to http://www.flvs.net to login. Enter the username and password that were emailed to you when you set up your FLVS account.

Signing up – FAQs (Does not apply to BLC courses)

1) Where do I sign up for an FLVS Course? 2) Go to http://www.flvs.net/areas/signup/Pages/SignUp-FloridaResidents.aspx 3) What do I need to sign up?

Florida Resident students must be enrolled in a Florida public, affiliated private or charter school or registered with as a homeschooler.

4) What is a Parent/Guardian Account? After a student creates an account, the parent/guardian will create their own account with a username and password used to login and monitor the student's account.

5) Can I use Netscape or AOL during the sign up process? Please use Internet Explorer version 5.5 - 6.0 only when registering. Do NOT use Netscape browser or AOL browser.

FAQS about the District’s Use of FLVS for Class Size Reduction

1) Can the district require students to take online classes? There are no laws that prohibit the

district from requiring students to take online classes. Districts were encouraged by state statute to utilize virtual instruction to meet class size mandates.

2) Were schools directed to use FLVS to meet class size reduction? High schools with an eight period schedule were directed to utilize FLVS to help address class size issues. Other secondary schools were encouraged to change their bell schedules to allow for FLVS use without impacting funding.

3) Were schools advised to move all sections of a certain course or courses online? No, schools were advised to review the list of courses offered by FLVS and to determine how to effectively utilize FLVS courses in their master schedules.

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4) Were schools advised precisely as to how to select students for online classes? No, schools were not directed to select specific students; instead, schools were given guidance regarding how to choose students for participation in the online classes. Some of the recommendations provided to schools for choosing students included targeting students who had previous success in the subject area, good attendance, willingness to take an online class, and afterhours access to technology.

5) Will FLVS courses which are on a student’s schedule in ISIS and which are “in progress” be reflected on student transcripts in the same manner as courses which students are taking locally in their schools? Yes, they will be reflected in the same manner. You will not be able to distinguish FLVS online courses from courses taught locally. Transcripts don’t reflect progress of any class which is “in progress” whether it be an FLVS class or locally offered class. Grades only appear on transcripts after the courses are completed.

6) When a student is moved out of a class taught locally and moved into a virtual lab to take an online class from FLVS, what happens to the grades he or she has earned in their local class? Also, must the student start at the beginning of the online course essentially redoing work that they have already completed? Traditionally, when students move from one class to another, whether it is between face-to-face classes or online classes, the grades from the prior class are not carried forth from one class to another. Sometimes teachers in face-to-face classes that receive students once the marking period has begun will not require students to make up all the prior assignments. (This is not a uniform practice and varies from teacher to teacher.) FLVS requires that students start from the beginning of the course. They feel that this is in the best interest of students to ensure that they have mastered the content and will ultimately be successful in the course.

7) How will students be able to complete annual classes which are 32 to 36 weeks long in the time remaining? While the amount time lost due to the transition to the online classes is a legitimate concern, many students will be able to make up the time by adjusting their pace slightly. Additionally, FLVS classes do not have fixed start and end dates so students will not be required to complete their semester class to coincide with the end of the district’s semester. However, this could result in students not completing the second section (semester) of their class by the end of the school district’s school year. This is not a problem for FLVS but could be a problem for students without home access to technology and possibly graduating seniors. FLVS is working closely with the school district to try to help students catch up and to provide a safety net for graduating seniors.

8) What grades or progress information will be reflected on Interim Progress Reports and Report Cards for students enrolled in online classes? Students enrolled in FLVS classes will not have grades reflected on Interim Progress Reports or Report Cards unless they have completed their course and obtained a final grade which was entered into the Student Information System. However, parents can monitor their children’s progress through the Parent/Guardian Account that they can set up with FLVS.

9) Do students have to provide grade report to their teachers when they complete classes? FLVS will send a final grade report directly to the school. Please refer to the FLVS FAQs section above.

10) What safety nets are available for students in online classes? Most FLVS classes allow students to resubmit assignments to improve their grades. Additionally, teachers frequently host live sessions, in which students can participate, where teachers are online with audio support answering questioning and working out problems for students to see and hear. These sessions are recorded so that students who could not participate in the live session can view them at a later time. All schools participating in the online classes have facilitators to help monitor student progress. These facilitators are to communicate with the FLVS teachers to make sure that students keep up with their work.

11) What will happen if students don’t pass their FLVS classes? As with any required high school classes, credits attempted but not earned will have to made up in order for a student to graduate. However, unlike traditionally taught classes, FLVS receives funding based on performance. They

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receive funding only for those students who successfully complete the classes. So FLVS teachers are going to work hard to help students be successful in their online classes.

