Internet Learning Volume 7, Number 1 • 2018/2019 | Page 23

Internet Learning Journal
for Internet-based learning in a virtual
classroom is one of the ways the graduate
education programs are on the cutting
edge of 21 st century instruction.
The Partnership
UWG’s partnership with GAVS
began in 2013 and was introduced
as a field placement option
for secondary preservice teachers
during the spring semester of 2014.
What started as an opportunity for candidates
to elect an alternative field experience
with GAVS turned out to be so
successful that soon entire sections of
them were enrolled in that option. By
2016, the virtual school field experience
became the focus of a course developed
specifically around the online instructional
philosophy. In 2017, that graduate-level
course grew to an offering for
both preservice and inservice teachers
at both the elementary and secondary
levels; and enrollments in it fill to capacity
every semester it is offered.
GAVS was approached for the
partnership because it is a public school
in an online environment that serves
students in grades 6–12 across the state
of Georgia. GAVS “has been providing
schools and students with options and
opportunities to supplement public,
private, and home school course offerings
since 2005” (GA DOE, 2016a).
GAVS teachers are state-certified, and
most teach part-time online in addition
to full-time teaching in traditional
brick-and-mortar schools. Although
some districts are able to offer online
coursework of their own, GAVS is the
largest, fully-accredited online system
in the state and serves over 30,000 students
each year (GA DOE, 2016a).
Setting Up the Virtual Field
Experience
At the beginning of the semester, the
UWG candidate names, email addresses,
and teaching certification grade
levels and content areas are provided
to GAVS. The university students complete
an online informational survey,
which includes verification of their
preservice or induction-level teaching
certificate. They are then granted eligibility
for the field experience, assigned a
course in their area of certification, and
receive login credentials.
Virtual Field Experience
Expectations and Assignments
Most candidates who enroll
in ECSE 7566, a fully online
course, are familiar with the
student perspective of online coursework.
However, this experience does
not translate to being prepared for the
responsibilities of online instruction:
not any more than being students in
the K-12 school system prepares them
to be teachers. Prior to entering the online
course for their field experience,
the candidates, or graduate students,
are exposed to best practices in online
teaching.
Teaching Online—Open Learning
(TOOL) Courses
Teaching online—open learning
(TOOL) badges were created by Georgia
Virtual Learning and the Georgia
Department of Education. TOOL is
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