ATLANTA — Kristin Kipp of Colorado, the SREB/iNACOL 2011 National Online Teacher of the Year, is featured in a new education video designed to represent high-quality online teaching.
Kipp, an English teacher and instructional leader for JEFFCO’s 21st Century Virtual Academy and a mother of three who lives in Evergreen, Colorado, won the top national award for K-12 online education in March from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and International Association for Online Learning (iNACOL), the two nonprofit sponsoring organizations for the award.
"A Day in the Life of the National Online Teacher of the Year" premiered last week at the iNACOL Virtual School Symposium and can be seen on the Pearson Foundation’s YouTube channel.
From her home atop a mountain accessible only by dirt roads and snowmobiles in the winter, Kristin Kipp connects her students to a community unfettered by the distances between them. The video highlights Kipp teaching high school English online from her home and also features her students and several administrators from the Academy including, Judy Bauernschmidt. The video was produced by Pearson Foundation in association with SREB.
"Students, parents and teachers can see what it’s really like to be an online teacher in this new video," said Myk Garn, director of SREB’s Education Technology Cooperative, which helps administer the National Online Teacher of the Year Award program. As Kipp is shown with her children, feeding chickens and doing other tasks in addition to teaching, "it’s fascinating to see how an online teacher works with students with such commitment, while blending family and work life in new and unique ways."
The Pearson Foundation and SREB also partnered on two previous videos featuring online learning. Both are available at www.pearsonfoundation.org.
The SREB/iNACOL National Online Teacher of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding online teacher for exceptional contributions to online K-12 education. The review committee selected Kipp and four other finalists for the 2011 award from 65 nominations of online educators in public schools and state virtual schools in 25 states.
Finalists for the 2012 National Online Teacher of the Year will be announced in late January 2012, and the winner will be announced on March 1.
iNACOL is the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership association based in the Washington, D.C., area with more than 3,100 members. iNACOL is unique in that its members represent a diverse cross-section of K-12 education from school districts, charter schools, state education agencies, nonprofit organizations, colleges, universities and research institutions, corporate entities, and other content and technology providers. See www.inacol.org.
The Pearson Foundation, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit, works together with leading nonprofit, civic, and business organizations to provide financial, organizational, and publishing assistance across the globe. The foundation aims to make a difference by sponsoring innovative educational programs and extending its educational expertise to help in classrooms and in local communities. More information on the Pearson Foundation can be found at www.pearsonfoundation.org.
To learn more about the award program and SREB Educational Technology Cooperative’s work with online teachers, contact SREB Communications.
The Southern Regional Education Board, or SREB, based in Atlanta, was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. For more information, see www.sreb.org.