12) Historically, FLVS teachers have been required to make parent contact at least once a month. Is that still the case with students participating in the Learning Lab Program in Miami-Dade? If so, how are they dealing with all the parents in our community who don’t speak English?

Teachers for FLVS are keeping in close contact with students in the Learning Labs through direct contact and through the school facilitators assigned to the schools. These facilitators are monitoring student progress. As a result, FLVS has relaxed the requirement of monthly phone contact with parents, unless they can’t make communication with the student or the facilitator at school. The language barrier is a challenge for them as well; however, parents can communicate with the school facilitators, some of whom speak Spanish, regarding student progress. Additionally, FLVS is encouraging parents to setup parent accounts to monitor their children’s progress.

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Appendix B Printing Progress Reports

Printing Progress Reports from the FLVS Student Portal   

1. Log into https://vsa.flvs.net 2. Ensure the student, whose progress report you want to view, is in context by identifying the student 

listed under Selected Student: a. If the correct student is not listed, search for the student in the User Search or Teacher 

Dashboard and click on the student’s name 

   

3. Navigate to Student Records Æ Cumulative Academic Report 

 4. Click on the View Progress Reports button, located towards the top of the page 

 

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  5. Click on the date of the progress report you want to view 

6. To view a printer‐friendly view, click on the Printer‐Friendly View button at the bottom of the progress report 

 7. Click the Print button on your internet browser   

 

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Appendix C – Template Letters

Notification Letter

Dear Parent/Guardian,

This letter is to notify you that your child has been enrolled in an online course with Florida Virtual School (FLVS) and will take the course during the school day in our school’s Blended Learning Community Lab (BLC). All high school students must take an online class to meet Florida high school graduation requirement. The advantages of virtual education include self-paced learning and access to coursework which may not be available in school or accessible due to scheduling conflicts. Additionally, in many cases FLVS classes afford students the opportunity to resubmit assignments until they receive a favorable grade, an option not typically available in traditional classrooms. FLVS courses are open 24/7 and beginning second semester, FLVS VLL teachers will typically be available from 7:20 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. every day. All FLVS teachers post their hours of availability on their announcement page, which is the first page a student accesses when they sign into their account. Students may communicate with their FLVS teachers by phone, email, or while online within their FLVS course. Since the courses are available 24/7, students may access their work from home, or the library after school and on weekends. In order to provide more opportunities for students to get assistance from FLVS teachers in an interactive manner, FLVS has extended their live tutoring sessions through Elluminate and will offer sessions for many courses every hour of the day. These sessions are also recorded so that students can refer back to them at a later time. Parents may register for a parent account with Florida Virtual School by going to the following website: http://www.flvs.net/parents/Pages/ParentGuardianAccount.aspx. The account will allow you to monitor your child’s progress. If you do not have Internet access or chose not to create a parent account, FLVS issues progress reports on the 15th of each month and students will print those reports in school to bring home to you. All FLVS classes are delivered in a one semester (.5 credits) format and grades are not issued until classes are complete. Though not for everyone, these online courses can help students move ahead with their graduation requirements, depending on how fast they complete their course. Students may also use these classes to recover credits. Sincerely, Principal 

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Estimados padres de familia/tutores:

Su hijo ha sido seleccionado para recibir un curso en línea con la Escuela Virtual de la Florida (Florida Virtual School o FLVS por sus siglas en inglés). Su hijo fue escogido para participar en este programa porque el personal de la escuela es de la opinión que él o ella será todo un éxito en este medio ambiente. Los estudiantes fueron escogidos para participar en cursos de la FLVS de acuerdo a los criterios que aparecen a continuación:

x Leen de acuerdo a su nivel de grado o superior (Calificación de 3 o superior en la FCAT en la Lectura)

x Fueron motivados al recibir con anterioridad una calificación de “A” o “B” en la asignatura

x Tienen buena asistencia. x Tienen una computadora con acceso a la Internet después de horas de clases

