The Virtual School Gate

[SuoceraBlues]

For those of us with kids at virtual schools.

In your immagination please see me as nicely dressed, ironed, absolutely no egg on my top, neat hair and well applied make up. I see this as an inate benefit of a virtual school

How many of us are back to school or starting school on Monday ?

Anybody else constantly checking the computer to make sure it isn't going to launch into a million windows dates five minutes before thefirst lesson ?

Its also perfect for my DS as he has complex physical and medical SNs but has no learning or communication problems and our local school is not a safe environment for him.
Interhigh allows him to study alongside other kids on a equal basis without being obviously different because he cant play football etc.

I enjoyed invigilating exams at the end of last year. Ds, not so much! . I sat in the corner with coffee and a very stern face. Great excuse to do very little for a week!

I sat in the corner with coffee and a very stern face

Ha! Kindred spirits!

I hadn't really thought about it, but I like the fact that the kids get to know each based on the "content" of the person rather than a snap judgement first impression.

DS has discovered this morning that he is not the only 50/50 kid in his class and has relaxed a little about his occasional mispronunciation or the odd "take English, take Italian, mix them together to create a word somewhere between the two" hiccups.

Oh and it was so sweet! One of the year nines wrote a welcome message off their own bat to the year 7s this morning on their forum. DS is all puffed up and proud to "know" one of the big kids (commence regulation hero worship).

We didn't have any serious pastoral issues with school, it was more a case of an issue with the education and the politics that colour anything Italian but I am really liking the atmosphere in the school. It's more "pulled together" than "divided up". If that makes any sense. Which it may not. MIL did wake me up before the sun rose. Am fuzzy.

I've connected the school email to my phone so i get copies of all his school emails too

Ohh ...how did you do that ? Do you just go to the page and keep it logged on ?

i'm not sure cos DH did it! But it was definately through my phone and not while logged into the school. I'm so crap with phones!
If you can normally get email on your phone i think you just set the school email account up in the same way so emails get forwarded to your phone as well as the kids account. Does that make any sense?

Ahh, I think I get it, I set a rule on his school email so all mail gets automatically forwarded to my account?

Does that sound right ?

oh noes!

I don't have a mobile device that the email likes.

But....

I have logged in to his account on the iPad and saved it as action so I can just xhexk in willy nilly.

An ipad will work just as well i think. Probably better with a nice big screen anyway.

I can add another 'dont miss'. Making packed lunches at the crack of dawn and then cleaning the disgusting lunch bag out after school every day. Yuck!

I wish my Yr 9 would do some welcoming too but he's having a shy start to this term and hasnt been on the forums yet. He says he will tomorrow.

Making packed lunches at the crack of dawn and then cleaning the disgusting lunch bag out after school every day. Yuck!

I still have that to look forward to during summer youth club "camp".

His last former lunch came home yesterday. A month after summer camp finsihed. He forgot lost his rucksack.

Ick!

There aren't allowed to take a packed lunch at our local schools. You either cough up 4 euros a day for the canteen, or pick them up at 12.30 and you are not allowed back in till 1.30 so the kids lose their one decent length playtime.

That's one way to keep up the monopoly canteen staff employed.

They overcharged me for a whole months lunches on the new swipe cards that they managed to make a real luddite palavar of. Was well pissed off too when we had the "seriously out of date tins and packet food" scandal.

We really got the short straw in our area. Some Italian kids get slamon and other yummies for lunch. Ours got aged pasta shapes in a bit of stock and a slightly stale roll.

Right now DS is dripping his lunch on the keyboard cos he wants to go and play with his mates asap, so he is having a "homeworking lunch".

Alright for some, I have to start teaching now. And all I want is a nice lie down After yet another pootle around the lesson
i rary.

I know what I wanted to ask you. When does Creative Writing and the Science Club start ? And what is the sci. club like?

He isn't going to be encouraged to blow up kitchen is he ?

I have yet to persuade my lazy DS to join a club so i cant tell you i'm afraid. The office will know or direct you to the teacher running it.

Science classes will provide plenty of kitchen explosion fun though They often get practical stuff set as homework.

I recently unearthed a forgotten science project from last year involving fossilised pieces of apple. Yuck. Not as bad as a month old lunch though!

What a brilliant idea! I've just read the prospectus and it sounds great. Do all the teachers work from home too? at going to school in your pants, I wonder if they use any video conferencing.

MrsBitchArseUsedToBeBran

What a brilliant idea!

My thoughts exactly when i first read the prospectus.

I think most teachers do work from home yes, in fact there was an interactive map on the website last year showing global locations of all the staff and students. I'll see if i can find it.

The head teacher and the office are based in Wales though and i believe the admin staff work from there.

Apparently the school developed the software platform themselves and will happily discuss it over the phone with anyone interested.

Do all the teachers work from home too? at going to school in your pants, I wonder if they use any video conferencing.

I wonder if you can teach in your pants too?

Sonebody should open something like this here in Italy. They would clean up.

Hmmm...now there's a thought.

I'm sitting here waiting for my next student. Twenty mins down the drain. If I taught online maybe I could save all the hours I lose to the logistics of getting through the traffic in town to my house.

SuoceraBlues you should ask Interhigh if they have any vacancies. Or any of the other online schools for that matter. Best not mention pants though maybe?

I think I'll lurk for a year first. See how they adapt classroom techniques for the virtual enviroment...and then go for it. Claiming to be fully dressed at all times

Thought I?d come and say hi.
Been IH (and other distance stuff) for 5 years ? Judes lovely and legend!

