Local
Education Guides (LEG)
Here
are answers to some of the questions we frequently receive
regarding LEGs and how they fit into an online learning
program:
 What
is a Local Education Guide (LEG)?
If
we were referring to body parts, a leg is something
you stand on; it gives you support. In the virtual
world of Wisconsin Virtual School, a LEG is someone
who gives support to students in the district who
are taking virtual courses online through WVS.
Do
we HAVE TO have a LEG? Our experience at
Wisconsin Virtual School (WVS) is that it is critical
to the success of most students in an online environment
to have someone monitoring their progress, locally.
If the student had difficulty being motivated to do
assignments in a traditional educational setting,
he or she may have equal difficulty being motivated
to do online course work. In an online course, the
student must complete assignments and communicate
with the teacher on a regular basis in order to complete
the course. Many students need a little prodding to
be sure they are moving forward toward course completion.
Student contact and encouragement are the most important
responsibilities of a LEG.
Who
can/should be a LEG? A LEG could be anyone at
your school district that would be willing to help
support the online student's needs. It could be a
teacher, guidance counselor, or other appropriate
staff. For instance, it may be logical for a math
teacher to be the LEG for students who are taking
an online math course, an English teacher for students
taking English courses and so on. Or, the district
may prefer to have one person, such as a counselor,
monitor all of the students who are taking WVS courses.
It is up to the school district to decide which approach
will work best for its students' needs.
 How
much TIME will it take to be a LEG?
Being an effective LEG does not need to be
time-consuming. LEGs receive a weekly progress report
that provides a quick snapshot of the student's current
progress in the course. If the student
is not doing assignments, then the LEG will need time
with the student to determine issues and solutions.
Generally,
the most time consuming part of a LEG's responsibilities
is helping the student get started with an online
course for the first time. If the student goes
through the Orientation Tutorial, getting
started is easy. The LEG will
want to coach the student on the importance of carefully
following instructions.
 How
to get a student started on a WVS course for the first
time:
-
Help the student log on to the
website where
they will access their class(es).
-
Make sure the student has any required textbooks
available to them (see course descriptions for
requirements)
-
Make sure the
computer they will be using has all the needed
components and plug-ins. Contact your local technology person
or the WVS Help Desk for a resolution.
-
Be sure the student completes the Student
Orientation Tutorial,
which is the
critical orientation to the course tools and first
communication with the teacher. (It may be helpful
to go through this with the student.)
-
It is critical that the student access the course
several times in the first 14 days to determine
if it is appropriate in meeting his/her needs, because
the district has 14 days from the time of registration
confirmation to drop the course at no charge.
If the drop is made after 14 and before 28 days, a
$100 cancellation fee will be charged. After
that time, the district will be billed the full
amount of the course tuition.
-
If you need to cancel a student's course, send an
e-mail requesting that the student be dropped to:
wvs@wisconsinvirtualschool.org.
-
Check with the student to ensure that he/she is
not having any problems regarding access, course
software, etc. If there are issues, contact your
local technology person or WVS to resolve.
 How
to check student progress:
LEG's receive a weekly
progress report on all students taking courses at WVS.
LEG Resources:
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