Una de las mayores ventajas de tomar cursos en línea es la oportunidad que tienen los estudiantes de repetir las actividades hasta que reciben una calificación favorable. Ese no es el caso en una clase tradicional. Las pruebas o exámenes, son las únicas asignaciones que los estudiantes no pueden repetir múltiples veces en los cursos de la FLVS. Los cursos de la FLVS están disponibles las 24 horas del día los siete días de la semana para que los estudiantes tengan acceso a su trabajo desde sus hogares y en los fines de semana. Los maestros de la FLVS están normalmente disponibles todos los días de 8:00 a.m. a 8:00 p.m. Sin embargo, todos los maestros anuncian sus horas específicas en las que estarán disponibles, en la página de anuncios, que es la primera página que los estudiantes encuentran cuando acceden sus cuentas en la computadora. Los estudiantes se pueden comunicar con sus maestros por teléfono, correo electrónico o cuando están trabajando en sus cursos en línea. Además, el distrito ha llegado a un acuerdo con la FLVS para que sus maestros proporcionen servicios de clases particulares durante el día para todos los cursos. Éstas serán sesiones en vivo o grabadas, pero que estarán disponibles durante todo el día. Los cursos en línea se están haciendo más comunes en los distritos escolares, “colleges” y universidades en todo el país como un medio común de brindar la instrucción y se volverán más prevalentes y más rutinarios en un futuro cercano. Los cursos en línea, por el simple hecho de que brindan a los estudiantes la oportunidad de que avancen a su propio paso, permiten que los estudiantes aceleren su progreso para alcanzar los requisitos para la graduación. También proporcionan una alternativa de recuperación en las calificaciones para los estudiantes que no fueron exitosos en un marco de clases tradicionales. Los cursos en líneas no son apropiados para todos los estudiantes, pero en base a los cuatro criterios que se mencionan con anterioridad, estamos confiados de que este ambiente en línea será conveniente para satisfacer las necesidades de su hijo y que él o ella será exitoso. Atentamente, Director/Directora

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Chè Paran/Gadyen,

Yo chwazi pitit ou a pou l pran yon kou sou Entènèt avèk “Florida Virtual School (FLVS)” (Lekòl sou Entènèt Florid). Yo chwazi pitit ou a pou pwogram sa a paske anplwaye lekòl la kwè l ap gen siksè nan anviwònman sa a. Yo chwazi elèv pou patisipasyon nan FLVS selon kritè k ap suiv yo:

1. Lekti nan nivo ane eskolè yo oubyen pi wo (Nòt 3 oubyen pi wo nan Lekti FCAT) 2. Motivasyon avèk yon nòt A oubyen B yo te pran anvan nan yon matyè 3. Bon istwa prezans lekòl 4. Aksè a yon òdinatè avèk Entènèt apre lekòl

Youn nan pi gwo avantaj kou sou Entènèt yo se posiblite elèv yo genyen pou fè aktivite yo plizyè fwa jiskaske yo resevwa yon bon nòt. Se pa konsa sa ye nan yon salklas tradisyonèl. Sèl travay yon elèv pa ka fè plizyè fwa nan kou FLVS yo se tès oubyen egzamen. Kou FLVS yo ouvri 24 sou 24 chak jou pou elèv ka jwenn aksè a devwa yo lakay ak nan fen semèn yo. Pwofesè FLVS jeneralman disponib soti 8è dimaten rive 8è diswa chak jou. Sepandan tout pwofesè poste lè espesifik yo disponib nan paj anons yo, ki se premye paj elèv jwenn lè yo ale nan kont yo. Elèv ka kominike avèk pwofesè yo nan telefòn, lèt elektwonik, oubyen pandan yo nan kou sou Entènèt yo. Anplis, distri a fè aranjman avèk FLVS pou l fè pwofesè li yo ofri sesyon “tutoring” (leson patikilye) pandan tout jounen an pou tout kou yo. Sesyon sa yo va swa andirèk oubyen anrejistre, men y ap disponib pandan tout jounen an. Kou sou Entènèt ap vin pi popilè nan distri lekòl, kolèj, ak inivèsite atravè peyi a kòm yon mwayen estanda pou bay enstriksyon, e y ap vin pi popilè e pi nòmal anvan lontan. Akoz kou sou Entènèt yo bay elèv opòtinite pou yo anvanse dapre pwòp vitès yo, yo pèmèt elèv atenn demand gradyasyon yo pi vit. Epitou yo ofri elèv ki pa t gen siksè nan kad yon salklas tradisyonèl yon altènatif pou ratrape nòt yo. Kou sou Entènèt pa fèt pou tout elèv men, lè nou baze sou kat kritè yo idantifye anwo yo, nou kwè anviwònman Entènèt sa a pral satisfè bezwen pitit ou a e li pral gen siksè. Sensèman, Direktè (tris)

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XXXX – SCHOOL NAME Street Address MIAMI, FL XXXXX 305‐XXX‐XXXX 

 Notice of Unsatisfactory Progress in Online Class

Student’s Name: Date:

Your child is behind pace and/or doing unsatisfactory work in the following online class taught by Florida Virtual School (FLVS):*

1.

The end of the second grading period and the first semester is January 29, 2016. Parents and students are advised that extensions are being granted to all students to complete their first semester online coursework. Please note deadlines below:

x Students are to complete semester one by . x Students must be ready to begin semester 2 classes by . x Second semester coursework must be completed by June 6, 2016.

Received by: Student’s Signature Parent’s Signature

*FLVS issues progress reports on the 15th of each month. Reports are printed at school for students to share with parents. Additionally, parents can access the reports through their parent accounts or through their child’s FLVS account.

