Learning Matters is a new program on WJR Radio (760 AM). Ann Thomas of WJR and Dave Richards of Michigan Virtual chat with some of Michigan’s educational leaders about innovation and the future of learning.
Guild Education Senior Strategist and author of the new book “From Reopen to Reinvent: (Re)Creating School for Every Child” Michael Horn talks about the improvements and changes that have happened, and that need to happen in the wake of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic created a sudden need for wide-scale online learning, a resource that was not refined enough for exclusive implementation. On today’s episode, Michigan Virtual Lead Math Instructor Adair Aumock, Senior Director of Student Learning Services Dr. Shannon Smith, Business Teacher Katie Hansen, and Michigan Virtual Part-Time Health and Personal Fitness Instructor and Mattawan Community Schools Full-Time Middle School Physical Education Instructor Cory DeGroote give their take on the adaptations needed in the changing environment.
School districts across the country are facing an increasingly difficult challenge in hiring and maintaining professional educators. The demand for teachers is outpacing the number of graduates from teacher preparation programs. Michigan Education Association President Paula Herbart, Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators Executive Director Dr. Tina Kerr, Novi Community School District Superintendent Dr. Steve Matthews give their take on the issue, and discuss what can be done to increase the job experience for teachers.
The future of learning is quickly being redefined as educators work diligently to design new models of learning in a post-pandemic environment. In this episode, we will speak with Michigan Virtual CEO Jamey Fitzpatrick, Dexter Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Chris Timmis, and former Fraser Public Schools Superintendent and now Executive Learning Strategist for Michigan Virtual, Dr. Dave Richards on the challenges learning leaders are facing and their efforts to establish the Future of Learning Council to support district leaders.
Leveraging tools and resources already available to Michigan schools, this discussion will highlight innovative solutions that encourage collaboration and partnerships, and the importance of implementing these changes to better serve schools and communities going forward.
This episode focuses on the importance of and pathways for professional development opportunities that strengthen skills, dispositions, and capacity so that educators are best positioned to support flexible learning models.
As Michigan schools prepare for education post-COVID-19, this discussion will explore delivery models and pathways that districts and schools can use to implement flexible learning models, including content and professional development support.
We will discuss post-pandemic learning and how schools will move forward to provide both personalization and flexibility for students and teachers.
In this episode of Learning Matters, we cover lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now a year into a pandemic that has completely disrupted the education system, this discussion will cover lessons learned and highlight schools that have successfully navigated these challenges to support their educators and students.
We’re sorry to inform you that we have reached capacity for several of our Semester 1 and Trimester 1 courses. You’ll notice when attempting to enroll students in our Student Learning Portal that some courses are unavailable. While we are no longer accepting new enrollments for these courses at this time, many courses continue to remain open for enrollment.
With many students across the state 100% remote, demand for our online courses is greater than ever before. Because every course we offer is taught by a Michigan-certified teacher, this high volume of enrollments has created capacity issues for our teachers who provide each and every student with individual feedback.
While the Michigan Virtual team anticipated and planned for significant increases in student enrollments this Fall, the increased demand we’ve experienced has been unprecedented. As a result, we are taking steps to hire even more part-and full-time teachers to support larger numbers of student enrollments for Semester 2 as well as for Trimester 2 and 3.
For schools that still need online learning options this year, please fill out the form at the bottom of our virtual pathways page to meet with someone to discuss other solutions. While some of our teacher-led courses are full, we may still have the capacity to help you in upcoming terms or can discuss timing to implement a whole-school or collaborative program in which local teachers from your school/district use our online course content to teach students. We also have free course content and resources available for you to use.
We know this is an incredibly stressful time for all, and we’re sorry if the courses you’re looking for are unavailable. We never want to turn away a student who wants to learn from us. Our top concern, however, is student success, and we have a policy to not take on additional enrollments if we cannot guarantee that all students will have a quality online learning experience.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate the unusually high volume of enrollments we are receiving.
