Virtual Math & Science Camps

Though I've spoken before about online education options, I just learned about some new virtual camps being offered by the Michigan Virtual High School. These are two-week online enrichment programs in mathematics and sciences, specifically oriented preparing middle school students for new Michigan high school standards, offered for the reasonable rate of $75 per program (with some limited scholarships available).

The first of the sessions for summer 2008 is finished, but the second one starts on July 21. The following quote from a press release for the program provides some further information:

For those who excel in math and science, the camps provide challenging, interactive activities that will fuel their passion for discovery. Students are expected to spend a minimum of two hours a day on course work during the two- week camp period, or about 20 hours total.

Campers are guided by an online camp leader as they traverse the course content. Both camps use the online Gizmos to answer questions like "How much would you weigh on the moon?" and "Can you analyze a mysterious powder?" Gizmos bring research-proven instructional strategies to life and correlate to state and national standards. This innovative tool for teaching math and science was developed by ExploreLearning(R) and are licensed by MVU for the camp courses.