   

 

 

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XXXX – SCHOOL NAME Street Address

MIAMI, FL XXXXX 305-XXX-XXXX

Aviso de progreso poco satisfactorio de las clases en línea

Nombre del estudiante: Fecha:

Su hijo está atrasado o está haciendo un trabajo poco satisfactorio en la clase en línea que ofrece la Escuela Virtual de la Florida (Florida Virtual School, FLVS* por sus siglas en inglés) y que aparece a continuación:

2.

El final del segundo período de calificaciones y del primer semestre terminó el 29 de enero de 2016. Notificamos a los padres de familia y a los estudiantes que se están concediendo prórrogas a todos los alumnos que terminen en línea los trabajos del curso del primer semestre. Por favor, tome en cuenta las siguientes fechas topes:

x Los estudiantes deben completar el primer semestre antes de . x Los estudiantes deben estar listos para comenzar las clases del segundo

semestre para el . x Los trabajos del curso del segundo semestre deben estar terminados para el 6

de junio de 2016. Recibido por: Firma del estudiante Firma del padre o la madre

*La FLVS publica los reportes de progreso los días 15 de cada mes. Los reportes se imprimen en la escuela para que los alumnos los compartan con sus padres. Además, los padres pueden acceder los reportes por medio de sus cuentas como padres de familia o por medio de la cuenta de la FLVS de sus hijos.

   

 

 

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(XXXX – SCHOOL NAME) Street Address MIAMI, FL XXXXX 305‐XXX‐XXXX 

 Avi sou Nòt Pwogrè ki Pa Satisfezan pou Klas sou Entènèt

Non Elèv la: Dat:

Pitit ou a pap avanse byen/oubyen l ap fè travay ki pa satisfezan nan klas sou Entènèt “Florida Virtual School (FLVS)” (Lekòl sou Entènèt Florid) ap anseye:*

3.

Dènye jou dezyèm peryòd nòt ak premye semès la se 29 janvye 2016. Yo avize paran ak elèv yo ap bay tout elèv ekstansyon pou yo fini premye semès travay kou sou Entènèt yo. Silvouplè note dat limit anba yo:

x Elèv yo gen pou yo fini semès en (1) anvan . x Elèv yo dwe prepare pou yo kòmanse klas semès 2 yo anvan

. x Travay kou dezyèm semès la dwe fini 6 jen 2016.

Moun ki Resevwa l: Siyati Elèv la Siyati Paran an

*FLVS bay rapò sou pwogrè chak 15 nan mwa a. Yo enprime rapò yo lekòl pou elèv yo pataje ak paran yo. Anplis, paran ka jwenn rapò yo atravè kont paran yo oubyen atravè kont FLVS pitit yo.

   

 

 

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Interim Progress Letter

Date

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Progress Reports/Report Cards were distributed today. As a member of our Virtual Learning Lab, your child is receiving instruction from Florida Virtual School (FLVS) in at least one course. Since this course is taught by FLVS, your student’s Miami-Dade County Public Schools Progress Report/Report Card may not reflect a grade for this course.

FLVS issues progress reports on the 15th of each month and students print the reports in school to take home to parents. Please ask your child to show you his/her most recent FLVS progress report. In order to access the most current information on your child’s progress in his/her FLVS course, please log in with your child and review the FLVS grade book.

Upon completion of the course, your child’s final grade from FLVS will be posted to his/her record and a copy of the updated report card will be sent home.

If you have any questions about the Virtual Learning Lab, please contact me at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

First Name, Last Name

Virtual Learning Lab Facilitator

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Date

Estimados padres de familia/tutores:

Los reportes de progreso o los boletines de calificaciones se distribuirán hoy. Su hijo, como miembro de nuestro Laboratorio de Aprendizaje Virtual (Virtual Learning Lab), está recibiendo clases por lo menos en un curso de la Escuela Virtual de la Florida (Florida Virtual School o FLVS por sus siglas en inglés). Ya que la FLVS es la que imparte el curso, el reporte de progreso o el boletín de calificaciones del estudiante de las Escuelas Públicas del Condado Miami-Dade puede que no refleje la calificación de este curso en línea.

La FLVS publica en línea los reportes de progreso el día 15 de cada mes y los estudiantes imprimen estos reportes en la escuela para llevarlos a sus padres. Por favor, pídale a su hijo que le muestre su más reciente reporte de progreso de la FLVS. Para poder acceder la información más reciente del reporte de progreso de su hijo en el curso de la FLVS, por favor, entre en línea junto con su hijo y revise el libro de calificaciones de la FLVS.

Una vez que su hijo ha terminado el curso, la calificación final de la FLVS se añadirá al expediente de su hijo y una copia del boletín de calificaciones será enviada a la casa.

