OCS Blended Learning

Updated April 9, 2012

Welcome to the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program!

Leslie Fetzer, NCVPS OCS Blended Learning Biology teacher and Instructional Leader, has been named the SREB/iNACOL National Online Teacher of the Year!  Read more here:  NOTY Press Release

Registration guidance for the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program for 2012-2013

As schools begin to plan their NCVPS OCS Blended enrollments for the 2012-2012 school year, please keep in mind these important factors!  Since there are no limitations on the number of OCS Blended Learning enrollments in the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning courses, schools should enroll intentionally in thosecourses that are actually needed within the appropriate academic calendar timeframe. 

1. The NCVPS registration system will allow schools to register students within these academic calendar time frames:

Fall 2012–1 credit block course that runs from August 2012 to January 2013
Spring 2013– 1 credit block course that runs from January 2013 to May 2013
Yearlong course –1 credit yearlong course that runs from August 2012 to May 2013

Schools need to be aware of the time frame in which they are enrolling studentswithin the registration system.  Students should NOT be enrolled in the samecourse for both Fall and Spring because the school has not made the decision asto which semester to offer the course.  Wait to register students untilyour school has made the decisions as to when the OCS courses will be offeredwithin the school’s scheduling decisions.

NCVPS Course Calendars here:  http://www.ncvps.org/index.php/courses/calendars/

2.  These coursesare available for registration for the 2012 – 2013 school year:

OCS Blended Learning Algebra I Part A and Part B*  Please see below for an explanation!
OCS Blended Learning Introduction to Math
OCS Blended Learning Biology
OCS Blended Learning Applied Science
OCS Blended Learning English 1
OCS Blended Learning English 2

*OCS Blended Learning Algebra I hasbeen rewritten to match the Common Core standards.  For this reason, we have worked with NC DPIto determine that this course needs to be two courses, a Part A and a PartB. 

OCS Blended Learning Algebra I Part A (course code 9223Z) will be available inthe FALL semesters only and will be 1 math elective credit.   OCSBlended Learning Algebra I Part B (course code 9224Z) will be available in theSPRING semesters only and will be 1 Algebra I credit if Part A was taken in theFall.

Registration for both Part A (FALL ONLY) andPart B (Spring ONLY) are now available for registration.    Forthose schools who offer courses on a yearlong schedule, you will still registerfor Part A for the Fall and then Part B for the spring.  There will be no separate yearlong OCSBlended Learning Algebra I course.

OCS Blended Learning course catalog information here:  http://www.ncvps.org/index.php/courses/catalogue/

3.  Schools need tocontinue to prepare for the OCS Blended Learning program by working with classroom OCS teachers to determine who will partner with the NCVPS content teacher to provide the blended instruction for students.

Each school stakeholder, including the classroom OCS teacher and the school administrators, should have an understanding of how the OCS Blended Learning program works so that teachers are prepared and the best scheduling decisions are made. 

OCS Blended Learning program information here:  http://www.ncvps.org/index.php/courses/ocs-blended/

All classroom teachers will be asked to go through a new and improved online training that will be available this summer — more details to come.  Thiswill be for all teachers, even those that have partnered with us before.

HOW TO REGISTER

In order to register for NCVPS OCS Blended Learning courses for Fall 2012, Spring 2013, or YEARLONG 2012-2013, please look for the generic OCS Blendedcourse in which you want to enroll students, such as OCS Blended English 1 Fall2012.  You will see “DYNAMIC” with no school listed.  This may require you to scroll down the list.

Once you enroll students into a generic course, the system will create asection of that course for your school’s students.

For additional information, please contact Michelle Lourcey, Curriculum and Instruction Division Director, at michelle.lourcey@ncpublicschools.gov.

General Information

The NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program is a collaborative effort between the NCVPS teacher and the face-to-face (f2f) OCS teacher to teach OCS courses.  This is a true partnership in teaching!

On this website, you will find information to explain the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program, to provide information on how to register for courses, and the teacher training each face-to-face classroom OCS teacher will need to complete prior to the start of the semester.

This exciting and unique program is proving to be a tremendous success for students across North Carolina who are involved in the blended teaching of these courses. NCVPS is excited to offer six courses to all OCS students and OCS teachers of North Carolina as part of the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program.

The courses available are OCS Blended English I, OCS Blended English II, OCS Blended Algebra I, OCS Blended Biology, OCS Blended Applied Science, and our new course, OCS Blended Intro to Math.

Testimonials
So what are our OCS classroom teachers and students saying about the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program?  Click here to read more!

