School: Learning-Park
This School's Home Register First! Student: Enroll in Class Student: Enroll in WebCourse Lookup Password How to use this Site Search Resource Links Contact This School's Director Classroom Tools List Learning-Park Mission Learning-Park Journal		How to Use the Virtual School Site Learning-Park is a "container" in which virtual schools are nested. Think: A University contains Colleges. The "contained schools" (Branded Schools) are owned by anyone who wishes to be his/her own School Administrator. Administrators create their school's Classrooms. MySchool is one of the nested schools. Independent-Entrepreneurial teachers who wish one or more Classrooms may request Classrooms in MySchool. Learning-Park is not a private school. We employs no teachers, although contained schools may do so. If your existing public, private, or corporate school will benefit from representation in virtual worlds, contact the Director for more information. A Branded Dchool can be deployed on your behalf within minutes. (You may navigate among example schools using the select box in the upper right portion of the School Home Page). Students and Teachers must register before applying for "Classroom" or "Course" entrance. Students can move between Classrooms and Courses from within their Classroom. Teachers can move between their Classrooms from within the Teacher Admin area. Independent-Unaffiliated Teachers: (1) Go to MySchool. (2) Obtain your Classroom by clicking on the TEACHER OBTAIN CLASSROOM link. (3) After obtaining your Classroom, go back to the School Home Page, log in, and then select your new Classroom. (4) Upon Classroom entry, review all available Classroom functions, then log in to the teacher administration area using the TEACHER'S DESK tile. Here, you may manage calendar, tests, assignments, passouts, etc. You may also create new Classrooms here. Learning-Park from 30,000 feet: LEARNING-PARK VIRTUAL SCHOOL and VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS are ideal compliments to public, private, and home school. As education technology increases in fidelity, the terms distance education and distance learning will cease to have meaning. Teacher resources that once seemed far away will be readily at hand. Structured learning opportunities will be always- and everywhere-available. Definitions: "Vendors" submit Public WebCourses for hosting by Learning-Park. A developer can be her own vendor. "Learning-Park Journal" Submit an article to the School Director for publishing here. "Park Calendar" is a place where school-level events can be scheduled by the School Director. "Course" A "Course" is taught in a "Classroom." A Course refers to the Process plus Subject Matter plus Content of Mediated or Unmediated Learning. "WebCourses" are Published Web applications. WebCourses may be Public or Private. Published WebCourses refer to course segments/units, tutorials, simulations, laboratories, educational games, and tests. Some WebCourse Components may be referred to as LEARNING MODULES (Course Module, Tutorial Module, Simulation Module, etc.), if they meet certain design protocols.  When Building a WebCourse pleas LINK to at least 6 other World Wide Web learning resources; thoughtful links will connect to alternative perspectives and interpretations of the courses' subject matter. "Privately Published WebCourses" are located IN a Teacher's Classroom. The Class Teacher builds the Privately Published WebCourse offline, tests it Offline, and then UPLOADS each of the WebCourses' files from the TEACHER ADMINISTRATION area of his/her Classroom "Publicly Published WebCourses" are NOT located IN a Teacher's Classroom, but in an area of Learning-Park that is available to the public. Students taking Public WebCourses are not compelled to have their learning experience mediated by a Teacher. Anyone can gain access to Publically Published WebCourses. When Public WebCourses are Published, they are designated as FOR-FEE or FOR-FREE. Students may use a Credit Card to access FOR-FEE Public WebCourses. where Real Teachers teach a subject matter as a Course. Good teachers are professionals whose time and expertise must be recompensed as they lead you through a subject. They should offer advisement, information, experiences, testing, and assignments that cannot be offered within digital courseware. Classrooms have calendars, message boards, chat, videoconferencing and gradebooks. Learning Park Administrators are not involved with payment arrangements made between teachers and students. Teachers become Learning Park teachers simply by applying. So, students should seek teachers' services on a "buyer beware" basis. "Classroom Comments" and Message Boards should be investigated before purchasing a teacher's Classroom services. "Teacher Affiliation with Publicly Published WebCourses" Using the designated Tool in the Teacher Administration area of each Classroom, Teachers may AFFILIATE with a Publically Published WebCourse. Affiliation accomplishes two things: (1) A link to the Public WebCourse is placed in the Classroom, and (2) Students who wish to take the Public WebCourse AND who wish to be aided by Teacher mediation (in a Classroom), are notified of those Teachers who Affiliate with a particular Publicly Published WebCourse.