Si tuviese alguna pregunta acerca del Laboratorio de Aprendizaje Virtual, por favor, comuníquese conmigo al XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Muchas gracias.

Atentamente,

First Name, Last Name

Encargado de Virtual Learning Lab

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(Date)

Chè Paran/Gadyen,

Yo te distribye Rapò sou Pwogrè/Kanè jodi a. Kòm yon manm Laboratwa Enstriksyon sou Entènèt nou an, pitit ou a ap resevwa enstriksyon nan “Florida Virtual School (FLVS)” (Lekòl sou Entènèt Florid) omwen nan yon kou. Puiske se FLVS ki anseye kou sa a, Rapò sou Pwogrè/Kanè Lekòl Leta Miami-Dade elèv ou a kapab pa montre yon nòt pou kou sa a.

FLVS bay rapò sou pwogrè chak 15 nan mwa a e elèv enprime rapò yo lekòl pou pote l lakay bay paran yo. Silvouplè mande pitit ou a pou l montre w rapò pwogrè FLVS ki pi resan li a. Pou ou ka jwenn enfòmasyon ki pi resan sou pwogrè pitit ou a nan kou FLVS li a, silvouplè ale sou Entènèt avèk pitit ou a e revize liv nòt FLVS la.

Lè kou a fini, y ap poste nòt final FLVS pitit ou a nan dosye li e y ap voye yon kopi kanè ki ajou a lakay.

Si w gen nenpòt kesyon konsènan Laboratwa Enstriksyon sou Entènèt la, silvouplè kontakte m nan XXX-XXX-XXXX. Mèsi.

Sènsèman,

(First Name, Last Name)

Fasilitatè Laboratwa Enstriksyon sou Entènèt

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Appendix D – Reservations and Selecting the BLC option

To begin please go to https://vsa.flvs.net

Login into your account, once in select BLC Reservations from the tool bar located at the left hand side. This is the first part: 

  

Once in the BLC Reservations area you will see the BLC Reservation Management where you can request new courses. To begin click on the Request New Reservation button:

 

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A new pop up window will appear for you to select subject, course, Preferred start date, and number of requested seats. Depending on the amount of courses you will have to repeat this step more than once. Click on Add request to save and continue to the next. Once all of the courses are reserved the enrollment department will approve this courses for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Appendix E 

BLC START UP GUIDE 2015‐2016 

With the excitement of every school year comes a challenge. How often do you wonder, who do I go to for… and I wonder who to call for this?  We hope the guide below will assist you the first couple of weeks of school in answering most of your questions. 

Registration – How are students enrolled? 

x In Miami Dade County, all students whose schedules are in ISIS slated to take an FLVS course will be automatically enrolled. 

x School counselors DO NOT need to approve courses.  x Facilitators DO NOT have to register students for a course.  x The Blended Learning Specialists (BLS) will be sending out username and 

passwords, so students can log‐on and once prompted confirm information in order to begin working. 

What if a student is not enrolled? Who do I call? 

x Counselors should call/email the BLS. x They will be able to assist with any concerns in regards to registration. x Teachers should not be contacted regarding registration 

issues/withdrawals. 

What if a student received a schedule change? What do I do? 

x Please alert via email the BLS.  x They will assist in getting the student withdrawn from the original course, 

and ensure the student is placed in the new course.  x Tip: This can be done when counselors meet with students for the change. 

Counselors can send a quick email to the BLS and include student name, DOB and schedule change information. All schedule change information should be in ISIS as well. 

 

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Course Reservations – Who makes them? How does it work? 

x All students taking a FLVS course in the lab must match a corresponding reservation.  

x Example: If the school has slated 30 students to take World History, then a reservation with at least 30 seats should be made in VSA. The students schedule must also reflect the World History Course in ISIS.  Counselors with questions regarding reservation should reach out to the District Relations Manager (DRM) for assistance.  

x In addition, the DRM will contact all schools to CONFIRM final numbers via email. These confirmations are time sensitive in order to ensure students are placed as quickly as possible. 

Facilitator changes – Who do I notify of new/current facilitators in the lab? 

x Counselors or school administration should send correspondence to the DRM and BLS with facilitator name, phone number, email, room number and period.  

o This is incredibly helpful in assisting our teachers identify their students and to reach out to the facilitator. A Bell schedule for the school is very helpful as well.  

Teacher concerns/Questions 

x All teachers concerns from facilitators, guidance, and administration should be directed to the DRM or BLS for assistance. 

Course Content Concerns/Student Questions regarding course material, etc. 

x All concerns with the course should be directed to the student’s teachers. x Facilitators should keep teacher’s information in an easily accessible 

location where students can have it at their fingertips and communicate with their teachers.  

x In addition, facilitators should maintain weekly contact with teachers as they will be able to communicate individual student progress and concerns, if any. 

