LAS VEGAS - September 24, 2009 - Online learning opportunities for high school students on military bases worldwide will soon receive a boost thanks to a new partnership between UNLV and the Department of Defense Education Activity Agency (DoDEA).

The UNLV Division of Educational Outreach (UNLVEO), as part of a $6.2 million contract from DoDEA, will develop, test and implement a new Virtual High School curriculum for more than 95,000 students in DoDEA programs, which serve children of active armed forces members and civilians stationed at military bases all over the world. The courses will be designed for the unique needs of DoDEA students who often change schools or whose parents are stationed at a base without access to traditional DoDEA schools.

The first phase of the Virtual High School project, to begin this year, will consist of 33 interactive high school-level courses - a complete and accredited online high school curriculum - developed by UNLV to supplement the existing DoDEA curriculum. The project will be fully compatible with current in-person teaching plans and will ease the transition for students who move from base to base during their high school years.

"The Virtual High School project is a great opportunity for UNLV to make a significant contribution to DoDEA's curriculum and its effort to provide a quality educational experience to the dependents of military and civilian employees," said UNLV President Neal Smatresk. "This partnership will enhance the DoDEA's ability to engage online high school learners and prepare them to succeed in today's rapidly changing global environment."

The courses are developed in close collaboration with UNLV faculty and DoDEA administrators and are divided into a series of interactive lessons, each capable of functioning as a standalone unit. Each course incorporates visual elements including group problem solving, simulations, strategic use of student-generated content, exploratory learning and streaming lectures. This online learning strategy encourages students to draw on material from multiple disciplines and offers the flexibility to adapt learning activities to current world themes.

The contract also carries a four-year, $4 million option for a second phase. If awarded, UNLV's team of distance education staff and faculty researchers will develop additional courses and a comprehensive series of teacher, course and program resource manuals. The team will also create professional development programs for DoDEA instructors that correspond with the Virtual High School curriculum, allowing instructors to adapt courses to suit students' individual needs.

The Virtual High School curriculum will meet all DoDEA standards, requirements and technical guidelines and will be ready for implementation by fall 2010. When completed, the courses will be the exclusive property of the DoDEA. The project is a collaboration of the DoDEA, UNLV Division of Educational Outreach and UNLV College of Education. Principle participants from UNLV are Peg Rees, J. Victor McGuire, Mark Fink and Christine Ditzler of the UNLV Division of Educational Outreach and Greg Levitt of the College of Education. Former Vice Provost for Educational Outreach Richard Lee also participated in project development.

Through the Division of Educational Outreach, the Center for Distance Education currently serves more than 26,000 students annually in Nevada and abroad. The center designs hundreds of online courses each year in its advanced digital production and animation lab and boasts one of the largest university based collections of online learning software.