Nov 1, 2017
Today we’ll hear from Julie Young, CEO of ASU Prep Digital, a new College prep option that started in August of 2017 and supports districts in Arizona and students worldwide. Julie founded and led Florida Virtual in the 90s and has been a leader in online and blended learning for 30 years. Her new gig, ASU Digital Prep, combines online high school and university classes to provide a really unique learning opportunity for students. The ASU Digital Prep students have the chance to explore College majors and careers with ASU centers and staff. Qualified high school students will be concurrently enrolled at ASU, giving them a real leg up on enrollment at ASU, or acceptance at leading universities worldwide.
In this episode, Tom talks with Julie about Florida Virtual and ASU Prep Digital and gets her predictions on the future of online learning. They discuss in-depth about what made FLVS and ASU both huge successes and the future implementations for ASU, as well as her reflections on FLVS.
Key Takeaways:
[1:27] Tom talks with Julie to learn more about her background with Florida Virtual, her current work with ASU Prep Digital, and her predictions for the future of online learning.
[6:19] The goals and differences between Florida Virtual School and other online charter schools.
[8:39] Julie’s pioneering of the performance-based funding model.
[11:47] The keys to success in scaling and academics during Julie’s time at Florida Virtual School.
[14:45] Why Julie thinks iNACOL is an important organization in kids education.
[17:39] Julie on leading ASU Prep Digital and the success she’s had with her team.
[20:15] The value of the concurrent ASU online credit vs. the dual enrollment college credit.
[21:19] Personalized pathways and the unlimited possibilities for students.
[22:47] Serving part-time, full-time, and international students and the goal to connect students to other students around the world.
[24:46] Connected collaborative and project-based learning online.
[26:33] Concurrent enrollment and how they know when a student is ready to take a college class.
[28:15] ASU’s business model for Arizona students and international students.
[30:23] The future of online learning and Julie’s take on game-based learning and engaging students through the latest technology.
[32:21] Data-driven student supports and A.I. technology.
[33:16] Julie closes with some reflections from her first year at ASU.
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Twitter-Specific Quotes:
“[The performance-based funding model] really changed how we viewed our roles in our industry.” — Julie Young
“[ASU Prep Digital will have] a mastery-based model, so students do not move on until they’ve mastered the material.” — Julie Young
“I think we have finally gotten to the point where … online learning is just part of learning.”[Text Wrapping Break]— Julie Young
“I think the instructional methodology was totally our secret sauce [for the success of FLVS].”
— Julie Young
“My belief at this point is that every classroom should be a blended learning classroom.”[Text Wrapping Break]— Julie Young
“Blended learning is not new — it shouldn’t be new. But it requires a … highly-trained teacher.”
— Julie Young
“ASU actually launched the network of charter schools back in 2008.” — Julie Young
“We’re changing the conversation and creating a new category of school.” — Julie Young
“We’re combining high school and college in … a ... way that really gives kids the flexibility to work at their own pace.” — Julie Young
“If we teach it and students don’t learn it, we haven’t taught it; we haven’t done our job.” [Text Wrapping Break]— Julie Young
Quotes:
“Students take the courses for all kinds of reasons. Wonderful opportunity for kids who are accelerating, kids who are strugglings, kids who are pursuing their dreams … We’ve had athletes, we’ve had kids on The Voice, we’ve had kids who are pro golfers, kids who have been in the Olympics...” — Julie Young
“[Florida Virtual School was] just a wonderful opportunity to meet the students where they are and provide a learning environment that is all about them.” — Julie Young
“ASU’s new online high school program … allows students to actually take university-level courses and earn credit towards both a diploma and a university degree at the same time.” — Julie Young