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BLS CONTACT:             DRM CONTACT: 

Lillian Lorenzo            Felicia Brunson 305‐417‐8974            954‐668‐3373 llorenzo@flvs.net          fbrunson@flvs.net 

 

 

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Appendix F 

FLVS Suggested Ingredients for a Successful BLC 

 

Dear Facilitator, 

Welcome to the world of FLVS Learning Labs.  Like a great cook, the facilitator, has to blend the provided ingredients and create a successful outcome.  Awesome cooks always start with a list of ingredients needed and a proven recipe. Below are list of the basics needed to create a successful lab. Also included, is a recipe with proven strategies to assist you in providing the best experience possible.  Just as any good cook might, you always have someone to reach out to for assistance, the FLVS Blended Learning Specialist and the FLVS instructor. In our virtual world, we consider your lab like a kitchen and we are your support staff.  As a team, we can work together to dish out an amazing blended learning experience for every student.   

BASIC INGREDIENTS:

Pace Charts for the course(s) in your lab.  – First, work with the FLVS instructor to create a pace that meets FLVS requirements and your schools calendar/finish date.  There are a variety of ways that students can be kept aware of the weekly pace expectations.  Below is a list of ways to implement the pace chart in your lab.  Choose 1 or all but be sure that weekly work expectations are clear to every student.  

1)  Make it Visible in the Classroom – For example, post a large version of the pace chart on the wall  with each week dated clearly.  Another good way to keep students informed is to write the assignments required on Monday for that week on the whiteboard in your room. Let students know that these are due by Friday. (This works great if you only have 1 to 3 courses going on at one time in your room.) 

2)     Print up Individual Pace Charts – Have the teacher send you a copy of the pace chart and print it up for each student at the beginning of the semester. You can also have the student go to “course information” in their course, click on pace, and print up the semester pace chart.  Be sure to have them date the weeks. Depending on your lab situation, you can have the students leave these in the room with you and check them off during the week or at least on Fridays.  If students seem able, you can have them keep them in an FLVS notebook with their class notes and check them once a week. (This method works great with all labs but might be the answer for labs with multiple courses.)                   

3)  FLVS Instructor – Forcing Slide  ‐ Some FLVS Lab instructors who have a large lab on the school schedule will post a forcing slide with the expected pace.  Students will see this first thing every time they log in to their course.  Even if your FLVS instructors post the pace in this format, it is still advisable that you have a hard copy for students to check off or a reminder of the weekly assignments posted 

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Lab set up and available technology – The proper lab set up and necessary equipment are important factors in creating the most effective workspace.  Below are needed items as well as suggested elements for your FLVS lab.  1)  Computers situated so that you can easily see the student screen. ‐ Sometimes your given lab 

set up is out of your control so you will want to sit up high or regularly browse the room to check on student activity. 

2)  Seating Charts  ‐ If you think that students may be distracted by one another, create a seating chart and change the arrangement when needed.  

3)   Needed Equipment and Software – Check with the FLVS instructor and your IT department, to make sure you have all of the software needed.  Every student should have a computer with high speed internet. It is also advised that students have headsets so that they can listen to audio or video elements of their course.  Note: Students in foreign language courses will need headsets that include a microphone.  

4)  Accessible Phone – Communication with the instructor is a major component of FLVS courses.  Make sure that students have access to a phone in the room for communication with the instructor.  

 

Monitoring Weekly Progress – In every successful learning lab, the facilitator takes on the role of coach/mentor.  The facilitator should always be aware of every student’s progress and hold each student accountable for keeping up with the expected pace and weekly submission requirement.  There are several recommended strategies for monitoring student progress.  You may choose 1 or all of the suggestions below but make sure you have a plan that keeps track of progress and holds students responsible for following through on their commitment to the course.  (Your plan should also include positive reinforcement.  See strategies under the Recipe for Success for ideas.)   1)  VSA Weekly Progress Report – If requested, FLVS can provide the facilitator with login 

information for our reporting system. This login allows for the facilitator to see the overall weekly progress of students in their lab.  This information should only be used as an overall view of student progress due to the fact this it does not update every day and the report is populated once a week.  It will show the student’s grade and percent complete.  Each student should be making at least 5% progress every week.  Some facilitators create a spreadsheet for their classes where they mark percentage complete every week (usually on Monday since the report populates on Sunday evening). It is not recommended that this be the only method of tracking.  If using this method, you will also want to add a procedure that allows for you to monitor student progress later in the week utilizing the student gradebook. The student gradebook is in real time and provides a more accurate view of student progress, pace, and weekly work.     Note: Facilitators do not have access to student gradebooks. The best way to view this is to have the student pull it up and take a look over their shoulder. This is also a good way to let the student know that you are looking at their progress and holding them accountable.  

