September 8th, 2010 - Examiner.com

When I was accepted as a contract columnist for Examiner.com as the new Denver Online Learning Examiner I guess I thought it was going to be like any other freelance writing job, but I was wrong. The learning curve and expectations are intense. After I was hired I scratched out a couple of relevant articles and have since gone back in and completely re-wrote them. I spent four hours this morning in the Examiner University and I only took a few courses, but it was enough for me to realize that I needed revise my submitted articles. Fortunately they have publishing tools that allow you to go back and revise even published articles.

After a week of journalistic re-education I only have two polished articles published. They won't be live on my page for a few more days because they are having technical difficulties with their new website. When they are they will be at http://www.examiner.com/x-67194-Denver-Online-Learning-Examiner . Once online you can, and I hope you do, sign up as a follower. The pay structure and bonuses are better than I could have imagined. I have found my new full-time job. In order to meet my financial obligations without relying on the art business, I need to write at least four quality articles a day. Now that I have figured out how this thing works, I should have no trouble cranking out the stories. My main job right now is spreading my network to all of those Colorado institutions that provide or use online learning.


The following is an example of how much I've had to revise my articles. This is the new version of the article I posted here on my last entry...

Colorado's K-12 open classroom education

The Internet is an invaluable resource to locate online learning opportunities from local school districts as well as established online schools, but it is also an awesome tool to locate “open classroom” learning activities for traditional and homeschooled students in Colorado.

The philosophy behind the “open classroom” method of learning promotes real world experiences. Anyone that went to grammar school in Denver can remember the frequent field trips to the Denver Zoo, the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Botanic Gardens, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

In addition, many school districts in Colorado offer six grade students the opportunity to spend one glorious week deep in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains at open lab.

For example, Jefferson County Public School District’s Outdoor Education Laboratory Program “fosters opportunities for student growth in environmental stewardship through an enhanced awareness, appreciation, and sense of responsibility for the environment, themselves and others.”

While traditional open classrooms offer great hands-on experience, there is a host of not-so-obvious alternative fieldtrips like historic Colorado ghost towns or archeological digs at the four corners Crow Canyon or geology at the Argo Gold Mine and Mill in Idaho Springs.

Today’s K-12 students are exposed to more information and stimulus than ever before. Alternative and bizarre field trips found online offer students the diversity they are looking for.