High Tech High Flex Intro

1. HTH Mission
High Tech High’s mission is to develop and support innovative public
schools where all students develop the academic, workplace, and
citizenship skills for post-secondary success.
Academic: 61% of universities offer online courses
Workplace: 48% of employers are offering telecommuting options
Citizenship: Online Social Technologies key to Obama victory.

2. Online Education
44 states offer significant online learning opportunities

3. Telecommuting
2009 Career Builder Survey:
48 percent of employers are offering telecommuting options
70 percent offering alternative schedules

4. Challenges of
Online Education
Negatives:
Built on an outdated “teacher-centered” model
Read the screen, take the quiz
No real-world connection
No flexibility
No social connection
Lack of current social technologies

5. Why Flex?
Why Flex?
1. serve more students
2. online opportunities for existing students
3. improve opportunities for online students
4. financial benefits of moving into 'non bricks and mortar' schooling
5. “sandbox” for the HTH organization
While maintaining/ improving:
1. personalization
2. real-world connection
3. preparing students for a changing world

6. Flex Design
Start small, then grow.
Stick to our design principles
Hybrid, not only online.
Take advantage of what works.

7. The Flex Team
Dr. Brian Dixon Dr. Anne Gloag Jaimee Rojas
Director Math/ Science Humanities
Phyllis Perlroth Jenny Pieratt Jason Askegreen
Inclusion Specialist Humanities Instructional Technology

8. Flex Overview
High Tech High Flex is an independent learning program based on
the design principles of personalization, adult world connection, and
a common intellectual mission. Flex blends home-based independent
study, online learning, and face-to-face experiences.

9. A Day in the Life
Unlike more traditional schools, HTHflex stretches the academic
experience beyond the walls of the conventional classroom. A typical
school day in the life of a Flex student consists of the following activities:
● Real-time small group project activities
● One-on-one coaching between teacher and student
● Live online class session
● Tutoring sessions with intelligent software
● Independent project work and research
● Self-paced posting/ commenting/ peer critique
● Peer coaching

10. Independent Activities
Flex students take advantage of self-
paced online intelligent tutoring
systems. Online research, traditional
reading, and independent writing are
core components of any successful
learning program. Finally, students in
Flex contribute to an interactive
online social network, posting their
work, responding to others, and
frequently providing collaborative
feedback.

11. Group Projects
Students will collaborate on group
projects in real time, both online
through Instant Messaging or video
conferencing, and face-to-face at a
students' home, local library, or
coffee-shop.

12. Teacher Led Sessions
Each day, students will participate in
real-time, online class meetings.
These daily check-ins will allow
students to discuss the class
content, practice core concepts, and
share their learning experiences.

13. In Person Activities
In addition to these distance learning
activities, students will attend weekly
face-to-face classroom experiences.
These will serve to help facilitate
hands on projects, community
building, and athletic activities.

14. Coaching Sessions
Each flex student will engage in
regular one-on-one coaching with
their teachers and peers. These
coaching sessions assess individual
progress, address concerns, and
challenge students to deepen their
knowledge and application of class
concepts. These conversations
occur online through video and voice
conferencing as well as face-to-face.

15. Connection Encounters
Education does not stop on the weekends, but extends into students
real world experience. Each week, students will engage in a
connection encounter focusing on the four C's: College, community,
career, and culture.

16. Connection Encounters
Service learning immersion
Each student will partner with a local
non-profit or community organization in a
monthly hands-on experience to make
an impact on the local community
through service learning.

17. Connection Encounters
Job shadowing
Every Flex student will intern in multiple
career fields over the course of their high
school experience. Internships allow
students to walk in the shoes of
practitioners in the field, trying out the
occupation for themselves, while
creating connections with local
businesses and corporations.

18. Connection Encounters
Arts/Cultural experience
Once a month, the entire flex community
will participate in or attend an arts or
cultural experience. These will include
gallery shows, arts and cultural festivals,
and live theatre performances.

19. Connection Encounters
College encounter
In addition to participating in college
preparatory courses, flex students will
visit university campuses, partner with
university professors in research, and
make connections with college
admission counselors.

20. A High Tech High Education
Flex students will engage in High Tech
High's unique learning experiences
including:
Project-Based Learning
Student Led Conferences
Presentations of Learning
Exhibitions
Community Meeting

21. A High Tech High Education
Project-Based Learning
Students will create personalized, authentic projects in collaborative
teams, making real-world connections and presenting their learning.

22. A High Tech High Education
Student Led Conferences
Instead of parent/teacher conferences,
High Tech High students take part in mid-
semester student-led conferences where
they discuss their learning progress and
define areas to improve as they finish the
semester.

23. A High Tech High Education
Presentations of Learning
At the end of each semester, instead of
final exams, students present their major
projects to a panel of community
members, parents, and fellow students.

24. A High Tech High Education
Exhibitions
Publicly displaying students projects is
an important component of the learning
process. Students display their projects
on their online digital portfolios, as well
as presenting them to the community
during exhibition.

25. A High Tech High Education
Community Meetings
Once or twice a month, the entire school
community meets together to present
projects, discuss important issues, and
build the school culture.

