17 Success Stories ISSUE


Feb r ua r y 20 11


I n s t r u c t i o n a l for educators of Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties


Connecting with Instructional


Support Services Tim Cox


DIRECTOR 716.376.8227


tcox@caboces.org Barb VanWicklin


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 716.376.8321


bvanwicklin@caboces.org Laurie MacVittie


LEARNING RESOURCES 716.376.8239


lmacvittie@caboces.org Cindy Crandall


STUDENT PROGRAMS ITINERANT SERVICES 716.376.8242


ccrandall@caboces.org


www.caboces.org www.go2iss.org


Student Success In Online Mandarin By Justine Lombardi


Jessie Gyr, an enthusiastic junior at Genesee Valley is currently pursuing studies in a new language via an online course.


Jessie had taken


French, which she enjoyed, but she was interested in ex- panding into other languages.


To fulfill this interest she elected to take online Manda- rin. Jessie is currently enrolled in Power Speaks’ Chinese I course through the BOCES Distance Learning program. Genesee Valley is the first school in the Cattaraugus- Allegany region to offer online Mandarin to a student.


Power Speak offers a highly interactive, calendar based course that integrates a wide variety of media including the use of avatars. Their courses


are designed to meet the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages standards while using immersive activi- ties.


Jessie feels the best thing about taking an online course is that she can work on her own schedule. She enjoys the large variety of online activi- ties including, speaking assign- ments, cultural videos, stories, and games.


Jessie stated that taking an online course can, “open up new outlets” and is a nice way to balance out a student’s curriculum. Jessie did admit that Mandarin can be, “frustrating” and difficult to learn. She stated the impor-


tance of keeping up with the course. It can be a challenge at times.


Jessie does receive live help from her online teacher once a week. Every week using the online meeting software Illu- minate, Mrs. Liu holds office hours during which students can get live help and ask ques- tions. If a student misses the session he or she can view the recording at a later date.


To find out more about online courses, please contact Justine Lombardi, Teacher for Distance Learning Students at Cattaraugus Allegany BOCES, at 716-376-8221.


this issue Genesee Valley is Online P.1 Scholastic Challenge P.2 Period X in Portville P.2 Friendship Environment P.3 Franklinville Students P.3 Andover Goes Formative P.4


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