Over the past several years, we have seen more and more districts offering students the opportunity to attend school virtually. WVS has joined other programs in the state of Wisconsin by offering a limited pilot for elementary instruction in our state. In this episode of the podcast, we hear from members of the WVS elementary staff, Larissa Zompolas, Shawna Stueck, and Jerica Henkel as well as the parent of two students participating in the WVS elementary pilot through one of our partner districts.

WDLC Getting Started with Elementary Online Learning

Music:

Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

UpGrade Media Arts Charter School in Milwaukee is a tuition-free public charter school in Wisconsin offering a unique 6-12 curriculum that integrates the multimedia arts in a project-based, hybrid learning environment. Students demonstrate leadership in social justice through works presented in film, television, radio, podcasting and recording arts. Mwanje and Jovan from UMA join the podcast this week to tell us more about the work they do and how the flexibility of online learning helps them accomplish the goals of their organization.

This year, WVS is trying a new way to engage learners of all ages and ability levels to explore other languages and cultures in our Cultural Cafes. Michele Nickels, Jason Schmidt, Meg Graham, and Lynn Neitzel join the podcast this week to talk about where the program started and what we hope to accomplish through this program.

The annual SLATE Conference in the Wisconsin Dells is an opportunity for technology leaders from across the state to engage in conversation and growth around the use of technology in the classroom. Through a grant from our WDLC partner, the Wisconsin eSchool Network, several of our staff and teacher consultants were able to attend. Linda Scheuerman and Patricia Israel join Jason and Michele from the WVS staff to talk about our main takeaways and highlights from the conference.

https://slateinwi.com/

Music:

Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Meri Tunison, Mia Chmiel, and Jason Schmidt discuss Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and its application to online learning. We’ll provide some background about what UDL is, learning that we as a WVS team are doing around UDL, and how it is applied in an online setting as well as in person.

WDLC Educators & Program Support Sessions which include the micro-course topic kickoff sessions

Designing for Accessibility (kicks off Jan 13!)

Michele Nickels, Annette Walaszek, Sue Dean, and Jason Schmidt have a conversation introducing WVS to those who may not have heard of us before. They talk about the history of the organization, some of the people we have met along the way, and how they have influenced the development of Wisconsin Virtual School over the last 21 years.

Intro Music:

Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license