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 TREADING CAREFULLY TOWARD ONLINE LEARNING

In This Issue:
Overhauling 'Remote' Education
Study Tip: Studying in the Cloud
Coach of the Month: James Karz
Quick Links

 

Academic Success Partner of the Month

        
One of our most effective and experienced partners in helping students is Pattie Earlix, Educational Therapist and School Placement Consultant.
Pattie's clients range from grade 2 thru high school. She works closely
with parents, teachers, administrators, and psychiatric professionals 
in a team approach.
As an Educational Therapist, Pattie strengthens her student's foundation in written language, reading, math and organizational skills.
She has referred many students to Academic
Success for tutoring, coordinating with us to create an effective fusion of her foundation work into our day-to-day coaching. Pattie's collaboration with our staff allows us to focus on the most important needs of our clients.
As a School Placement Consultant, Pattie offers much more than a
description of schools that might be of interest. She begins with an understanding of how her
client learns, then draws on her frequent contacts with teachers and
administrators to understand the teaching profile of each school. She knows that matching a student's learning profile with a school's teaching style greatly increases the probability of future academic and personal success.
Pattie has many years of experience as a teacher, school administrator, and
coordinator of both gifted and special needs programs. She has been an
Educational Therapist in private practice in Santa Monica for over fifteen
years and can be reached via email or 310.488.7888.

Looking for a Student Community Service Opportunity?

  
Meet Rickey Smith, social entrepreneur and owner of the sustainable food business Urban Green. He's started a community education venture called the Urban Green Kids Row program, creating opportunities for kids from diverse backgrounds to participate in many activities related to food sustainability, from planting seeds  to learning about how organic food is grown and harvested. For more info on a terrific community service and volunteering opportunity for kids, email Rickey, visit the website at www.urbangreenla.com

or call (800) 200 3320. 

Check out Our  YouTube Video!

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Academic Success is very proud of the two-minute video we recently produced to give you a feel for who we are, our philosophy and the way we approach our work
How Academic Success Can Support You
At Academic Success we take great pride in finding the right coach to support the unique needs of each student we help.  Please check out the areas where we work on our  web site and let us know how we can support you.

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Looking for a College Counselor or Ed Therapist?
We work and partner with excellent Educational Therapists and College Counselors throughout the L.A. area.  Give us a call and we can recommend the right fit for your child.

310-823-4398

Digital Classrooms... Do They Help Or Hurt?

 

The easy answer to this question is: everything in moderation.

Yet as schools continue to find quick solutions to overcrowded classrooms and tighter budgets, online learning may become an overused resource that hinders our kids' ability to learn and succeed.
Our jumping off point this month is an article written only a couple of weeks back that raised serious questions about the online learning models being adopted by schools across the country.
A lack of clear data on the effectiveness of online learning should be troubling for school administrators. Added to that is the potential loss of contact between students, their peers and teachers which is so critical to our kids' personal and academic development.
This month, we'll aim to put you in command of the topic, equipping you with a deeper grasp of the issues as important decisions loom for all those involved in our kids' education.

At Academic Success, we never take anything for granted when it comes to putting our students in the best possible position to succeed. 
 

Please call with any questions at (310) 823 4398 or

 

Find us on Facebook 

 

All the best,

 

Jamie

 

"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."

                                                 - Malcolm X

Education News 

Overhauling 'Remote Education'
  
Last month, KCBS in San Fransisco led with a story about the mixed results being achieved through online learning in California. Although remote education programs have been giving failing students a second chance, cracks in the foundation of internet learning have started to appear. 
 
Sometimes Remote Is The Only Way 

 

While Kansas is obviously a very different educational landscape to California, one boy's story will still be relevant to thousands of kids in our state. This informative piece offers a positive perspective on digital classrooms, showing why it can be an academic lifesaver for some of our kids. 

 

The Battle Over Online Learning

 

Recently, the New York Times published an editorial criticizing the California Legislature's decision to expand online offerings at its universities. This concise, stinging reply on the Huffington Post, written by a California university dean, makes a passionate case for more online learning in California's schools, not less. 
 

 Online Classes: A Second Chance

 

In the past, many students struggling at school and at risk of dropping out saw few options in front of them to help them recover lost ground and change course. However, a new Washington school district program combining online learning with personal advocacy is working wonders with troubled teens.

 

Online Learning = Online Distraction?

 

Unlike the classroom, learning via the internet - especially unsupervised - brings with it a whole raft of distractions that threaten to distract the student from their work. This in-depth Scientific Daily article examines the explosion of online learning in recent years and whether students can maintain their workflow while sitting at their computers.  

Study Tips 

 Studying In The Cloud 

 

What Is The Cloud?

The easiest way to understand the Cloud is to think of it like electricity: when you plug (connect) your computer, iPad or smartphone into the grid (internet), whatever you've stored online - in the
"Cloud"
- will be available to you any time and any place with an internet connection.
This can be tremendously useful for students as they collect more and more study material, from notes taken in class to references, articles and even entire textbooks. 
Google Drive and Dropbox are just two of many cloud storage sites requiring only an email address.
Students can type their notes in during class if they are using a laptop; these sites auto-save everything in real time. Scanning notes in later is also an option.
For study materials online, it can be as simple as saving a file and dragging it into the Drive or Dropbox icon on your desktop.
Not only will students save themselves the hassle of carrying around bundles of source material, they'll also have it at their fingertips on any device, organized into as many files & folders as they need. 
Students now have the capacity to work whenever and wherever they want, never having to be disorganized or worry about losing their notes, source material or homework files- which means more time spent studying.

Coach Profile 

  Meet James Karz,
  Coach Profile of The Month
 
One point of pride for us here at Academic Success is the continued growth and evolution of our coaches. That is certainly the case with this month's Feature Coach, James Karz. 
When we last visited with James, he was busy tutoring students in chemistry, science and physics, having obtained a Bachelor's Degree from Loyola Marymount in Biochemistry. Since then, James has decided to attend medical school and will be beginning his new studies in the fall!
James began his tutoring career at LMU a few years back. He has an unabashed love for all things science and takes great pleasure in awakening the same passion and fascination for the subject in his students. 
When not tutoring (or studying, once fall arrives), James is an avid biker in addition to fancying his skills in the kitchen.
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We consider it a privilege and an honor to support students and their families throughout the Los Angeles area.  Please call us at any time; we welcome your thoughts and input.  We are available at 310-823-4398.

Sincerely,
 
Jamie Altshule
Academic Success, Inc.