Sarah Mueller
Florida Virtual School says it will provide free digital courses to all schools through the end of the year to help them deal with disruptions due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. These courses are available to K-12 students and will be hosted through software applications like Blackboard or Canvas.
The digital courses will be available on versions of Blackboard, Buzz, Canvas, Brightspace, Moodle and Schoology.
The courses were developed by FLVS and include Mathematics, English Language Arts, History, Science, various electives, Advanced Placement and Career & Technical Education lessons that will be provided at no cost between March 25 and June 30th.
FLVS CEO Louis Algaze says they are ramping up to provide access to 320,000 students by March 31, 470,000 by mid-April and up to 2.7 million by May 4th.
“I applaud Governor Ron DeSantis for ensuring students have the ability to continue their education as we work together to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” he said. “I am proud of the work our team is doing to provide school districts, charter schools and private schools with solutions and resources to keep Florida students on track with their education as we all navigate these unprecedented times together.”
“The most important thing we can do to help children through COVID-19 is to keep them safe, healthy, and give them the best possible education we can during these times,” Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said. “As the state turns to online learning, it is imperative that we work together to provide resources that support our families, teachers and school leaders.”
School districts, charter schools and private schools can each select up to 100 digital courses to serve their students. FLVS says this emergency service is only valid for new student enrollments related to the virus outbreak. The service is limited to course content only and does not include testing. Schools must contract with FLVS prior to May 31st.