The office is in Wales - as are all the staff and they?re all lovely. Teachers live all over the place and so do students. Some - like us - move around all the time and do lessons on the road.

Dont know if theres still a spanish IH as were not still doing spanish - but there was.

You can hire the platform for your own stuff - speak to Jaqui ? and they do take on new teachers at times.

When you get to IGCSEs and A levels you?ll need an exam centre ? but in our time no ones not taken exams because they didn?t have a centre of some sort ? lots of ways to sort it out.

Back to now- The IH w-ends also in Wales. Get tickets now- they will go quick- this one is a bit smaller than normal because of building work in the place its held- but its catered 3 times a day ? brill chefs - veggy no problem- good selections- - you can bring non IH brothers and sisters- family rooms or children in with each other - and its really brilliant- and will make so much difference to your kids making real friends and it becoming their school. The best value holiday you ever had.
Check out how many ex-pupils come back for it - they are a family.

(Think the furthest anyones come for the weekend was from Texas- and if older can come alone- will be collected looked after - taken back to station.)

We are loyal to them - theyve been great with and for us - but were also realistic ? not everythings always perfect- not every teachers perfect ? some need a kick to put things in library- or file them so you can find it - sometimes a student isnt ok with one teacher - but you can change class if you cant sort it. Theres no such thing as a perfect school but IH comes closer than many - and though theyre getting quite big now - theyve always cared when theres been a problem.
Most problems can be sorted if parents want to sort things rather than just have a go. (cause you do get those parents too!)

Hope you all have a brill time and good internet signals always.

Dromratlee

Ohhh Wales!

I have memories of a wonderful holdiay in Wales as a kid. There were sheep in the garden! Not supposed to be there sheep, just wandering around and chose that bit of grass sheep.

DS has only seen the SE of England so far, so maybe I can find a way for us to go.

It's lovely to hear from somebody who has so much experience

There is Spanish, well it's on our timetable for after lunch. Wish there was German, ut I guess I can sort ut an alternative solution for that. I did try and
ersusde DS to take the Chinese option, but he was having none of it. Blimming Europhile that he is. I would have killed for the chance to do something exotic like Chinese at school when I was his age.

Did you find that the kids settle down and start being more forward about making firends quite quickly, or does the format slow down the "getting to know you" process a little bit ?

Suocera most do but it depends on the kids- some make friends very easily- some are very used to the internet- some aren?t ? some who wont talk in real life will chat away on pm ? some talk a lot and can end spending more time talking than learning, (watch out for going on facebooking in class) Some have had a hard time and wont speak easily . A lot depends on the class- if you have a whole group of quiet ones it can be hard- someone has to be brave.

(That?s why I say grab a place on the IH weekend. It changes even the very shy ones.)

Get them doing common room and extras - if theyre the kind who make friends easily in real life they soon get past it being on line. :)

Hi Dromratlee its really good to have an experienced interhigh parent join the thread.

I agree with watching for the facebooking during class. Also youtubing. Sometimes chatting with friends is alot more interesting than listening to the teacher. Hopefully i've nipped that one in the bud now but i'm still keeping an eye out.

facebooking? youtubing!

He can go on them on the iPad only then, which is mine (all mine) during classtime.

Thanks for the heads up, honestly that would never have occurred to me.

I've told him that if he wants to improve his effort score for each lesson then he needs to participate more, he is very keen to get high scores so that might be the carrot that coaxes him out of his shell in the immediate.

SuoceraBlues It never occurred to me either until one break time i went in bearing snacks and caught DS swiftly clicking back to his lesson screen from a youtube page!

Sometimes the teachers take them to look at other websites inc youtube, during lessons but i very much doubt Star Wars cartoons feature much in Interhighs curriculum!

I've no idea how to block other sites but i do keep an eye on him much more since then and now Interhigh teachers seem to have new mysterious methods of knowing if their students are 'inactive' for longer than a minute or two and can also kick them out of class if they choose.

Sorry, just to clarify, i was earlier than usual with his snack and break time hadnt yet started. Thats how i caught him out.

i very much doubt Star Wars cartoons feature much in Interhighs curriculum!

There goes my cunning plan to block sites, can't block them cos then they can't go there when the teacher wants them to.

But....not that I am suggesting we spy on them or anything

not sure i'd get away that!

Internet history files on the other hand....i'm fairly sure he hasnt yet realised that DH and i check them.

Oh internet history files! Good idea.

DS is all excited cos a classmate has swopped skype details with him and they are going to have a chat after the lesson.

Must tidy room before that happens.

I'm going to hear my child speak English to another kid!

Awww sweet! So pleased he's making friends already. Will you be allowed to listen in?

My DS doesnt skype much but he has a few classmates who play online games so they all 'meet' on them after school quite alot. Some of his old friends from primary school play too so its a nice way to combine socialising with both old local friends and newer virtual school friends.

I?d not block youtube - it gets used by teachers in lessons. We had a big problem at the beginning because we couldn?t get it ? though science teacher was great- found other links all the time until we fixed it.

No one here does facebook or suchlike so Ive been very lucky - but we work in vehicles a lot so I hear the classes and some of the gossip ? but things change to 'the new thing' quite fast - theyre kids and theyre clever ? but it?s the same in everywhere - just different things.
We had mad lettering for everyone once ? the girls argued about rights to some colours - teachers cant see white writing if they dont know how - that one got stopped fast-and there were ghost students for a bit. Most of what they get up to is just a bit of fun.

If you do get a problem with facebook in class type stuff ? if you give permission Ih can look whos doing what where. :D