Click here to watch Union County’s Cuthbertson High School student, Colin, discuss his experience in the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program!  Colin’s classroom teacher at Cuthertson is Sarah Keziah and his NCVPS teachers were Gena Barnhart (OCS Biology), Tammy Bates (OCS English II), and Heather Ott (OCS Algebra I).  Also, click here to read Ms. Keziah’s reflections on her semester, her students’ successes, and the power of blended teaching.

Click here to listen to two East Rowan High School students, Cordell and Ashley, who were part of the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning English I course!  Their East Rowan classroom teacher is Barbara Marshall-Cassel and their NCVPS teacher is Sivonne Stone.  Cordell and Ashley will talk about their experiences in the blended learning environment!

Watch this video to meet Ms. Donna Yount, OCS teacher at Maiden High School in Catawba County, and her NCVPS OCS Blended Learning students in English II and Biology!  Their NCVPS partner teachers are Leslie Fetzer and Heather Ribar.  Ms. Yount and her students discuss their learning this semester through the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program and how that learning resulted in a letter to a major company!

Click here to view a video made by two outstanding OCS classroom teachers from West Montgomery High School, Jan Ray and Rick Peters, along with three of their OCS students to talk about the power and effectiveness of the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program!

Click here to see learning in action!  Catherine Schronce, outstanding OCS classroom teacher from Rosenwald High School in Catawba County, shows her OCS Biology students working on Punnett Squares!

Partner Teacher Newsletters

How does the OCS Blended Learning Program work?
Many of you have questions about how the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program works.  Please read these Frequently Asked Questions about the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning Program.

-Link to FAQs

IEP Guidelines for OCS classroom teachers and NCVPS partner teachers

-Link to IEP Guidelines

Registration Information

Before a school registers students, the school and teachers should be willing to teach the courses in the Blended Learning environment.

The NCPVS OCS Blending Learning courses require a true co-teaching experience where the f2f teacher is driving the instructional decisions while working daily with the NCVPS content teacher.  The NCVPS teacher will help the classroom teacher individualize and differentiate the instruction for each student but the NCVPS teacher does not deliver the instruction real time to the students.  The f2f teacher does this but she will have planned using the online content, her own resources, and the NCVPS teacher to determine the best way to teach the content to the students.

Schools must be willing to participate in the courses as a blended learning program.  This means that a classroom OCS teacher for each subject registered must be willing to work daily with an NCVPS content teacher.  The f2 teacher must also complete the online training as described on the main webpage.  If the f2f teacher has taught in the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program before, no additional training is necessary although the teacher is welcome to go through the training if desired.

This partner teaching is the most critical piece for schools to understand.  The NCVPS teacher will not be providing daily direct instruction; this responsibility rests with the classroom OCS teacher.  The online content provides archived teaching sessions that can be used, but the daily instructional decisions are driven by the classroom teacher who plans daily, through an asynchronous document, with her partner NC VPS teacher.  This concept is explained further on this webpage through the Classroom Teacher Blended Learning Training.

By registering students into the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program, schools and their teachers are agreeing to teach the courses in the Blended Learning environment.

School Distance Learning Advisors (DLAs) may enroll students into the OCS Blended Learning courses.  DLAs will see the six courses listed in the registrations system, beginning with the OCS prefix.  It is important that DLAs look for the OCS prefix.

DLAs will then register students into the course.  The registration will automatically place the student into the correct course section for their school and the information will be identified such as this:  OCSBlendedCourse and a section named: DynamicforYourSchool.

School registrations will not be official until schools provide NCVPS with the names of their classroom OCS teachers who will partner with the NCVPS teacher.  School DLAs will be asked to provide the name of the OCS classroom teacher for each course before each semester begins.  School DLAs will be contacted by email in order to provide this information.

OCS Classroom Teacher Training for the Blended Learning Program
UPDATED!

All OCS f2f teachers will need to go through an approximate two hour online training prior to the start of the Fall 2012 semester.  This is an updated training for all of our partner teachers!  Teachers will be able to decide when they want to complete the training but all OCS f2f teachers will need to complete this training prior to the start of Fall 2012 semester partnering with NCVPS in the OCS Blended Learning program. This is a one time training and will not need to be completed each semester thereafter.

The training can be found here after July 1, 2012.

Questions?
If you have any questions about the NCVPS OCS Blended Learning program, please contact Michelle Lourcey (michelle.lourcey@ncpublicschools.gov) Curriculum and Instruction Division Director.