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WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT E-LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO ME?
North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS)
NCVPS offers high school course credit to middle and high school students who want to complete core courses, Advanced Placement (AP) courses, Honors courses, and/or credit recovery courses to complete the requirements of a high school diploma and to enhance their transcripts for college applications.
Learn and Earn Online (LEO)
LEO is a dual credit program that awards high school and college credit to students attending public schools in North Carolina. Students may take courses from any of the 45 participating NC Community Colleges or UNC Greensboro’s iSchool Program.
UNCG iSchool
For high school students starting to think about getting ahead of the game by taking college classes while still in high school the iSchool is an option. There is no cost to students for courses or textbooks. The state funds the enrollments through DPI and the LEO Program which at the K-12 level is managed under NCVPS.
NC Community College System Online (NCCCS)
To enroll in NCCCS Learn and Earn Online courses, students will need to complete a few simple steps. Once the steps are completed, students will have a better understanding of online learning environments, how to select courses, how to enroll in courses provided by NCCCS institutions, and how to register for courses. It is important that students talk with their school counselors during this process. NCCCS Courses (xls, 134kb)
HOW DO I REGISTER FOR E-LEARNING COURSES?
Students wishing to take NCVPS courses must contact their Distance Learning Advisor (DLA) at the local public school in order to register. If you do not know who your distance learning advisor is, go to the guidance office to see if they are serving in this role. If you need further info, you may contact your Virtual Learning Consultant (VLC) by email. Please make sure to include your high school name and county.
Registration and course descriptions for Learn and Earn Online (LEO) summer courses offered through North Carolina Community Colleges can be accessed at this site: http://vlc.nccommunitycolleges.edu/LaE/LAEform.asp. For general information about the LEO program visit www.ncpublicschools.org/learnandearnonline/. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s iSchool program is currently enrolling students in their LEO courses. For information on courses and how to register, visit the iSchool web site at http://ischool.uncg.edu/dcl/web/ischool/.
WHO IS MY DISTANCE LEARNING ADVISOR AND HOW CAN HE OR SHE HELP ME?
Each school has a Distance Learning Advisor (DLA). This individual helps students at their school register to take an online NCVPS course(s). Your DLA could be an assistant principal, a guidance counselor, or even a media center specialist. You will need to ask. The DLA is important in the registration process; s/he will help you make the right decisions in selecting an online course(s).
Also, your grades will be sent to the DLA at your school. Your DLA will also assist in the administering of any state mandated End-of-Course tests (EOCs).
Your Distance Learning Advisor is the only person who can drop you from a course or add you to a course. Make sure you are aware of the dates in which you can add or drop a course from NCVPS. There are no drops after the 10th day of class.
WHAT DOES AN E-LEARNING COURSE LOOK LIKE?
Both NCVPS and Learn and Earn Online employ graphical user interface (GUI) techniques to engage the 21st Century Learners. UNCG I-school course examples are a few fantastic examples from Learn and Earn Online.
HOW DOES AN NCVPS ONLINE COURSE WORK?
Upon completing the registration process with your Distance Learning Advisor (DLA) at your school, you will be given a username/id and password. This username/id and password gets you into your course.
NCVPS uses a platform called “Blackboard” (“Bb”). When the semester begins, you will go to the homepage of NCVPS (http://www.ncvps.org). Look at the bottom of the page….you will see the link “Users Login.” Click on this link. You are now at the “Blackboard Academic Suite.” Here is where you put in the username/id and password given to you by your Distance Learning Advisor (DLA).
WHAT IS REQUIRED FOR E-LEARNING COURSES?
Depending on the students schedule or schools expectations, this is what a typical day could look like for you.
- Log in to your online course everyday at a time during the day that is convenient for you or your school scheduled time for you to work.
- View the assignments and participate in an on-going online discussion.
- Complete daily assignments which could include research, project work, readings, and/or collaboration activities and then submit your work to your teacher.
- Check the course outline or schedule to find out what other course-related activities are coming up or may be due to the teacher.
- Possible scheduled chat sessions or phone conferences.
- Viewing a video or listen to an audio recording for assignments.
- Take a test or a quiz for submission.
Just as every classroom differs slightly, so does the virtual classroom experience. Different courses will use different types of course materials and internet technologies.
WHAT IS EXPECTED OF ME AS A STUDENT ENROLLED IN A NCVPS COURSE(S)?
To be successful taking an online course, one needs to have good reading and comprehension skills, solid communication skills and excellent time management skills. Although we do not expect you to be computer experts, we do expect that you have basic computer skills: sending emails and attaching files to emails. And yes, we do expect you to have a computer with Internet access.
Whether you take an online course through NCVPS from home or from a computer lab at your school, you will need to know the requirements of the course(s) you are taking. You will find a syllabus in each course; print out this syllabus. Keep a calendar of the due dates. Use your weekends to get ahead. Stay current in submitting your assignments. Communicate with your teacher.