 

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2)  Pace Check‐Off – Have students check off the assignments completed on a hard copy of their pace chart.  The facilitator can walk around the room and check student’s gradebook for accuracy and then initial the pace chart for that week. Some facilitators find it necessary to do this more than once a week. Other facilitators, check the system progress report on their own on Monday and then check the student gradebook on Thursday or Friday for weekly submissions. As mentioned in a previous section, pace charts can be held in the classroom under the control of the facilitator or placed in a student notebook.  

3)  Create Spreadsheet to Monitor Progress – There are several combinations of utilizing a spreadsheet to monitor weekly progress.  You will need to create a system that works best for you. Consider, pulling the report on Monday in VSA and listing the percentage complete for each student on your spreadsheet. (Each column on your spreadsheet can represent a given week.) Make sure your columns are wide enough to report  progress later in the week or add an additional column for this information.  Check student’s individual gradebooks on Thursday or Friday. In the additional space or column, write the numbers of the assignments completed in the current week or write the number of assignments submitted so far that week. This will give you an accurate view of overall progress and weekly submissions.  *Your system will only work if students are motivated to progress. Hopefully, they will progress because it is the right thing to do but as educators, we know, this is not always the case.  Be sure you have consequences in place for students who keep their commitment and for students who do not keep their commitment.  Of course, positive reinforcement is always recommended as a motivator.  See suggestions in the section on “Recipe for Success” for ideas to motivate.   

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: We visit schools and facilitators all over the state. In our visits, we see so many awesome strategies being used to motivate students and create healthy labs.  A combination of these strategies might just be the perfect recipe for your lab.   Visuals    1)  Post the teacher’s number on the wall or board. 2)  Put up posters reminding students of the FLVS Academic Integrity Policy. (For more information, 

ask your Blended Learning Specialist.) 3)  Create a bulletin board showing student success.  For example, place students names on a 

themed bulletin board weekly that are on pace or have completed their weekly assignments.  (For additional fun themes, ask your Blended Learning Specialist.)  

   Rewards  1)  Free Friday – This could be a reward for students on pace and/or have completed weekly work.  

“Free” Friday could be a time that students could work on other homework, browse acceptable internet sites, chat quietly, go to the library, or listen to music with their headset.   

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2)  Monthly or Quarterly Celebration for students on Pace – The Celebration could be free time to socialize or simply a treat of candy or doughnuts.  Students who were not on pace would have to keep working.  

3)  A piece of candy for every A assignment or a piece of candy for submitting weekly work by Friday.  

 Other Best Practices 1)  Send Weekly Progress Reports home to parents. You can even require a signature if they are 

behind.  You can also require students to do weekly homework if they did not complete the weekly work. (Ask your Blended Learning Specialist for possible examples.) 

2)  Set up a scheduled weekly check‐in time with FLVS instructors for DBA’s and other concerns. Keep regular contact with the FLVS instructors.  Building this relationship will benefit all stakeholders.  

3)  Implement Accelerated Pace plans for students who have fallen behind until they catch up. Accelerated pace plans can be found under course information in every course. This plan usually requires that the students complete an additional number of assignments each week on top of the required number of submissions. This will be a great strategy to catch up students who are not on track to complete by the end of the school year.  You can also request the FLVS instructor create a modified pace for a student that is behind.  

4)  Student Notebooks ‐ Have students take notes, complete guiding questions, or other review materials in each lesson. Their notes can be used on discussions with the teacher, quizzes, tests, and exams.   

 Always contact your Blended Learning Specialist and/or FLVS instructor if you have concerns or need new strategies.  Consider us your “solution specialist.”  We are committed to helping you create a Recipe of Success that blends all of the best ingredients for a healthy and satisfying Learning Lab experience. 

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Appendix G 

HOW TO RESEARCH STUDENT STATUS 

Go to www.flvs.net and click on LOGIN on the top left hand side. 

 

Once you have clicked on LOGIN, you will see the following screen: 

 

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Enter your username and password and click LOGIN 

You will land on the following page. Click on User Search on the right hand side.  

 

You will see the following drop down box. Enter student first and last name and click SEARCH. 

 

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If there are multiple matches, you will see them below. Click on the student name and it will take you to their personal and status information. You can also click on the tabs on the right hand side for contact, parent, and school information. 

 

Once you have clicked on a student, their personal information will populate and their status in the course they are registered in will be displayed (see below).  

Below their personal information you will see the course name, segments, and STATUS. Please see legend at the end of this document for explanation on what each acronym means in the STATUS column. 

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If you want to see detailed information and their username, please click on STUDENT RECORDS on the left hand side. 

