Hart said Terra Vista added the Virtual Learning Tech Apps class as an additional elective course for middle school virtual learners and while she has taken bits and pieces from her in-person Tech Apps class she has  essentially created the course from scratch.

“I enjoy developing curriculum and this has been a fun and interesting challenge," Hart said. "We were presented with the idea at the beginning of the year to create a Virtual Learning elective class, so that students would have more choices. What we ended up doing was creating Virtual Learning Tech Apps, just giving the students an additional choice.”

Hart said that since she is teaching a Virtual Learning elective, she uses a “Weekly Checklist” structure with her Virtual Learning students which she feels is huge part of high school and college readiness. Hart said they have found that the students that take technology-based courses like Tech Apps are typically more prepared for any computer and technology classes in high school.

“We decided to give the student a weekly checklist of assignments, so it became more of a self-pace situation,” said Hart. “We do have meetings where we log-in every week with TEAMS and I meet with them, but as far as the Monday through Friday, they complete assignments on their own.”

Hart said she uses Schoology to help her students by posting step-by-step instructional videos that keep them connected and engaged. She said she feels that this helps the students troubleshoot, just like they would in an in-person classroom environment. Hart said she loves getting to watch them flourish and grow while using their own minds.

“Being able to still interact with them, as well as getting their feedback, and seeing the projects they come up with on their own,” Hart said, “is the coolest part.