Granville Online Student & Parent/Guardian Handbook

Transcription

1 !! Granville Online Student & Parent/Guardian Handbook Granville County Schools 101 Delacroix Street Oxford, North Carolina (919) !

2 Welcome to Granville Online Granville Online (GO) is Granville County's personalized online learning program. Started in 2009 as a flexible program to assist students, administrators, and parents, it has grown to serve students in grades The main goal of Granville Online is to meet students where they are ready to learn. The flexible program allows options for students who may otherwise not be able to fit into the traditional school model. In addition to serving these students, GO is able to increase access to electives and alternative areas of study for all students. A typical week for a Granville Online student will most likely include: Thoughtfully reading the current week's assignments and lecture materials to identify main points and supporting details Interacting with fellow classmates to discuss a focus topic provided by the teacher Completing and sending assignments to be graded by the instructor Logging on to a live webinar to discuss interesting or difficult topics with the instructor and fellow classmates Traits of Successful Online Learners To be successful, an online student must want to succeed! Online learning requires independence, self-motivation, responsibility, and a certain level of maturity. Online classes are also reading intensive; students are expected to comprehend information from their online materials to apply to work assigned to them. Two key advantages of online learning are flexibility and convenience, but online learning is more challenging than it may seem. Online courses require just as much, if not more, time and energy as traditional classroom courses. They also require specific computer skills and learning strategies in order to succeed. The skills and characteristics below are those that every Granville Online students should possess prior to enrollment in an online course: Goal Oriented: Successful online students must be self-disciplined and goal-oriented as they work to complete their weekly assignments, post messages, and work with their classmates in their online class. Proficient Readers & Communicators: Reading and writing are the primary methods of communicating in an online class. Students should be comfortable reading documents on a computer screen and also be able to type. Some tests and quizzes have multiple-choice questions, but many assignments will involve writing short or long answers. Ability to Set a Schedule & Keep It: Online instructors expect students to be organized in setting a schedule that allows them to meet course deadlines. Students should access their courses daily in order to be successful. Ability to Maintain a Good Study Environment: Students should complete their assignments in a quiet location, away from distractions (i.e. television, loud music, cell phones, other people). Students are also encouraged to adjust the height of their chair, keyboard, and screen so that they are comfortable. Forearms and thighs should be level and parallel to the floor, while wrists should not be bent while typing. Lighting in the room should also be at least as bright as the computer screen to avoid eyestrain.! 2!

3 Possession of Basic Technical Skills: Online learners need basic technical skills to succeed. These basic skills include the ability to create new documents, send and receive s with attachments, use a word processing program, and navigate the Internet. Granville Online suggests that students use either Google Chrome or Firefox when accessing their courses. Online Learning Lingo GO: Abbreviation for Granville Online Online Learning Program: An organized offering of courses delivered primarily over the Internet Learning Management System (LMS): The platform through which students will access their online courses. Granville Online provides all of their courses through either Haiku or iqity. Brick & Mortar Schools: The traditional or home school building in which each student is enrolled Screenshot: If students find they are having technical difficulties with their computer or submitting work, the best thing to do is take a screenshot (an image of your current screen) and send it to the teacher. To take a screenshot on a Mac, press command+shift+3. Asynchronous Learning: Learning that is not occurring in a group session at the same time ( , reading documents, viewing presentations ) Synchronous Learning: Learning that occurs in a group meeting at the same time (webinars) Registration Granville Online currently has three enrollment periods: Fall, Spring, and Summer. All courses are free for Granville County students. Those students interested in enrolling in a course should follow the procedures outlined below. For a list of course offerings, please refer to the Granville Online course catalog at Steps for Course Enrollment 1. After reviewing the course catalog, students should discuss their academic interests with their parent/guardian and school counselor. 2. Students should visit Granville Online s web page and select Register for a Class from the registration drop down menu. Students are to then select either the Middle School Registration or High School Registration link. 3. Each of the required fields on the registration form should be completed with as much information as position. If we do not have adequate contact information, we will not be able to complete course registration. 4. After submitting the registration form, a box will appear with the message, Thank you for registering with Granville Online. When this message appears, the first part of the registration process has been completed. 5. School counselors will then review all GO registration. If the selected course(s) align with the student s academic plan of study, counselors will approve the registration. 6. Upon counselor approval, GO Staff will complete student enrollment in the Haiku GO Portal for the requested course(s).! 3!

