Dear Parent,
Thank you for your inquiry about the Alpha eLearning facility.
The concept of the Alpha Virtual Facility is to deliver a first class education which marries the latest developments in multi-media presentation with a high quality educational programme.
Alpha students interact with fellow students throughout New Zealand and engage in collaborative inquiry with students throughout the world.
As a former Principal of an isolated rural school, I am well used to utilising ICT programmes which enable my students to engage in global learning opportunities. I was delighted by the depth of educational opportunity which my students experienced via the internet contact, not only with other students world-wide but also, by pre-arranged contact, with experts world-wide. When our students studied rockets, they were able to arrange on-line interviews with experts from NASA.
The global learning opportunities afforded by technology greatly enhance learning for students in the 21st century. It was for this reason that I devised the Alpha eLearning programme which is delivered via a state of the art virtual facility.
I have enjoyed working with the Aoraki Multimedia team who have built the Alpha site according to my specifications and who also advised me of the latest technological innovations .The Alpha site is extensive, encompassing forums for group teaching and private conference suites for one to one tuition.
Student / Teacher interaction is instant and takes place via the many chat rooms and audio conferencing facilities which the site provides. Video conferencing is also available for students who have a broadband connection.
However no education is complete without engagement with the environment. Learning should be a holistic, relevant experience which relates learning to the local environment. Once again I refer to my experience as the former Principal of a rural school. Our students learned from their books but, of equal importance, they related their learning to the world around them, engaging in a range of activities such as maths and science which had real life relevance. In this way the best learning occurs.
Teachers employ a range of accelerated learning techniques which encourage rapid uptake. Alpha students have free time available to pursue their interest in the afternoons because the individualised nature of their learning allows them to complete the requirements of the National Curriculum in a much faster time than would have been possible in the state school system.
There are four learning sessions, interspersed by breaks during the Alpha day which runs from 8.30am until 12.40pm from Monday to Thursday. Teachers will remain on-line throughout the day but the learning programme has been constructed to ensure that students experience a variety of on-line and off-line activities which promote their learning.
Friday is Flexiday and is an off line day when students engage in practical arts activities and science investigations. Work completed on Flexi Friday can be up loaded to the teacher for marking at any time before 4 pm on Sunday. Alpha students report back via a range of options from regular written reports to PowerPoint presentations and movie making.
Alpha students belong to three learning communities - the global community, the Alpha virtual community and the local learning community which is expressed via engagement with local community facilities and the local environment.
The Alpha full primary facility is a dynamic concept which has been carefully researched over the last three years and has been successfully trialled. Alpha has run as a virtual learning facility since April 2005. The results in terms of learning and engagement have been well beyond our initial expectations. Alpha is open 24 / 7 and it is not unusual to find students engaged in collaborative learning at weekends or in the evenings.
Social interaction is via the social forum and audio conferencing suite. All forums and chats are recorded and logged to ensure appropriate use. The virtual site is protected by two double password entries so that only students and teachers can gain access. Teachers have tracking devices and logs which can show ,at any moment, what students are doing on line and who is present in the virtual facility. Visitors to the site can request a temporary pass at a time when teachers and students are working on line.
We interview all prospective students via our audio conferencing facility or by phone before offering a place in Alpha. The next stage for those students who have been accepted is to conduct an in-depth assessment of each student's learning profile by use of the Synergistic learning tool which is unique to Alpha and which assesses learning reference in each of the four key areas. We then prepare the Needs Analysis document which highlights strengths and areas which need support. From this we devise the individualised learning contract which the student and teacher will use throughout the coming term.
There are a few places available. During the 2006 academic year enrolment will be restricted to 40 students because Alpha teachers are involved in extensive professional development after registration. From 2007 it is expected that more teachers will have completed the additional training. Each teacher is responsible for 20 students.
Please contact us if you have any questions about Alpha. If there is sufficient interest in your area I can provide a PowerPoint presentation about the Alpha Virtual Learning Concept.
