vle

Enriching the K-8 Environment with ANGEL
Where does learning happen? Does it only happen in a physical classroom between the hours of 8:30am and 3:00pm? At my school, every class has two learning spaces. A physical space and an online space. From Kindergarten to Middle School, these online spaces provide a virtual learning environment that supplements what takes place in the physical classroom.

> A **virtual learning environment** (VLE) works over the Internet and provides a collection of tools such as those for assessment (particularly of types that can be marked automatically, such as multiple choice), communication, uploading of content, return of students' work, peer assessment, administration of student groups, collecting and organizing student grades, questionnaires, tracking tools, etc. VLEs are now most often used to supplement the face-2-face classroom. //(Source: [|Wikipedia])// media type="custom" key="885461"
 * Grades K-4**
 * Weekly Class News & Homework
 * Announcements
 * Class Projects/Book Reports
 * Links to web resources and activities that support curriculum
 * Calendar
 * Class Photos/Videos
 * Class Podcasts


 * Grades 5-8** All of the above plus...
 * Assessments
 * Electronic Assignment Submissions
 * Online Grades


 * OUR SHORT-TERM GOAL:** Anything that would go home on paper, is also available on ANGEL. (We're not there yet.)
 * OUR LONG-TERM GOAL:** Think outside the "8.5 x 11" box. Work doesn’t have to be printed. In many cases, it can’t even fit on a piece of paper. Don’t believe me? Try printing a podcast.

ANGEL Advantages

 * **Safe & Secure -** Important for protecting students in elementary and middle school. Courses can only be accessed by parents and students enrolled in that class. Student information (names, photos, work product) are not public.
 * **Easy to Use** - Very important for "non-techie" teachers.
 * **Great Customer Support** - Most help requests are handled the very same day.

Photos

 * 1) Photos from class events, field trips, and parties are posted on ANGEL. Parent/student privacy is protected because photos are not public. Only visible to those enrolled in that class.
 * 2) Photos posted of class bulletin boards/displays. Parents who can't visit the physical classroom can see how it changes throughout the year.
 * 3) Teachers used Picasa to upload sets of photos to ANGEL. (This also works with iPhoto. Just go to **file**, **export**, and select **web page**.)
 * VIDEO: Step 1 - [|Exporting a Set of Photos from Picasa>>]
 * VIDEO: Step 2 - [|Importing Photos to ANGEL Using "Drag & Drop"]
 * VIDEO: Step 2 (Alternate) - [|Importing Photos to ANGEL from a Zip File]

**Videos**
Students create video projects using PhotoStory3 and submit them to ANGEL using the DropBox. This year our students created and submitted [|Animal Riddles] - Grade 3 [|Tidepool Stories] - Grade 4 Plant Experiment Videologs and Life of a River - Grade 7

**Podcasts**
Grades 2 and 3 used Audacity to record students reading their own poetry. The files were uploaded to an ANGEL Course Syndication folder. Parents could subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes and listen to them on their computer or iPod. Both 6th and 7th grade posted a daily podcast update for parents while they were away at outdoor education trips.

**Sharing Resources**
Using Angel Learning Object Repositories (LOR's) teachers who taught the same grade can share resources and work load. EXAMPLE: Teachers take turns updating the weekly spelling word lists in a repository folder. That folder is shared with all three classes. VIDEO: [|Using Learning Object Repositories]

Online Grades
Parents can check student grades anytime online. Teachers are required to post and update grades after each test.

Online Resources
Several of our textbooks are also available in an online version. Links to those added to class resources.