By Jamey Everett, GOA Coordinator and Lower School Technology Integrator
An exceptional opportunity for Park Tudor Upper School students is to take courses through the Global Online Academy (GOA). GOA courses allow students to build connections with their peers all over the world, decide where and when their learning happens, and experience cutting-edge courses completely online. These courses are great options for students who love learning, are curious, and can self-manage their time.
Three years ago, Park Tudor joined GOA to be a part of a consortium of independent schools determined to redefine online instruction. Our common goal is to provide our Upper School students with an online learning experience that goes far beyond other online alternatives. GOA courses are as academically rigorous as our face-to-face classes. Capped at 18 students each, these fully online courses are built to be highly interactive, to allow students to dive deeply into content, and to reinforce crucial self-efficacy skills. Course instructors are from GOA member schools all over the world and have participated in GOA's highly regarded professional development courses. Instructors are matched with a Course Designer to help ensure each class meets GOA's high standards for online instruction.
What do students need to succeed in GOA courses? Motivation, above all else. Participation is totally on their time so students must be motivated to get online and participate on a daily basis, just as they would in a face-to-face class. They also need time in their schedule, as a GOA course is considered equal to Park Tudor courses, in time and workload. Organization is key, too. Courses have assignments and deadlines: an instructor monitors student participation and grades their work. Students also need to be flexible. One of the amazing things about taking a GOA course is meeting other students from countries all over the world. But with that comes managing time zones and learning to work in teams with different constraints.
The 2016-2017 Course Catalog is available now and includes courses like "Power: Redressing Inequity through Data," "Entrepreneurship in a Global Context," and "Architecture." If you or your student would like to learn more about GOA, please contact Jamey Everett. Along with instructors on our campus, we can help students evaluate whether GOA is right for them.