shoaglund's blog

Our family support team has many years of experience helping families learn how to make the online education lifestyle work for their needs. One of the first things they advise new families to do is to reach out and connect with their school community. Based on experience, they know it's vital for success.  Lori B., the K¹² Online Community Development Specialist and a 14 year veteran homeschooling parent, recently wrote about the importance of reaching out in her post Online Connections: Oxygen, Water and one more thing…

"Trust me on this. Through 16 years of home education, connecting with others has been my saving grace. In those early days when I was melting into a sloppy, teary puddle, I had someone I would call. I’d decompress and she’d say, “Been there, done that…I survived…You can too! Try this."”

It's no wonder "where do I find, connect and meet other families?" is a commonly asked question from families who are new to K¹²  and/or online education. 

Now Available: K¹² Attendance App for the Android

K¹² application lets you enter your student’s attendance and check if your student has any missing attendance in the last ten daysIt’s great for entering attendance while you and your student are on the go.

Here is a recent article that offers some great advice to help Online High School students get the most out of their online experience, but I think many of these tips can be applied to the online experience of most students and families, regardless of grade. 

The High School Student and Online Learning: Be Prepared To Succeed

Eight Tips from Ashford University Provost Rebecca Wardlow, Ed.D.

There is much debate about how  the overall school community should implement social networking methods to enhance learning and make it more relevant and meaningful to students.  As social media use becomes more common,  schools are growing more aware of its benefits and are looking for ways to incorporate it into their current learning experience to engage and teach today's students. 

This year, the National Education Technology plan was released and one of its recommendations was to look for ways to use social networking platforms as a learning tool. The plan suggested using "the learning sciences and modern technology to create engaging, relevant, and personalized learning experiences for all learners that mirror students’ daily lives and the reality of their futures.”

Over the next few months, Students and Learning Coaches will be given information about the many programs we offer to support, enrich and enhance their online learning experience. 

Last year, we announced our online clubs program, to give students a way to connect with fellow classmates near and far, explore hobbies and have the opportunity to dive deeper into what interests them academically.  Because the response to the clubs was overwhelmingly positive, we continued into summer, and offered 42 free online summer camps. We were thrilled when more than 4000 K¹² students were able to take advantage of this program over the course of their summer.