See below for answers to frequently asked questions regarding Kolbe’s Asynchronous Online courses.

 

What is included in the Asynchronous Online course?

Kolbe Academy's Asynchronous Online courses blend online course convenience with the flexibility to tailor workload and pacing to the student's learning style and schedule. The student accesses weekly folders on Schoology which contain each week's coursework including reading, recorded content, and self-graded, auto-graded, and teacher-graded assignments. School year due dates on assignments are offered for students who start the course at the beginning of each semester's term, however, the Primary Educator may notify the teacher if they would like their student to be excused from the teacher-assigned due dates. The student has one year from the stated start date to complete the course. If an extension is needed, please contact your family advisor. 

 

How are Asynchronous Online courses formatted?

Coursework is organized into weekly folders on Schoology. Depending on the course, this may include all or some of the following: readings, practice assignments, reflections, discussion boards, weekly homework checks, recitations, assessments, recorded content, etc.

 

What is the primary Educator's role in an Asynchronous Online course?

The Primary Educator's role will vary with the age, ability, and academic maturity of the student. At the very least, the Primary Educator should ensure that the student is completing work and meeting the self-determined goal for pacing. We recommend asking the student the three Cs each week:

 

• Did you complete your Coursework? In every course, there is a regular set of activities each week. Coursework refers to the contents of the weekly folder that include all or some of the following: readings, practice assignments, reflections, discussion boards, weekly homework checks, etc.
• Did you get the Clarification you need? Every week there is a discussion board provided where the students can let their teacher know if they had trouble with any of their practice work. This is where the teacher will answer questions related to that week's content.
• How did you do on your homework Check? After practice work and clarification, every week students will submit an open-book homework check that is auto-graded. This will give the primary educator and the student an immediate gauge as to the understanding of that week's content. A poor homework check may indicate the need for further discussion with the teacher.

 

If all is well with the three Cs, the student can confidently move on with the next week's folder. If all is not well, it should prompt more interaction with the teacher either through the discussion board or email, so that the student can receive the more in-depth instruction needed.

 

What does Asynchronous Online coursework entail?

• Overview: Every week begins with an overview. This shows the student what is in store for the week. Depending on the course, it may include readings, key points, topics for discussion, and any special assignments such as chapter tests or essays.
• Recorded Content: Every course includes recorded content that is either a demonstration or lecture. In humanities courses, the reading should be completed prior to watching. Depending on the course, there may be multiple recorded videos.
• Practice Work: Practice work is either problem sets or key point questions for study. It is self-graded and non-submittable. It is not weighted in the grade book. We provide students with as much practice as they might need without requiring students to do more practice than they do need. Self-graded practice work is a gauge for the student and the Primary Educator. If the student cannot complete practice work with ease, the teacher should be consulted in the weekly discussion board for clarification.
• Reflection Discussion Board: The weekly discussion board is the place to check in with the teacher regarding any practice work that needs clarification. In humanities courses, the discussion board offers students a question for reflection. This is an opportunity for the students to respond to their peers and discuss important topics in the week's content. It creates open and regular communication with the instructor and builds community amongst the students.
• Homework Check: Homework checks are short, formative, open-book assignments that are teacher-reviewed and weighted in the grade book. They are auto-graded, which gives the student and Primary Educator immediate indication of the student's understanding of the content for the week. A poor homework check may indicate the need for further teacher instruction.
• Recitation: In certain courses, the student is given a prompt for a recorded response. It may be in a language course to assess pronunciation, or a humanities course to gauge the student's ability to organize and articulate a thesis. Recitations help prepare the student for further assessment in chapter tests or exams and form them in the art of speaking well.
• Major Assignments: Every course has designated major assignments which may include chapter/unit tests, exams, labs, essays etc. Students are notified of these in advance in the weekly folder description and overview.

 

What is the difference between the new Asynchronous Online courses and the retired Self-Paced and Self-Paced Plus courses?

Kolbe's new Asynchronous courses are full-service and teacher-led. This means that the workload and coursework is determined for the students each week. The old Self-Paced and Self-Paced Plus courses presented the homeschool course plans in weekly folders on Schoology. In our new Asynchronous courses, our teachers have developed coursework based off our homeschool course plans streamlined into a regular set of activities each week. All coursework is either self-graded with the answer key we provide, auto-graded, or teacher-graded, eliminating the need for the Primary Educator to grade, access course plans and answer keys, or purchase the teacher edition of the textbook.

 

How does my student turn in completed work?

All coursework is submitted through Schoology, except for practice work, which is self-graded and non-submittable.

 

Can I go back and re-watch a recorded lecture?

Yes. Recorded content does not have a limit to the number of times it can be viewed.

 

Do I still need to submit work samples when reporting grades for the Asynchronous Online courses?

No. Teachers will automatically submit grades once a student has completed each semester. The Primary Educator may opt out of the teacher reporting the final term's grade. It grade reporting by the teacher is opted out of, the parent can choose to report the final term's grades as a homeschool course following our homeschool grade reporting process. Please see our grade reporting articles for more information. We suggest starting with reviewing the "Grade Report Submission Overview" and the "Grade Reporting Guides" for your student's grade level to get started. 
 

Who do I contact if I have technical issues?

Email [email protected]. All other course-related questions can be directed to the course instructor.