4 7. Students will need to log in to Haiku frequently to see if their course(s) has been added. Once the course(s) is added, the student will be able to view notifications, resources and directions regarding their online class(es). Policy & Procedures Attendance: Students should work on their online class(es) just as they would in the traditional classroom. Middle school students are expected to dedicate minutes per course, per school day. High school students should commit to working in their course for 90 minutes, per course, per school day. If a student is taking their course(s) from home, then one of these work days may be included in the weekend. Inactivity in Course: Inactivity in a course includes not logging into a course for 15 or more school days and/or not demonstrating adequate progress in the course. To be specific, adequate progress means: Following the pacing guide in the course (turning in genuine attempts at assignments by the deadline) Active participation in the course (following suggested attendance policy above; posting and responding on discussion boards; completing individual and group assignments in a timely fashion) Regular communication with the instructor (Responding to instructor questions; reading the weekly announcements; informing the instructor immediately of any events that may affect your participation in the course) If a student is inactive in a course after 15 consecutive school days, he or she will be required to meet with the academic advisor, teacher, parent, school counselor, school administrator, and/or Granville Online program coordinator. During this meeting, the student will be provided a student success plan to assist them in getting back on pace in their course. Students will be required to meet all expectations documented in this plan over a day period. Students on a success plan will be required to check-in with GO s academic advisor weekly. Failure to comply with the terms of the Student Success Plan will result in removal from GO with a W/F (withdrawn with failure). Access to a student s online course will be denied should students refuse to report to the student success team meeting. This could result in the student earning a failing grade in the course and being prohibited from taking a course with Granville Online in the future. Class Withdrawal: During the fall and spring semesters, students should contact their school counselor if they wish to withdraw from a course. Students are able to drop a course within the first 10 school days without penalty. Students who wish to drop a course during the summer session may follow the specific summer school instructions for doing so within the first 5 days without penalty. Withdraws that take place after these timeframes will result in the student earning a grade of Withdraw with Failure (WF) on their transcript.! 4!

5 Grading: Granville Online follows Granville County School s grading scale and reporting periods. Teachers provide specific class requirements to their students in the course syllabus. Because online classes are mastery-based, 75% of the student s final grade is based on the total coursework for the class and 25% of the grade is determined by their final exam grade. A Word on Mastery-Based Learning: Often mastery-based learning is mistaken for the lack of deadlines; however, this is a fallacy. Mastery-based learning DOES NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES mean that a student can complete assignments whenever they want. All teachers should have deadlines in place within their courses and students are expected to turn work in by those deadlines. Students who submit no work by a posted deadline will either receive no credit for the assignment or suffer the late penalties listed by the teacher of the course. What mastery-based learning does mean for students is that they are not penalized for not understanding a concept the first (or sometimes even the second and third times). Students who complete subpar work are coached by the teacher and then allowed to resubmit the assignment (if it is a project that can be revised) or take a NEW test if they originally performed poorly on a test or quiz. Please pay close attention to your teacher s guidelines for taking advantage of mastery-based learning within each course. If a student feels he/she can complete their assignments very quickly, they are encouraged to speak to their teacher as soon as possible to set up an accelerated pacing guide. Students who procrastinate until the end of a course because they are fast learners will most likely fail the course due to missed deadlines. Academic Integrity Cheating involves a student providing questions, answers, and/or work to another student. Cheating also includes receiving questions, answers, and/or work from another student. Plagiarism includes copying and pasting items from the Internet and presenting it as one s own work. Copying any other work and not properly citing its author/source is also a form of plagiarism. Logging in to another student s account is absolutely unacceptable under any circumstances; therefore, students should be certain to keep their username and password private. If a student logs into another s account, it can be considered identity theft. Identify theft is illegal, and the consequences for this infraction may involve law enforcement. Honor Code: All students are expected to abide by the Granville Online honor code, which states: I will not give nor receive help that was not pre-approved by my online instructor on any assignment. I pledge to only submit work that is completely my own. I also pledge not to: 1. copy another student s work 2. allow another student to copy my work 3. use another student s account! 5!

