Research shows that girls and boys learn differently. Research also shows that they interact differently with technology. Now there’s an endeavor that puts the research findings to the test as the first school of its kind: the Online School for Girls is a virtual school designed specifically for girls.
A consortium of four independent private girls’ schools (Holton-Arms School (Bethesda, Md.), Harpeth Hall (Nashville, Tenn.), Westover School (Middlebury, Conn.), and Laurel School (Shaker Heights, Ohio)), the Online School for Girls offers classes that are limited to 20 students. Instructors for the online classes also teach at the participating schools and have extensive experience teaching in an all-girls environment.
Each class is tailored to the way that girls learn best: through strong connections with peers and teachers, collaborative and creative work, and application of knowledge to real-world problems. Relationships and connections are important regardless of whether the students meet in person or online, and Web 2.0 tools have made online interaction much more personal.
In fact, the school uses Haiku LMS to demonstrate how much interaction is possible in one of their classes.
A collaboration of this kind means that students and teachers whose interests and skills extend beyond their school’s current course offerings can tap into the interests and educational resources of students and teachers at the other participating schools.
Online School for Girls Chose Haiku LMS for Its Flexibility & Simplicity
Jason Curtis is the Director of Information Resources at Laurel School and chairs the Technology Committee for the Online School for Girls. Laurel School had been using Moodle when one of the teachers discovered Haiku LMS. “Two things really made Haiku stand out,” said Mr. Curtis, “the ability to embed content, allowing teachers to more effectively use Web 2.0 technologies, and the elegant simplicity.” Those qualities led Laurel School and the Online School for Girls to adopt Haiku LMS.
That sentiment is echoed by Heather Mannella, Associate Dean of Faculty and a science teacher at Westover School. Ms. Mannella chairs the Education Committee for the Online School for Girls and also teaches its genetics course.
“Before I started working with Haiku,” she said, “I was nervous and skeptical; nervous because of the learning curve that I anticipated. Though relatively tech-savvy, I was concerned that the interface would be difficult to use, or [there would be ] hours of frustration in trying to figure out a way to make it do the things that I wanted. And I was skeptical because I wasn’t sure that I would be able to set up the type of class and interactions with students that I wanted. Haiku exceeded my expectations for what an interface could be and has made my online class better than I have even hoped for.”
Ms. Mannella’s students are enjoying using Haiku LMS, too, and said that the interface is organized well and easy to understand.
“It is easy to learn, easy to use and easy to navigate,” said Ms. Mannella. “I feel like they must either have teachers on the development team of this product, or they must listen very closely to the things that teachers say they need to be able to do, because Haiku feels like something that I, as a teacher, would have designed for myself.”
