IVS Partners with various organizations to provide scholarships for certain courses. IVS students who register for Agriculture, American Art, or German may qualify for reduced or even free enrollment! As you think about your Spring and Summer options, be sure to check out our Scholarship Page.
This week’s teacher spotlight is Illinois Virtual School Spanish I Teacher, Jaime Bramer. Jaime describes herself as a “mom, wife, animal-lover, teacher, promoter of peace and love, and a lover of art and music”. Her hobbies include reading, playing with her pets, and running her kids to all sorts of activities.
Jaime recently answered some questions regarding her experience with IVS:
IVS: In what ways do you interact and get to know your students? How does this compare to your experience teaching at a brick-and-mortar school?
JB: I work to make my responses and feedback to students individual. I make an extra effort to call them by name, to ask about activities that they are in, and to use positive statements. It’s actually pretty similar to my brick-and-mortar experience because: In my classroom I also work to make individual feedback, I definitely use the students’ names, and it’s my goal to be extremely positive! One difference is that I use a lot of Kagan Cooperative Learning in the traditional classroom (I am a Kagan School Trainer), but that’s not something that I use in an online setting. I would love to figure out a way to do that, though!
IVS: What benefits exist for students taking an online course:
JB: It’s awesome that the students have more flexibility. Kids are so busy these days; they are involved in so much! They do have to be organized with taking classes online, but they don’t have to do the same class at the same time each and every day, and there isn’t any busy work.
IVS: What strategies do you use to keep your students motivated and engaged?
JB: I ask my students questions ni their feedback, and sometimes I ask questions in my News Posts as well. I am so excited when one of them answers! Another way that I try to engage and motivate my students is by sending encouraging pages/messages. This is definitely one aspect of my online teaching that I would like to improve. As a KCL Teacher, I am accustomed to a lot of engagement. I’m determined to figure out more ways to ‘hook’ the kids – it will just take some trial and error. I’m up for the challenge!
IVS: Why is IVS a special place to you?
JB: I love how encouraging my mentor, Dee, is and I love how willing everyone is to answer questions and help colleagues.
If you’re interested in taking Spanish I with Ms. Bramer, then check out IVS’ Getting Started page, which describes how to create an account and request a course. If you’re not sure what course you’d like to take, then check out IVS’ Course Solutions page, which has links to Full Service, Credit Recovery, and Middle School course information, as well as our complete course catalog.
Illinois Virtual School (IVS) has released its annual report, IVS Now! for the 2017-2018 academic year. This year’s annual report has been prepared to communicate with a variety of stakeholders the learning opportunities made available to students and educators in Illinois including a deeper insight into the IVS Program. Included throughout the report are examples of how some of our partners use IVS and how the partnership has helped positively impact their students.
Our pledge to you: we will continue to advocate for all of our students no matter how big or small the details are. This is what our team demonstrates and this is what we will continue to uphold. We look forward to continuing working alongside all of our partners, students, and families. Together, we will pursue the positive difference we all aspire to achieve for our learners.
Are you ready to take a peek inside? We invite you to review and engage with the report by selecting the link below.
Wishing you a wonderful start to the holiday season,
-IVS Team
