One way to better understand how the Virtual High School works is to see a VHS NetCourse. We have created demo courses, based on real VHS courses, that will not only help you become familiar with the look and feel of a VHS course, but will also show you how our courses are designed to engage students, regardless of time zone or demographic differences.

We recognize that navigating around this environment may be a bit unfamiliar at first, so we offer a brief introduction below, which you may want to read before starting the demo. If you want to skip this introduction, you can jump right into the demo NetCourse.

What is a VHS NetCourse like?

VHS uses a software package called Blackboard to design and deliver our NetCourses. Through Blackboard, VHS students can access their courses on any computer with an Internet connection and browser. A Blackboard course allows students to post assignments, communicate with their teacher (privately or publicly), participate in on-going discussions, and collaborate on group projects. All of this is done asynchronously (any time, any place) vs. synchronously (same time, same place), so that VHS students anywhere in the world can join the class.

Navigation Tips

All VHS NetCourses have ten areas that students and teachers move through on any given day.

Lessons - an area that contains all course assignments and activities. Discussions - a place where students and teachers go to participate in class discussions. The discussions area is also a place where students can ask questions of their classmates or teacher. Media Center - an area that contains all reference materials for the course. Announcements - a place that highlights posted messages for students to view upon entering a course. Grades - a place where students go to view their grades. Private Threads - each VHS student has a special discussion area where he/she can talk privately with his/her teacher. Teams - as VHS NetCourses are collaborative in nature, group work is completed in this area. Classmates - the area that lists all of the students in a single NetCourse. Teacher Info - this is where students learn information about their VHS teacher. Tools - a feature that includes items like a Student Manual and a Digital Drop Box (this area is not available in the course demo)

Time to Explore

Are you ready to give it a try? Click one of the links below to explore a demo VHS NetCourse. The link will open a new browser window, where you will encounter an Access Denied screen indicating that you are attempting to access our course server. Click the Login button, and use the following credentials to access the demo course:

Username: demouser
Password: demouser

• DEMO: Digital Geography
• DEMO: Cultural Identity through Literature
• DEMO: AP Environmental Science
• Teacher Professional Development sample -
  DEMO: Netcourse Instructional Methodologies