WorldOver International School Redefines Personalized, Globalized Learning

Author: Michael Niehoff | Category: 21st-Century Skills

In just its second year, WorldOver International School continues to redefine personalized learning for global learners seeking an independent school experience. Now, even more students can experience the unique learning opportunities and creative programs that WorldOver offers.

Monthly Memberships

With the launch of Monthly Membership Packages at WorldOver International School, families can tailor their child’s learning to the needs of their family and schooling choice. Full-time enrollment is no longer the only option. Memberships also make WorldOver’s innovative learning experiences more affordable than ever, according to Eileen Elliott, WorldOver Director of Communication.

“It also leads to flexibility where people can continue to customize their own schedule,” Elliot said. “We work with homeschooling families, along with students enrolled in other schools who want to supplement their education.”

These memberships have tiered options including live classes, a Virtual Reality Club and weekly Discovery Days.

“Families can customize their memberships with additional opportunities such as presentations of learning, academic coaching, tutoring and personalized one-on-one instruction,” Elliott said.

Unique Summer Opportunities

This summer, WorldOver offers extended learning opportunities and in-demand program offerings. Some summer workshops are one-off experiences for just an hour or two, in which a student learns a specific skill or creates a specific work of digital art. Others, such as WorldOver’s virtual Video Game Coding class, are similar to an intensive summer camp.

“We are dedicated to giving more learners these opportunities,” Elliott said. “In the world of online, independent schools, we are truly innovating in order to model how the world is changing.”

Courses are synchronous and asynchronous experiences, and the schedules are customizable. Courses include Japanese, improvisation, game design, coding and programming, and unique offerings in the arts. Elliott said the improvisation course even has an option for families to enroll together.

“These are very unique, project-based course offerings,” Elliott said.

Virtual Reality Is Here

One of WorldOver’s most unique program offerings is its burgeoning virtual reality program, facilitated by Ramon Hamilton. WorldOver is developing the first international virtual school, complete with a central hub, virtual classrooms, a movie theatre and an outdoor nature village.

The beta version of the virtual school will launch this summer.

“This summer, we will offer two courses in our virtual reality space,” Hamilton said. “In the fall, the goal is to have the majority of the learners spend at least one class or a portion of a class each week in virtual reality.”

Hamilton and the WorldOver team believe this is a game changer for international learners and integral to the WorldOver mission.

“The goal of WorldOver is to bring learners, families and facilitators into one collective hub of learning,” Hamilton said. “Yes, learners are taking courses, but the really transformative part is the collaborative opportunity.”

Hamilton and the WorldOver team believe that when learners share space, they learn from one another. “Zoom only goes so far,” Hamilton said. “There is something magical about doing a collaborative task in the same space.”

Although students have undertaken international collaborative endeavors together before, they are often cost-prohibitive, according to Hamilton.

Because of tuition, travel and room and board, international collaboration is often limited to those who can afford these expenses.

“Our virtual reality school is changing who can access unique international, collaborative experiences,” Hamilton said. “Now WorldOver learners can experience what only a handful of learners have traditionally been able to.”

Hamilton said these learners are part of the next generation of learning and in a much more immersive platform than previous online environments.

“Think about studying ancient Egypt and being able to go to the pyramids,” Hamilton said. “Or how about language immersion? Here, we can go to Rome from anywhere in the world and also engage with people in Italy. It’s really about whatever the mind can imagine.”

Hamilton envisions working with WorldOver facilitators to design one incredible, immersive experience after another for students from all over the world.

Additionally, as a project-based organization, there will be opportunities at WorldOver for learners to create and design their own virtual reality experiences.

“What better way to take learners from around the world and provide them truly interactive, rich experiences,” Hamilton said.

Summer Ahead

Summer is the ideal time to expand one’s horizons, pursue a personal interest, get ahead academically or try something new.

“WorldOver is really about personalized growth and lifelong learning,” Elliott said. She encourages interested elementary, middle and high school learners and their families to visit their Summer Workshops to consider all the possibilities.