Weekly Email
Summer Smore ~ June 5th, 2013
Greetings Teachers,
We have lots of information for you this week! Please review and as always, let your DC know if you have questions. Have a great week!
Important Summer Dates
June 4/6 –D2L Help Sessions
June 10 – Summer 5 week start date
June 11/13-D2L Help Sessions
June 20/21 – Summer PLS
Summer PLS
Thursday, Jun 20, 2013, 08:00 AM
Classic Center Theatre, North Thomas Street, Athens, GA
More PLS Information
The 2013 Summer Professional Learning Symposium is three short weeks away, and Teacher Quality is working diligently to create a dynamic, engaging, and generally fun experience for all.
A couple of reminders:
- Please ensure that all have downloaded the Wham City Lights App for your mobile device. It is free, and it will be cool.
- Dress for the PLS is business casual for Thursday, June 20th. Please note, we are having outside visitors as well on Thursday, and we will take team and department photos as well.
- Dress for Friday is business casual, and KSU Human Resources and Shmoop will be in attendance.
- We encourage all to use the sched.org to select the sessions. Just download via your mobile device using the following: georgiavirtuallearningsummer2013.sched.org/mobile.
- Questions regarding the PLS should be directed to Jane O'Brien, at jobrien@doe.k12.ga.us
Salaried Positions Update
In the near future, KSU will be emailing teachers regarding employment paperwork. We will update as soon as we know when you should expect the email.
D2L Navigation Help Sessions
Join us on Adobe Connect to learn how to navigate your summer course. We will be discussing everything you need to know about your course. This will be your chance to ask questions. We have some new and exciting things to share. The dates/times for summer D2L Help sessions are listed below. All sessions will be recorded for students who are unable to attend a live session. The links to the recordings will be posted in this announcement after each live session.
Dates/Times/Recordings
June 6 - 7PM
June 11 - 11AM
June 13 - 7PM
Enter the meeting as a Guest.
Type your first and last name.
Session Link: Navigate Your GaVS Course
Teacher Reminders
Check registration & rolls daily.
•Document Welcome Calls in communication log
•Update parent information in registration – See videos at My Home
•Hold Welcome Chat/post Welcome Chat link under User Links
•Teachers must hold TWO synchronous sessions per week - post recording links
•Update News announcements daily
· Remember to update grade book after grading drop box assignments, discussions, quizzes, etc., which means opening the gradebook and letting it fully load.
· Enter zeros daily.
· Be sure grades are released, “eyeballs” are showing in grade book.
· Do not recalculate grades in grade book until end of summer semester. Pre-Final Average should be blank. The final calculated grade is correct as long as gradebook is updated.
· Be sure to apply summer late work policy and enter zeros. Grades need to be accurate.
–1 day late = 25% off
–2 days late = 50% off
–3rd day zero credit
· Contact parent the day student is failing.
· Be sure IEP and 504 accommodations are being met.
Send course updates weekly and bcc: courseupdates@gavirtualschool.org.
Group Enrollments
· If students have not entered class by Wednesday, encourage them to select the 5 wk schedule. Contact students to work with a plan for what is best for the student.
· Students who have not completed the SOC by the end of the week will be pushed into courses on Sunday. They will be visible in class Monday morning.
Special Needs Accommodations
SpEd students have a standing 2 day extension. Work is due by midnight of 2nd day.
i.e. Work done on Tuesday due no later than Thursday midnight.
Advising Course Changes ~ Policy Note
Advising Course Changes
Teachers should not advise parents, students, or facilitators about which courses to take or not take. Our program does not have all of the necessary information to make these determinations. It is ultimately a local decision in many cases. If a teacher is asked to give advice in this area, the teacher should refer that person to the Department Chair.
There are some times when students will need a course enrollment change. Once the semester has started, if you become concerned about the placement of a student, contact your Department Chair. Teachers should not suggest that a student change courses or semesters. If a student, parent, or facilitator requests this sort of move from an instructor, the instructor should direct the person to the Department Chair.
Gmail Update
IMPORTANT: You need to switch and use Google Mail for all communication, both incoming and outgoing. IT has created a site to help teachers and students with the switch and integration with d2l. The site is GaVL Google Apps.
Be sure to reference the section called "Google - Getting Started" to learn how to link your Google account with your D2l account. This will help you receive email notification within D2l.
https://sites.google.com/a/gavirtualschool.org/gavs-google-tools/home
To learn more about how to use Google tools, reference the "Google Tools" section of the site.
Bounced Email Update
•Beginning summer semester, when a student becomes enrollment complete, there is a window of time when their Google account is created. It is not created automatically.
•The accounts are being created every hour. Therefore, there will be a period of time when students cannot receive email.
•Enrollment complete triggers the new Google account.
•Suggestion – Wait one day to email new students in your registration list.
•Students who took courses during previous semesters will not have a Google account until they are enrollment complete for the new semester.
Google Mail and Passwords
Teacher Passwords ~ Please Note:
•Teacher passwords must be 8 characters long.
•If a teacher’s SIS password is not 8 characters long, teachers can change SIS password by going into the old SIS and edit profile.
•Teacher will need to use the link located on Teacher Bulletin Board to change their Google password.
•New SIS and Old SIS will not sync passwords. If password is changed in the old SIS, it will not update the new SIS password.
•Teachers have no functionality in New SIS.
Student Passwords ~ Please Note:
•Student passwords must be 8 characters long.
•If a student has to change their password, wait 30 minutes before attempting to link Google account.
•If there are student issues, teachers should remind students to log out of any Google account. Remember that parents might be logged into their account so it could be interfering.
Google Edmodo Group
•Please ensure that teachers follow the Google Edmodo group. Post all questions concerning Google in Edmodo.
•Group code: s15qwa
Just Say "No" to Early Finals
· Teachers should never offer an early exam without permission from your Department Chair. If a student has demonstrated that he/she has mastered the material or the teacher feels the student is ready for the exam earlier than the scheduled exam days, the teacher may allow him/her to take the final exam. In these cases, the student will have only one attempt at the final exam and will not be allowed to “retake” it at the scheduled date, the teacher should provide clear guidance in writing to the student, parent, and facilitator regarding availability of the exam and also enter this information in the communication log for this student. Let the department chair know of the plan for early exam release.
Student Handbook ~ Finals
· Summer semester students may not take final exams early. Students can select either the 5 or 6 week schedule to accommodate for camps and vacations, but exams must be taken on the scheduled date.
· Each course will either have a final exam or a state required End of Course Test worth 15% or 20% of your final course grade. The weight of the final is selected by the facilitator based on local district policies. Final exams will be taken online. Your school or GA Virtual instructor will notify you of proctoring requirements, if any.
· Students enrolled in a Georgia Virtual School course are responsible for taking any standardized tests associated with their online courses. These tests may include Advanced Placement exams or End of Course Tests (EOCT).
Understanding Parent Contact Information
We want to ensure our teachers understand the parent information found in the Instructor Portal. Please watch the Jings on the homepage explaining:
1. what information is collected during the student account creation process;
2. whether a student has a parent account associated with the student account;
3. how to update parent information provided by the student;
4. how a parent is to correct parent account information or create a parent account.
Video Issues in Courses
Our Development Team has worked to correct the video issue within all of our Summer courses.
If you are experiencing future issues in your course(s), please report these using the Course/Quiz Corrections form. It is not located in the Toolbox for Teachers widget.