What is Virtual Startup Academy
Virtual Startup Academy is the people's response to the broken education system we have in this country. Through a unique blend of project-based coursework and next-generation support, we provide teachers with the tools they need to create the most exciting learning environments in education without compromising the work-life balance. Everyone wins with Virtual Startup Academy.
What does a typical day look like in our program? No tests, no lectures, no boring worksheets, and most of all no sitting in front of a computer for hours a day staring into oblivion. We know students hate this, we know teachers hate this, and we're here to fix it. Student learn how to work in teams and how to communicate their ideas and present them to the world. They learn how to be amazing members of their community, and how to contribute to society. And with our support model teachers are not required to give up their weekends to make it happen.
Professional Experience
My professional experience includes five years at California Virtual Academies, an online charter school California, where I have taught Entrepreneurship. I have a BA in Economics from Claremont McKenna College, and a MA Ed in Learning and Technology from Azusa Pacific University. I hold a Single Subject Business credential, an Economics authorization, and CTE Credentials in Marketing, Service and Sales, and Business and Finance. I also hold the Certiport certification for Entrepreneurship and Small Business. In the entrepreneurial world, I have started multiple companies in the tech sector, and was a management consultant while running my software company. I have also helped multiple other startups launch and grow in an advisory role.
Teaching Style
My personal teaching style is to allow students to take control of their education and design their own experiences through careful monitoring on my end. While I do go from group to group to help them work through issues they are having and adding my content expertise as needed when students run into problems. Instead of providing rigid guidelines to projects, students are encouraged to choose the paths they take as a group and explore their topics in whichever way they find interesting and relevant. For example, instead of providing students with an event budget template, they will be encouraged to utilize the available resources to find their own budget templates, choose which one best suit their needs, and edit it as they see fit. Empowering students is my primary goal, and I have years of experience in facilitating this strategy.
Professional Expertise
My expertise lies in helping students learn to lead and partake in groups in an online environment. There is no sensitive content in this course, however students can often run into issues working together in teams in an online format. I have years of experience in dealing with different issues that have arisen and have been able to manage everything that has come up thus far. It is essential that you instill values in your students that include being kind to other and being respectable of all viewpoints and perspectives.
Educational Philosophy
My educational philosophy is simple: teach kids how to take control of their own learning and empower them to solve problems typically not tackled by high school students. I exclusively teach utilizing Project Based Learning techniques and believe in teaching kids to work together to solve problems. My experience is in teaching in a virtual setting, and I have refined my practice to specifically address the diverse issues presented by students working online.