Virtual School News » iNACOL

Elluminate’s Fire and Ice Project Recognized as First-Ever iNACOL Award Winner for Best and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice

tcnixon — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:32:14 +0000

Elluminate, Inc., the leader in web, audio, video and social networking solutions that support 21^st century teaching, learning, and collaboration, announced today that its Fire and Ice initiative was awarded iNACOL’s Best and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice award, which was announced at the organization’s annual Virtual School Symposium held November 15-17 in Austin, Texas. The award recognizes an individual, team, or program whose innovative practices or policies have ultimately led to student achievement and serve as a model for other K-12 online learning institutions.

“It’s an incredible honor to be selected for the iNACOL Best and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice award,” said Stace Wills, Elluminate’s Fire and Ice Global Coordinator. “It validates the tremendous impact that collaboration technologies (such as Elluminate Live!) and school-to-school collaboration projects (like Fire and Ice) can have on development, particularly in rural and remote areas restricted by bandwidth limitations and unstable internet connections.”

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Elluminate’s Fire and Ice Project Recognized as First-Ever iNACOL Award Winner for Best and Most Innovative Online Learning Practice

From Businesswire.com

States boost access to online education

tcnixon — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:00:22 +0000

A new survey intended to evaluate online-learning policies and practices from coast to coast reveals significant growth in state and district support for this instructional model at the K-12 level. At least 25 states now lead statewide online-learning initiatives, according to the survey, which is a dramatic increase from the 15 states driving programs only a year ago.For the annual survey, conducted by e.Republic’s Center for Digital Education (CDE) and titled “Online Learning Policy and Practice Survey: A Survey of the States,” education officials from 44 states provided insight into the status of online learning in their states.

The results were released Nov. 16 in conjunction with the International Association for K-12 Online Learning’s (iNACOL’s) annual Virtual School Symposium, taking place in Austin, Texas, this year.

“Online learning remains one of the most powerful and transformative mediums for U.S. education,” said Marina Leight, CDE’s vice president of education. “This year’s review of policy revealed some exciting changes among the states. We applaud the policy makers across the nation who are driving the creation of new programs, and commend the leaders with already-existing programs who continue to ensure online learning is a top priority.”

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States boost access to online education: Policy makers see online education as path to reform, 21st-century learning

From eSchoolNews.com

Online High School CEO Wins Prestigious Award at National K-12 Virtual School Symposium

tcnixon — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:33:38 +0000

Insight Schools CEO and Founder Keith Oelrich was honored for “Outstanding Individual Contribution to K-12 Online Learning” yesterday at the Annual International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) Membership Meeting in Austin, Texas during the Virtual School Symposium.

Oelrich was recognized based on his years of insight and innovation, which have significantly increased the development and credibility of the K-12 online learning industry.

Over the past decade, Oelrich has established himself as one of the foremost leaders in the online education field. His passion to develop a student-centered high school alternative has most recently inspired him to found Insight Schools – a national network of online, accredited, public high schools – in 2005 that has emerged in only a few short years as one of the leading operators of online high schools.

Before Oelrich founded Insight Schools, he served as President and CEO of Apex Learning, from 2000-2002, where he greatly contributed to the company becoming a recognized leader in the virtual high school industry. He then served as CEO of KC Distance Learning, from 2002-2005, where he led the company through a period of tremendous growth and transformation.

The educational organizations Oelrich has led – Apex Learning, KC Distance Learning and Insight Schools – have collectively served nearly 1 million students.

“I’m honored to receive this award and continue to be very excited about the future of K-12 online learning,” said Oelrich. “Many students today are looking for an educational environment that fits their interests, their lifestyle, and their goals. If you approach the solution with the student’s needs first, the rest is easy.”

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Online High School CEO Wins Prestigious Award at National K-12 Virtual School Symposium

From Chron.com

iNACOL Special Edition Webinar Series

tcnixon — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:56:26 +0000

Special Edition Webinar Series:
“Starting an Online School or Online Program”

Starting an online school or online program is a many-faceted challenge, even for seasoned educators. This four-part webinar series will present a framework for starting an online program by identifying the key issues that must be addressed and which types of issues need to be addressed first. Topics such as selection of a Learning Management System (LMS) and other administrative systems; selecting content and developing courses; teacher recruitment, preparation, and support; student support; and access issues will be discussed during this series. Attend the entire series, or just a specific session or sessions that meets your needs!

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