HorizonLive, the leading provider of virtual classrooms and real-time collaboration
software to higher education, announced today that it has been selected by the
Vallecitos School District to be the live online platform for the school district's
innovative new charter school. In August 2004, the Vallecitos School District
will open the "doors" of The Rainbow Advanced Institute for Learning
Digital Charter High School to sixth through ninth graders who reside in Southern
California's Imperial, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties.
But instead of going to an actual building, these students will take all their
classes from their home computers, as this distinctive charter school will be
entirely online. By utilizing HorizonLive as the synchronous platform for the
school, students who normally spend time traveling to school each day will get
the same education as they would in a face-to-face classroom by enjoying the
live personal interaction with their teachers and classmates that is so integral
to the learning experience. Since HorizonLive's products cater to users in both
remote and urban areas because of its low-bandwidth requirements, thin-client
architecture, and cross-platform support, students will be able to easily access
the charter school's rigorous college preparatory program.
"We were looking for a synchronous product that would allow our teachers
to deliver live instruction to students in isolated areas of our community and
to provide an alternative program for students whose regular high school did
not address their needs," said Dr. Paul Cartas, Superintendent of the Vallecitos
Elementary School District. "We specifically wanted to offer our entire
curriculum live online to ensure that our students could interact with their
teachers just as they would if they were in an actual classroom, and we believe
HorizonLive is the perfect tool for our needs."
Besides offering four live classes each day with HorizonLive, the school will
offer an additional period utilizing a combination of self-paced asynchronous
instruction and live online instruction, utilizing WebCT's Campus Edition 4.1
course management system as the hub for these self-paced, distance-learning
offerings. This union of synchronous and a-synchronous instructional technologies
is a combination that is growing increasingly popular among educational institutions
at all levels, and will help make The Rainbow Advanced Institute for Learning
Digital Charter High School one of only a handful of entirely online K-12 schools
in the world.
"Inter-personal communication and interaction are immeasurably important
in any learning environment, and we're honored that Dr. Cartas has selected
HorizonLive to be the vehicle that will help drive the Vallecitos School District's
innovative vision," said Walter Barandiaran, Chief Executive Officer of
HorizonLive. "This charter school will offer one of the most unique K-12
experiences in the world and we know that our live tools will help foster lifelong
relationships between the students and their teachers."
About HorizonLive
HorizonLive provides the most accessible real-time collaboration software
designed for distance education and live, online, interactive communication.
HorizonLive enables educators and learning professionals to teach live online
classes and lectures, conduct virtual meetings, deliver interactive webcasts,
hold remote office hours, train personnel, and collaborate on student or group
projects. HorizonLive's web-based architecture ensures accessibility to users
regardless of geographic location, bandwidth, operating system or physical
disability. Based in New York City, HorizonLive is the leading solution for
educators and learning professionals who want to offer their users an
accessible, collaborative tool. For more information, contact HorizonLive at
info@horizonlive.com or 212.533.1775.
Press Contact:
Matt Wasowski
matt@horizonlive.com
212.813.3886
