MATER VIRTUAL ACADEMY ORIENTATION, – 2014 School Year

Various Roles in the Virtual Landscape  TEACHER  The virtual teacher will provide help links, recordings, live sessions, and many more tools to help students complete their assignments; including face-to-face visits.  PERSONAL ACADEMIC COACH  You will report participation on a bi-quarterly basis to virtual teachers associated with your students (essentially once a month).

Various Roles in the Virtual Landscape  COUNSELOR  Provides support and guidance related to matriculation progress, course selection, and college and career pathways.  IT SUPPORT  Provides virtual troubleshooting and support for any potential issues and also face-to-face help if any hardware or software requires servicing.

Academic Helpdesk Specialist:

What is an AHD Specialist?  Academic Helpdesk Specialist (AHD) tutor struggling students in the content area needed.  Respond to students’ content questions  Math problems  Writing issues (editing, revising, generating thesis)  Homework assignments (projects, reports, etc.)  Troubleshoot technical/computer issues (Level 1)  Uploading or accessing assignments  Accessing software  Generating documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

AHD Additional Responsibilities:  Assist Virtual Teachers/Students with live sessions & chats via Blackboard Live  Edmodo Groups  Communicate via chat

What is an AVE Mentor Teacher?  Mentor Teachers are responsible to provide feedback and help monitor your students’ pace throughout the modules.  Mentors are also responsible to ensure that teachers are teaching to the learning standards and objectives, posting announcements, and developing supplemental Lessons.  In addition, Teacher Mentors will oversee the Collaborate sessions in BB. April Macadangdang Christine Dorico Valentina Vetencourt

Meet the MVA Team  Mr. Frank Jimenez, Principal  Maribel Prieto, Director of Student Services & School Partnerships  Rossío Rodríguez, Virtual Instruction Specialist  Sam Hernandez, Asst. Virtual Specialist  Jorge Macho, IT Manager  Sylvia Macho, Counselor

Our Roles & Day to Day  Maribel is Director of Student Services and School Partnerships. She is the point person for all things virtual for our Academica family of schools.  Jorge is MVA’s IT Manager. He manages the help desk for students, teachers, and parents and troubleshoots all IT issues.  Sylvia is the Guidance Counselor, assisting students with all of their scheduling, course requirement, and college/career decisions.  Rossío is AVE’s Virtual Learning Specialist. She provides personal academic coaching to students and ensures everything runs smoothly and effectively.  Sam is the Asst. Virtual Learning Specialist, Sam provides direct quality assurance support to our students.  Frank is the Principal who oversee it all and ensures great success.

Parent/Guardian Expectations:  PARENTS  Student and Parent/Guardian can check grades at any time in Maestro. Credentials are ed to your once the students registers.  Parent/Guardians will receive automated weekly/monthly progress reports from their virtual teachers.  Continuously monitor student’s progress.  Be available for instructor’s calls.  Sign and return Student/Parent handbook signature page & Student Information Form to school to the Academic Coach.

Student Expectations:  STUDENTS  Student collaboration is encouraged, however each student is responsible for their own work and grades.  Student is expected to work daily for approximately the same amount of time as the traditional school day.  Student is expected to take notes and has the opportunity to resubmit assignments to improve their grade, if approved based on teacher discretion.  A mandatory monthly call will take place between Parent/Guardian, Student, and Teacher.

More Student Expectations:  Student is expected to check their , BrainHoney announcements and dashboard daily.  Students should inform teachers/academic coach of contact information changes within 48 hours.  Students are responsible for work when they are absent from school.  Students are expected to attend live lessons or view the recordings of the live lessons (sessions).

Course Information:  Student should complete a minimum of 3-5 assignments per week per class depending on the course and pacing schedule set by the teacher.  At the end of each module, students are expected to complete a Discussion Based Assessment (DBA) with their teacher and/or a Live Session.  Student should only use the course website and other supplemental websites approved by the teacher, not (Google, Yahoo answers, etc.)

“TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK”  Teachers, Coaches, and Support Staff need to work together to assist students with staying productive and on pace with their assignment schedules.  Contribute to the overall levels of student success and the ultimate vitality of our program.

Key Terms:  LMS – Learning Management System (the online platform where students access their courses) BrainHoney  SIS – Student Information System (student records and grade book which is linked to the LMS) Maestro  Content – Digital courses and supplements.

MVA Programs  In order to more fully engage and hold your students accountable, MVA offers a handful of Academic and Social Programs:  AVE Amici “Pen Pal Program” w/Intl Students  House Affiliations (Greek themed)  Leadership Opportunities to tutor our Dual Diploma International Students  Peer Learning Groups “Peer Tutors” Live Sessions  Academic Helpdesk  Student of the Month

By: Academica Virtual Education Orientation to Virtual Learning

BrainHoney (LMS) Training

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism Plagiarism is copying or using ideas or words (from another person, an online classmate, or an internet or print source) and presenting them as your own.

Netiquette & Cyberbullying:  Student collaboration is encouraged, however each student is responsible for their own work and grades.  Please be aware that all SVA/MVA Teachers utilize a myriad of technologies, such as PlagScan, to check student work for authenticity.

Student Information Systems (SIS) MAESTRO

Maestro Student Information System  Maestro provides you, as an Academic Coach, with a variety of options for evaluating and monitoring student progress and communicating with them regularly.  It acts as a portal to the Student’s BrainHoney dashboard and houses all student information.

Maestro:

First Steps:  Through Maestro’s SSO (Single Sign-On) feature, this account WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT one you will possess. Your Maestro credentials act as a portal to both the SIS (Student information system) and LMS (Learning Management System).  Upon creation of your account through our IT department, you will receive an “Account Activation” from in your . Follow the instructions and click on the activation link. Once the link is clicked, you will be directed to Maestro’s default login page. Enter the following credentials in the appropriate Username: (Provided in “Account Activation” ) Password: changeme

Maestro SIS, Continued  You will be then prompted to change your password for security reasons.  The login page for our school is available online at:  (Bookmark it!) and can also be accessed through our school sites at either or  Make sure all of your other personal information is up to date and correct. Especially when it comes to an address, it is essential that the information be as updated as possible. You can update your information via the “My Account” page located on the sidebar.

Helpful Videos:  Brainhoney  dents&oq=brainhoney+tutorials+for+students&gs_l=youtube j ac.1.11.youtube.V_uOOsT8pRk dents&oq=brainhoney+tutorials+for+students&gs_l=youtube j ac.1.11.youtube.V_uOOsT8pRk  Edmodo – an educational social collaboration site to interact with your teacher and fellow students.   Dropbox – save your files for free virtually. 

Testing and Academic Services  FCAT/EOC/AP Testing  College/Career Test Calendar (SAT, ACT, CPT)  Dual Enrollment Options  ESE/ESOL Services  Free/Reduced Lunch Services

Student Activities and Clubs  Club and Intramural Sports, FHSA Athletics  Academic Honor Societies  Interests, Hobbies, Passions  Debate, Speech, Model UN  Available through Mater Academy home school

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