Dear Sea to Sky Online Students,
I hope this message finds you well as we head into the festive season.
We’ve had a busy year so far, with many students enrolling in our courses throughout the fall.
In an earlier email, I alluded to some changes that are coming to Sea to Sky Online that we’re certain will better support our students and their families. One of these changes includes onboarding to a new Learning Management System called D2L Brightspace. It will take the year to complete this process of switching over from Moodle; however, we’ll work to ensure there are no/minimal disruptions to your child(ren)’s learning. The platform is fully supported at the Provincial level and the initial stages of changing over has been smooth. As well, many post-secondary schools use this as their online platform.
In addition to this change, we are working to enhance proficiencies at our school, including ensuring our data is reflective of the good work that is happening with our students. This will better help us understand where specific student needs are, while offering us a look at how we can be more efficient.
One way to ensure the data we consider is accurate, is to provide clear messaging regarding registration, course activation, engagement, communication, and course completion. I’d like to take a moment to ensure students and parents understand these as they apply to online courses.
To begin an online course, a student needs to register for the course. Once they register for the course, they must complete an “substantive assignment”. This assignment demonstrates the student has become engaged in the course. Once the assignment is complete, submitted, and assessed by the teacher, the student is now considered “in the course”. In other words, the course will not show up on their transcript until this activation assignment has been marked and feedback provided to the student.
Once the student is in the course, they have one year to complete. For many students, they take an online course because of the flexibility it provides in their schedules. This requires communicating with their online teacher their plans for completing their course(s) in a timely fashion. For example, an athlete who trains and competes for a couple of months in the winter, may start their online course in the fall, communicate with their teacher their plans during those months, and expect to continue the course once they are done. In this example, the student communicates with the teacher their schedule, and the teacher works with the student/family to ensure that their learning continues while they are training/competing, while providing the flexibility needed for their sport. While the learning activities may become reduced to accommodate the athlete, the teacher and student are in communication during this time. That way, the student can focus on their sport while still feeling connected to their online school. This is one of the benefits of online learning!
However, there are some students who register for a course and either:
- activate the course at a date later than 45 days after they register, or
- start the course, work on it for a time, then do not engage in the course for periods longer than 45 days.
To ensure students who register for courses are active and continue to engage in their learning, please note the following:
- If you plan to activate your course 45 days after you register, please refrain from registering until closer to the anticipated start date. Registration is open throughout the school year and only takes a few moments to complete.
- If you register and start your course(s), the expectation is that you are actively and continually engaged in the learning. Your teachers will reach out to you regularly as a check-in; however, if you do not communicate with them your plans, or you become inactive for more than 45 days, then you will be withdrawn from the course.
Students will receive several messages from their teachers if they do not demonstrate activity in their course(s). Students are required to communicate with their teachers as they work through their course(s) to ensure their learning needs are being met. Examples of this communication could include emails, submitted activities, messaging, online or face-to-face meetings, or phone calls. The purpose is to ensure that students are actively engaged in their online course(s).
Our goal is to have every student successfully complete the courses they’re enrolled in. We recognize the benefits of online learning including flexibility, pacing, and choice needed for students to achieve their goals, and will continue to work with students and families to meet these expectations.
I wish you and your family all the best during this time and look forward to a wonderful year in 2025!
Kind Regards,
Nolan Cox
Principal
Honoured to be working and learning on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Sḵwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw and St'át'y'emc Nations.