Distance Education
Distance education at Erie 1 BOCES focuses on promoting and supporting the pedagogy, instructional systems, and technologies necessary to deliver quality educational content and learning opportunities for K-12 students.
To assist districts with their goal of graduating students who are prepared for careers or college in the 21st Century, Erie 1 BOCES supports all forms of online learning, from courseware and teacher-created LMS courses to traditional distance learning/virtual field trips to innovative technologies such as virtual environments.
Contacts
Elizabeth Freas, Director
716-821-7322
Steven Duckworth Technical Support
(716) 821-7587
The varied online/blended learning opportunities supported by Erie 1 BOCES include, but are not limited to:
- Online Learning via Courseware -- Through Erie 1 BOCES, districts can access virtual K-12 education solutions that provide a variety of custom solutions that meet the needs of students. This e-learning solution enables districts to provide students with opportunities for make-up credit and credit accrual. Through this service, school districts can also acquire or subscribe to online learning solutions that educators can use to supplement and enhance the curriculum, as well as provide students to practice essential skills required to pass Regents, SAT, PSAT and ACT exams.
- Online Learning via LMS – Erie 1 BOCES offers districts a tiered Moodle LMS service designed to meet district needs.
- Distance Learning – This service enables users to connect via a two-way multipoint interactive video link. Distance Learning can be utilized for one-time connections (such as for Virtual Field Trips) or for entire courses available through the NYS Distance Learning Consortium.
- Virtual Fieldtrips & Video Conferencing – These services provides video conferencing opportunities that extend into the community, including cultural institutions from around the nation. Teachers receive technical support, as well as consultation, design and implementation service to create quality learning opportunities aligned to the standards.
- Virtual Environments – Erie 1 BOCES supports the use of various virtual environments for learning.
In addition, the Distance Education Team provides educators with training, support and instructional best practices for integrating a variety of media resources and self-paced, online learning systems. These include:
- Instructional Media Providers such as Discovery Education, Learn 360
- Instructional Support Software such as Castle Learning, Study Island, Master Guru