6 4. allow another student to use any of my accounts 5. misuse any content from the Internet 6. involve myself in any form of cheating and/or plagiarism Violation of Honor Code: If the honor code is violated, students may receive one or more of the following consequences: 1 st Offense: Learning intervention, parent contact by teacher, school contact by teacher and/or academic advisor, permission to redo the assignment for 50%-80% credit, other as designated by program coordinator 2 nd Offense: Learning intervention, parent contact by teacher, school contact by teacher and/or academic advisor, automatic zero, referral to school administration, other as designated by program coordinator 3 rd Offense: Parent contact by teacher, school contact by teacher and/or academic advisor, automatic zero, referral to school administration, proctored examinations, other as designated by program coordinator 4 th Offense: Parent contact by teacher, school contact by teacher and/or academic advisor, automatic zero, referral to school administration, removal from the course with a grade of WF, suspension from Granville Online, other as designated by program coordinator Communication GO Policy: Any communication sent to GO personnel Monday-Thursday, will be responded to within 24 hours. Communication sent Friday-Sunday and holidays will be responded to within 48 hours. LMS Accounts: For all course-related communication with teachers and classmates, students should use the system of their LMS. Accounts: All students and parents must have a valid address and check it regularly for communication from Granville Online. Students should have their own address separate from their parents. Every student in Granville County is provided an address upon enrollment in the county. If a student does not know how to access that address, they should talk to their school counselor. Webinars: Most of Granville Online instruction is asynchronous, meaning learning is not occurring in a group session at the same time. Rather, instruction takes place via repositories of documents, presentations, graphics, audio and video files. , discussion boards, wikis and collaborative documents allow students to interact but not be logged in at the same time. Research shows that online students who participate in synchronous instruction (learning that occurs in groups at the same time) are more successful than those who do not. Granville Online! 6!

7 students are asked to participate in one hour of synchronous instruction per week. We refer to this time as class webinars. This time is an opportunity for the teacher to teach difficult concepts or for the students to ask questions. Teachers will poll their students to find a time that best suits most students. Communication Tips: There are various communication tools that Granville Online utilizes which include , webinars, office hours, cell phones, and text messaging. Students may feel awkward when initiating a conversation with their teacher but are encouraged not to be shy and to take ownership of their online learning experience. Appropriate style and language for school should be used when communicating with teachers and other GO staff. Students should write in full, grammatically correct sentences and with a respectful tone. The Rules of Netiquette Netiquette is a fairly new term that is used to describe the proper way in which one should act in an online environment. This includes an elearning environment; social media site; and while utilizing communication tools (i.e. /text). Below are netiquette guidelines that all Granville Online students are expected to follow. Act Appropriately: Be polite and courteous to others and avoid making any derogatory remarks to another person. Students are expected to adhere to the same code of conduct and acceptable behavior policy that has been established by their home school. Follow Best Practices: communications require a specific set of rules and understanding. For example, all capital letters means you are yelling. Additionally, the tone and voice of messages can be easily misunderstood, so it is always better to be clear and concise. Remember to anticipate what the person on the receiving end will think when they read your correspondence. When in doubt, students should have a parent, guardian, school counselor, or another teacher proofread the prior to sending it. Be Proactive: If a student has a question about anything specific to their online course, they are strongly encouraged to ask their teacher directly. Teachers cannot offer assistance if they are unaware of the concern. Contact Information For assistance with your online class, please contact your teacher first. You may also contact the Granville Online office at For assistance with your school-issued MacBook, please see your school level technician.! 7!