 

You will be taken to the following screen where you can see their username and they can use this to call  1‐800 – 374 – 1430 and select #2 for technical support  to request their password if they cannot log into the course. 

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ENROLLMENT STATUS: 

 

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!!

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Appendix I 

Miami Dade Public Schools Student Login & Profile Completion 

Student goes to www.dadeschools.net and navigates to top left hand side and clicks on STUDENTS. 

 Click on LOGIN to STUDENT PORTAL  

Students will be directed to enter their Miami Dade County Public Schools Student portal USERNAME & PASSWORD 

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Students will be directed to enter their Miami Dade County Public Schools Student portal USERNAME & PASSWORD 

 

 

 

 

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Students will land of their HOME PORTAL PAGE. They need to click on APPS|SERVICES|SITES 

 

Click on Florida Virtual School to authenticate and complete profile. 

If student is a PREVIOUS FLVS student, he will be prompted to answer the following questions to authenticate their identity – this will only be DONE ONCE and the account will be linked to their portal. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sample 3 questions below: 

 

If a  student does NOT answer at  least 2 questions  correctly and additional data  is available, another question screen will be displayed with different questions.   This question screen may display up to three times until at least 2 questions are answered correctly. Once 2 questions are answered correctly the student will go directly into VSA.   

 

 

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Once the student answers at least 2 questions correctly, the following screen is displayed.  Once required data is entered, student would be taken into VSA Student Profile screen 

 

 

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If students answer questions incorrectly OR there is not enough data in VSA to ask the validation questions: students are prompted to enter VSA Username and password 

x These username and passwords will be provided to you by your FLVS Blended Learning Specialist. The credentials will be securely emailed to you. Please make sure you open the file promptly, as it expires. 

x Using the username and password provided to you, students will log in to the screen below. Again, this will only be necessary ONE TIME and will not be necessary in the future.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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IF students do not enter FLVS Username & Password correctly – they will have the option to re‐enter the username and password or use the links provided for those who do not know their username or password.  However, this should not be the case, as facilitators will be provided with all of these credentials to share with the students their username/password. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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**NEW STUDENTS** No previous account (i.e. incoming Freshmen) 

Students, who do not have previous accounts in VSA, will have a new FLVS student account created, and their FLVS username and password will be sent to you. These students will immediately go to screen below to enter/verify their contact information 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If a student has multiple matches in our system, such as multiple Maria Ortiz’s, the student will be prompted to enter their FLVS username and password. The FLVS username/passwords will be provided to you to assist students in login in for the first time. 

 

Upon successful inputting of FLVS username/password, students will be prompted to the following screen to update their contact information. 

 

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KEEP IN MIND:  Once students have completed initial sign on authentication, they will not have to enter their FLVS username/password again. They will only need to go through their student portal and click on the FLVS link as previously shown. 

Once the above authentication is complete, the student profile completion is the next, extremely important step.  This step is what will ensure smooth placement into their FLVS course within 24 hours of student profile completion. 

All students need to follow the instructions below for completing their student profiles. 

Students will land on the Student Profile Page.  Personal information should be populated; however, students should check this information for accuracy. 

 

Student demographic information and email address is imperative. Please make sure they enter this information completely and accurately. They will see a RED prompt reminding them to enter their correct date of birth. This is not an error and they should continue to move forward. 

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Student needs to click on “Add another Phone Number” in order for fields to populate to allow them to enter information. They will do the same for Address. They need to click on “Add Another Address” and complete. Once completed, click NEXT. Make sure they read any possible error messages that pop up as it pertains to information entered. 

 

 

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Student will be directed to Parent/Guardian Profile Page. They should scroll down to ensure that the information has not yet been entered prior to entering again on top. If Parent/Guardian is listed, they should edit and complete. If no Parent/Guardian is on bottom, have student complete and then click NEXT on the right hand side of screen. 

  

 

 

 

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The next page is the Academic Profile Page. Students should NOT touch the Physical School & Other section. They should only be completing Counselor section. They should select counselor name from the drop down list and then click NEXT.

  

 

 

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RACE & ETHNICITY DATA COLLECTION: Students should read the information carefully and select the information that pertains to them and select NEXT on the right hand side. 

  

 

 

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Final Page is the confirmation that they have completed their profile. It will take about 24 hours for the system to update.  They should be able to log in successfully to their online class the next time they are in the lab. 

 Important Reminders: 

x Students need to complete all info and make sure to save x Students should not backspace out from a page as this may cause the student to lose 

their information  x Once the profile is complete, students will be class assigned within 24 hours. Failure to 

complete all sections will cause students to not be class assigned. 

 

SMILE** THIS ONLY NEEDS TO BE DONE ONCE**