K12 Learn – Online Education Programs

This morning, my family had to get used to yet another new routine. My kids don’t start school for another 2 ½ weeks but it was the start of a new camp routine this week – so we had to do all these new things to get ready and out the door. We also have family visiting, so I had to incorporate that in my morning and to top it off; I had a small mishap with some kitchen shears last night that has me hobbling around my house. To say I was feeling stressed out was an understatement – I was running late and rushing around trying to get myself ready. As I walked out to my car, I saw the prettiest butterfly and it landed on my shoe in my garage.  It was hovering around me, not seemingly scared or motivated to move on. I spent some time looking at it and snapped this picture with my phone.  Driving off afterwards I realized– sometimes you need to stop, take a deep breath and appreciate the things around you.   READ MORE

Source: Stephanie Hoaglund

The stage is set, and the podium is aligned in the center for the Keynote Speaker to welcome and honor students. Lines of excited, yet anxious, students surround the lower corridors of the auditorium. Proud parents, family members, and friends sit in the audience sit with anticipation of the upcoming ceremony. You guessed it, it’s graduation day!

How does graduation work at a virtual school? How would we bring together groups of students, from across the globe, to provide them with an unparalleled graduation ceremony? That was the charge for the K¹² International Academy faculty and staff. To bring to life this monumental event for students in different countries, different time zones, and with different expectations and goals. READ MORE

Source: Amy Valentine

This week I received an email from a fellow Mom asking me for advice on the types of lunch boxes and backpacks they should consider for their soon-to-be first grader. Do the first graders use themed backpacks and lunch bags? Do the students buy or pack lunch regularly? Our sons attended kindergarten together at a private facility, so this is our boys’ first foray into public school. She asked me for advice because I have already ‘been there, done that’ with my daughter Hannah who is entering the third grade. READ MORE

Source: Stephanie Hoaglund

Virtual education is growing at an incredible rate of 30% annually in this country, and this Thursday from 9PM to 10PM (ET) K¹² will participate in a “Twitter Party” to discuss this rising trend. What’s a Twitter party? It’s a fast and fun virtual gathering of folks on the Twitter platform to talk about a particular subject with a panel of experts and a “host”. And we’ll be giving away iPhone 4’s to a couple of lucky participants who correctly answer questions asked during the party!

For Thursday’s Twitter party, our topic will be “The Rising Trend in Virtual Learning: Good or Bad?” and our host will be @ResourcefulMom, Amy Lupold Bair. Amy is the founder of Resourceful Mommy Media, a well-known mom blogger, successful media consultant and former English teacher who helps organize and host social media events to educate parents about various subjects. You can RSVP here to check out who else is joining on Thursday. READ MORE

Source: David George

I can’t believe it’s August. Here in Colorado, school starts in just a little over a week. We’ll do the traditional "school supply shuffle" where we review what supplies are still usable, and what we need to replenish. Where did summer go? Was your summer what you hoped it would be?

While I reflect on what a great summer this was, and what to look forward to in the coming school year, here are a few articles, posts, or just interesting links… READ MORE

Source: Ben Blair

What was the last movie you went to see? This year’s blockbusters are Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3, Shrek Forever After, Robin Hood, and others. Perhaps you made it to see one of those. Or, maybe you are one that likes the movies that aren’t necessarily blockbusters, but they are great movie nonetheless. The ones the crowds overlook but they still tell a great story.

In my opinion, great movies do tell great stories. I like movies that make you think, make you feel. They tell great stories. And, within those movies there are poignant moments that bring to life what the story is all about. There are lines within the script that stand out above all the rest.  Sometimes they are what the movie revolves around. Other times though, they are simply part of the movie yet they are memorable because I can relate to either the character or the lines being said. READ MORE

Source: Houston Tucker

We all know parents who continually share stories about their kids’ talents and how they have a prodigy in the making.  I am totally not one of those parents who goes on and on about their children’s talents – I swear — but my 8 year old daughter, Hannah, appears to have a talent for art– no really, she does, and I am NOT one of those parents…

I always look for ways to encourage my kids to explore different things that spark their interest.   Hannah has always been creative – since she was a toddler and even today, she always has a sketch pad in hand.  In the past, she has attended various types of art classes, but something about the structure of it turned her off.  Sometimes as a parent, you have to almost force your kids to keep at something but with this, I was worried that if I strongly encouraged her to keep going to the classes, it would turn something that she loves into something that felt like a chore, so she took a break from any sort of structured art class. I just began to look for ways to encourage her to just sketch, draw and create when the inspiration strikes so she doesn’t lose the inspiration. READ MORE

Source: Stephanie Hoaglund

There is no doubt that if you think of where the best place to learn English is, London tops the list as the most appropriate destinations. It is obvious why. The city is the capital of Great Britain, the birthplace of the English language and the country where people speak the purest English. London is [...]

Source: Online Education Blog

What a summer! Back in March, Dianne, Steph and I were tasked with a challenge to find a way to make it easier for K¹² parents to connect with each other. While we currently have the private online community called thebigthinK, because of the presence of students we are constrained by the communication features that "TBT" can provide. We thought of a bunch of ways around that and finally settled on something rather bold–creating an entirely new community built especially for parents.

We spent months planning, building and testing–and had the help of 75 fantastic K¹² parents who volunteered to be "Founding Members." The result is the new Parent's Lounge, which officially launched this week.
  READ MORE

Source: David George

I have not posted here for quite sometime and my regular readers would know the reason behind it. I’m on my final few weeks of finishing all my assignments and once all of us submit our assignments, I’ll start publishing them part by part.
Today, I am just getting little bit personal and would like to [...]

Source: Online Education Blog