Teachers realize emergencies happen: computers crash; you are hospitalized; a death in your family occurs. We all have or will experience these situations in life; just let your teacher know. Your teacher will work with you. Make sure you have your teacher’s phone number and email address copied down on paper, posted near your computer….just in case you should need it. If you can’t call, have your parents/guardians call your teacher. Please do not remain silent.
Your teacher will have office hours. If you are struggling with an assignment, contact your teacher during these office hours. Some of you may have to get a tutor (or a friend) to help you. But we do expect you to do your own work.
You will need to keep in touch with your Distance Learning Advisor (DLA) at your school. Let your DLA know how things are going for you. Your DLA will also assist you in getting textbooks and materials (if needed) and will be responsible for scheduling you to take state mandated EOC tests for courses that require them. So drop in on your DLA occasionally to make sure you stay informed.
We do expect you to have read and to adhere to the NCVPS policies and procedures.
WHEN DO NCVPS COURSES BEGIN?
Follow this link to our calendars: Click here.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO COMPLETE A COURSE?
Courses offered by NCVPS are either eighteen weeks or year-long in duration. That seems like a lot of time; however, it will fly by fast! So don’t procrastinate!
DO I HAVE TO HAVE A COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT HOME?
Absolutely yes if you are taking the class outside of school. You must have regular, daily access to a computer and the Internet.
Some of you will be working in your school computer lab; in this setting your time to complete assignments will be limited unless you can have access to the computer lab before and after school.
Some of you will try to access your NCVPS online course from a public library. You may find that the public library limits the amount of time you can use a computer. Public libraries limit the time one can use a computer in order to make the library’s computers available to all.
You will be more successful if you have a computer with Internet access at home in addition to using a computer in your school lab or at the public library.
Labs at schools may be closed for various reasons, so it is important to have a backup plan for those days.
Visit our the NCVPS for more technical requirements.
WHAT TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS WILL I NEED TO TAKE MY COURSE AND WHERE DO I GET THEM?
Ask your Distance Learning Advisor (DLA) what textbooks and materials are required for your course.
WHERE DO I RETURN MY TEXTBOOK(S) AND MATERIALS AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER?
At the end of the semester, return the textbook, materials and/or software to the individual at your school who issued them to you.
WILL NCVPS ISSUE ME AN EMAIL ACCOUNT?
NVCPS will not provide you with an email account. Most of the time you will use the messaging system in Blackboard to communicate with your instructor. Initial contact may be done with your personal email account, though. You can get free email accounts from Gaggle, Google, Yahoo, and Hotmail.
HOW WILL I COMMUNICATE WITH MY INSTRUCTOR(S)?
Communication with your instructor(s) will be through email, telephone, the messaging system within Blackboard, the Wimba classroom in Blackboard, and the Pronto instant messaging program.
Instructors will have scheduled office hours. This is a set time where your instructor(s) will be available to help you. You will find the days and hours in which your instructor is available for office hours posted in your course.
HOW DO I CHECK MY PROGRESS IN THE COURSE?
Your instructor will maintain an online grade book in the Blackboard Platform. To see your grades and only your grades, click on the tab entitled “Tools” – then click on “My Grades.”
HOW DO I DROP OR ADD A COURSE?
Only your Distance Learning Advisor can drop you from a course or add you to a course. If you do not log in during the first ten days, NCVPS will administratively drop you from your course.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I WANT TO DROP AFTER THE OFFICIAL DROP DATE?
NCVPS will only drop for medical emergencies after the 10th day of class. All students enrolled after the 10th day will receive a grade.
HOW WILL I GET MY FINAL GRADE?
Your final grade will be sent to your DLA. It will also be posted in your gradebook in Blackboard.
WHAT DO I DO IF I CAN'T GET AN ANSWER TO MY QUESTION?
Make sure you understand who is responsible for answering which questions
Your Distance Learning Advisor can . . .
>Register you to take a NCVPS online course(s)
>Drop you from a course(s)
>Inform you of dates for EOCs and VOCATS testing
>Help you contact your instructor
Your instructor can . . .
>Answers course content questions
>Resets tests and quizzes
>Fixes dead links
Presidium, the Blackboard help desk, can . . .
>Fixes glitches in Bb
>Resets usernames and passwords
->Assists in how to perform a task in Blackboard, for example, post to a discussion forum.
HOW DO I TEACH FOR NCVPS?
http://www.ncvps.org/teaching/requirements/
HOW DO I FIND A COURSE?
Click courses on the main menu bar. This will take you to a sub-menu. Click on Course Catalogue. All catalogues are available for the current registration period. Each course has a link to its description and textbook/materials list.
At this time, all NCVPS courses are for high school credit. Middle school students are eligible to take some classes for high school credit. Please review this list before talking to the Distance Learning Advisor (DLA) at the local public school for registration. If the middle school does not have a Distance Learning Advisor (DLA) established, the school can choose a representative and have them contact the Virtual Learning Consultant (VLC) for your county to begin the set-up and training process.
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