Distance Education : learningPlaces
Recently, the VITP have been quietly testing a concept new to North Carolina, one which we call learningPlaces. Many other states have centers, some called Educational Service Centers, where teachers or people interested in becoming teachers can go for resources specific to teaching. Often those resources will include courses offered by local universities, and more often than not, those courses are offered during the traditional time off for teachers - the summer.
North Carolina does not have these centers, so the VITP have been making arrangements with sites within the State, where during a few weeks each summer, teachers, both future and current, will be able to receive VITP coursework. We have tested content delivery along these lines in the past, with great success and even better response from the participants. We think the time is right to offer learningPlaces in addition to our teleclassroom courses and online courses.
For students within the state of North Carolina who are NOT located within easy distance of NCIH rooms (or who simply wish the experience that face-to-face offers), intense, 2 week (two classes per day, for 1 week on, 1 week off, 1 week on) classes may be held at a site located within the state, via our learningPlaces initiative. VITP faculty will travel to a partner site to teach the classes to areas showing a strong demand (minimum 10 enrolled) for classes in Core Compentencies.
We intend to introduce learningPlaces in the Summer 2008 semester, and will make an announcement as soon as the initial site(s) is/are secured. As the minimum required attendance will be 10 participants, cooperation with school districts and EC Directors, along with word-of-mouth by current teachers to those who may be interested in entering the VI field, will be crucial.