26. Personalization at Flex
Advisory Program
Each Flex student will have an advisory
who will serve as the first point of contact
with High Tech High Flex. This
connection starts with a personal home
visit over the summer, allows the student
and advisory to connect, set up the
home study space, and establish an
individualized support system.
Throughout the year, the advisor will
continue to monitor both academic and
personal progress with weekly check-ins
through instant messaging, video chats,
and face-to-face time.

27. Personalization at Flex
Personalized Learning Plans
As an independent study program, Flex
partners with parents to offer students an
individually tailored educational plan. The
advisor will serve as the “Teacher of
Record” to support students in their
language, art, and other exploratory
courses by establishing learning goals,
benchmarks, and authentic
assessments.

28. Personalization at Flex
Truly Personalized Education
The average classroom student in a
traditional school may receive up to 30
minutes of individualized time during the
school week.
At High Tech High Flex, our strategies
and tools for personalization result in
Flex students receiving individualized
teacher conference time between 75 and
150 minutes per week. These
interactions occur both face-to-face and
through video conferencing, instant
messaging, and personal phone calls.

29. Student Equipment
Each student will be provided a laptop,
loaded with open-source software
customized to allow students to engage
in all online activities. Student laptops
include a built-in video camera,
microphone, and wifi as well as graphic
applications, video editing software,
office applications, and video
conferencing tools.

30. Admissions Process
05/04: Email to interested families and the High Tech High community.
05/04: Website with Flex Overview and FAQ's
05/13 and 05/16: Information Sessions at HTHNC
05/22: Admissions application deadline
05/25: Lottery for Admission
06/01: Letter sent out and acceptance
06-07: Home visits by advisors
07/08: Flex bridge experience
08/31: First day of school

31. An example Flex project
This is North County:
A collaborative, ethnographic study of
North County San Diego
Essential Questions:
1. How can we utilize our surrounding
resources to understand the history of
our community?
2. What are the lasting influences of
interactions between individuals and their
environment?
3. How can our knowledge be shared in
ways that can improve the current
situation of our community?

32. An example Flex project
Project Description
The students of HTH flex will be performing an ethnographic study
of communities in the North County. Specifically, students will be
looking at issues and events related to the history of immigration
and settlement. Our study will consist of scientific and ethnographic
methods, including interviews, observations and a review of related
literature. In addition, we will consider environmental issues related
to resources affected by immigration and development of
communities.

33. An example Flex project
Project Presentation
The findings of our research will be compiled in a published field
guide to be used by individuals who are interested in understanding
the history of immigration and the effects of interactions between
individuals and their surroundings, both social and environmental.
Students will also design their own energy efficiency dwelling
(including floorplan and 3D representation). A collection of the
sketches of the period dwellings from North County and their design
representing the “Future Dwelling of North County” will be included in
the digital and paper-based field guide. The field guide will also
include drafts of their sketches. Video Presentations will be posted
showcasing their final interviews with local area professionals.

34. An example Flex project
Project Description
The students of HTH flex will be performing an ethnographic study of
communities in the North County. Specifically, students will be looking
at issues and events related to the history of immigration and
settlement. Our study will consist of scientific and ethnographic
methods, including interviews, observations and a review of related
literature. In addition, we will consider environmental issues related to
resources affected by immigration and development of communities.

35. An example Flex project
Interdisciplinary Components
Humanities: Anthropology, writing field notes, different types of
interviews, qualitative descriptions, culture studies, immigration,
literacy.
Math/Science: Naturalism, Quantitative Analysis, reporting findings,
similarity and proportion and perspective drawing, efficient energy,
passive heating techniques, energy flow
Multimedia: A look at visualizing anthropology
Spanish: communication skills, history/cultural studies, language
and culture in context
Photography: Perspective in art and architecture
Art: hand-sketched drawings of dwellings from different time periods

36. An example Flex project
Asynchronous Learning Activities:
Fieldwork, ethnographic interviews, ethics in ethnographic research,
qualitative descriptions, independent research
Synchronous Learning Activities:
Conducting focus groups, jigsaw of research strategies, peer
feedback groups, online critique sessions

37. An example Flex project
Service Learning Component:
Students will have an opportunity to both learn from and teach the
community about our research. This project aims to empower
students to disseminate their knowledge with the community. In the
process of this project, students will be interacting with the
community and participating in community service geared to
improve the conditions of the North County, including community
clean-ups. Students create a lesson that uses the field guide and
the 3D models and take the presentation on the road to local
elementary and middle schools.
Students create a display at a local Children’s Museum or historical
society using the 3D models they constructed.

38. An example Flex project
Job-Shadowing
Students shadow Architects and Building Engineers to learn more
about building design. Students may also network with local
anthropologists to observe field research and study professional field
notes.
College Encounter
Students visit the Architecture School at a local university and submit
their designs for critique by experts from the university. Students use
Internet and university library to find information about the types of
dwellings in North County past. Students will also visit the Department
of Anthropology at one of the local universities.

39. An example Flex project
Arts/Cultural Encounter
Students visit Old Town San Diego, local Missions, connect with local
Indian Tribes.
Digital Tools
Geometer’s SketchPad or Google SketchUp, Moodle, Voice Thread,
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign

40. An example Flex project
Project Week at a Glance
Times of activities not in bold will vary per student based on their
personal schedule. Each box represents up to an hour: