http://www.firstcollege.co.uk
I was intrigued with this example it caught my eye.
First College is an online school, the website is not too impressive but there is a certain feeling that leaps out at you as you explore.Why is it called "First College" when it's a high school or secondary school?
We train a strongly collegiate style of studying so that the student learns to take responsibility for their own work and deadlines. It means the transfer to later qualifications, University, or (self) employment is much easier as a result. (First College 2011)
If you look at the school how we teach page it is clear that group work is an essential part, well it would need to be teenagers growing up without interaction with fellow teenagers would raise a few eyebrows.
http://www.firstcollege.co.uk/online_teaching.html
To Quote
There is a strong emphasis on the school as a learning community, not just a bundle of tutored subjects.In order to study efficiently students need to learn
~ how to work in groups,
~ how to mix with others from different backgrounds,
~ how to get help from teachers, and
~ how to both get help from and give it to other students. (First College 2011)OK I get it further more the school goes on to emphasise the importance of group work and the way it deals with differentiation online.
An extremely important, vital part of online learning is the facility to carry on private conversations alongside a class. This means a teacher can without the rest of the class seeing it, give extra help to a struggling student, support or rebuke a misbehaving one, or give a high flyer some extra challenge. An online teacher must be able to handle up to six conversations at once!Practical experiments and real life projects, the use of games, quizzes, and recommended interactive software keeps things lively! There are also self-test quizzes and sometimes timed tests set by the teacher to check no one has got lost on the way!Students are encouraged to get to know each other and help each other learn, both in general, and by creating group projects (First College 2011).
I found this quite interesting there is certainly an emphasis on group work and clear acknowledgement that it is a necessity, but I would like to see it in action.
First College(2011) Online School for the 21st Century [Online] Available from : http://www.firstcollege.co.uk/index.html Accessed 15 February 2011
I was intrigued with this example it caught my eye.
First College is an online school, the website is not too impressive but there is a certain feeling that leaps out at you as you explore.
We train a strongly collegiate style of studying so that the student learns to take responsibility for their own work and deadlines. It means the transfer to later qualifications, University, or (self) employment is much easier as a result. (First College 2011)
If you look at the school how we teach page it is clear that group work is an essential part, well it would need to be teenagers growing up without interaction with fellow teenagers would raise a few eyebrows.
http://www.firstcollege.co.uk/online_teaching.html
To Quote
There is a strong emphasis on the school as a learning community, not just a bundle of tutored subjects.
~ how to work in groups,
~ how to mix with others from different backgrounds,
~ how to get help from teachers, and
~ how to both get help from and give it to other students. (First College 2011)
An extremely important, vital part of online learning is the facility to carry on private conversations alongside a class. This means a teacher can without the rest of the class seeing it, give extra help to a struggling student, support or rebuke a misbehaving one, or give a high flyer some extra challenge. An online teacher must be able to handle up to six conversations at once!
I found this quite interesting there is certainly an emphasis on group work and clear acknowledgement that it is a necessity, but I would like to see it in action.
