Kitty Thuermer interviewed Michael Nachbar, director of the new Global Online Academy, to get a sense of what it is, and where it’s going.
Thuermer: What was the inspiration behind the Global Online Academy?
Nachbar: Lakeside School (Washington) decided to explore the possibility of an online academy as a proactive way to define educational excellence in an online environment. The project began to take shape after hearing speakers such as Michael Horn, coauthor of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, and other speakers at an NAIS conference in 2010. Lakeside School held a three-day conference in Seattle to discuss how independent schools were addressing online education, and we began to structure what the Global Online Academy should look like. We launched it shortly thereafter with 10 founding member schools.
All the founding schools recognized that online education is necessary to prepare our students for a changing world. More and more colleges and universities are offering online courses as options for students, and a shifting workplace is requiring new skills that should be taught in an online environment. We’re committed to effectively preparing our students with the skills they need to be successful in school and beyond.
Thuermer: Who is eligible to join?
Nachbar: The Global Online Academy is expanding its network of high-caliber schools to deliver intellectually rigorous, interactive, and engaging online courses to students in truly global online classrooms. Our teacher-paced courses allow students to collaborate with peers from around the world; provide scheduling flexibility; foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills; and provide information and communication skills that allow young learners to access, analyze, and evaluate resources.
The board is developing guidelines to help to ensure that we grow at a rate that can be supported well, and does not compromise the quality of education we are offering. If schools are interested, they should contact us at www.globalonlineacademy.org.
Thuermer: Your founding members include international schools — in Jordan, for example. What is the vision for the future?
Nachbar: We want the academy to bring together students from all over the country and the world to share ideas and perspectives, and to learn from, and with, one another. Our schools have incredible teachers who can now reach a wider audience in classrooms that represent a diversity never seen before. An article written for King’s Academy (Jordan) stated, “Another objective of the Global Online Academy is to create courses that explore global issues through the lens of how those issues present themselves locally, in a particular school’s region of the world.”
Thuermer: What excites you about this job — a job that didn’t even exist a year ago?
Nachbar: I’m thinking about the amazing teachers I’m working with right now who are teaching classes for the academy. They’re innovative, world-class content experts teaching some extraordinary classes — such as Global Health, Spanish, exploring the different Spanish-speaking cultures around the world, and Urban Studies, with a global focus.
We have lots happening this fall: planning courses for spring, summer, and the 2012–2013 school year. We’re also working on launching a new website before winter. Stay tuned.