ARMENIAN VIRTUAL COLLEGE OPENS ITS DOORS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.07.2009 14:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Virtual College (AVC), AGBU’s newest
learning institute, announced registration of students for the new
course of study. 382 applicants have been already registered: with the
17-year-old youngest applicant and 82-year-old oldest one. The majority
of applicants are from U.S, Russia, France, Argentine and Armenia.

The AVC is currently comprised of three departments – Language,
History, and Culture, each offer 4 courses. All courses have been made
available in six languages: Armenian (Eastern & Western), English,
French, Russian, and Spanish.

As Yervant Zorian, AVC director told a news conference today, the
AVP aims to provide Armenians throughout the world the opportunity to
receive a full-fledged Armenian education, regardless of their age,
country of residence, or knowledge level. With the latest advances
in the world of virtual education, it will create a virtual learning
community that can foster both the cultural education and social
connections, otherwise out of the reach of most students across the
Diaspora and the homeland.

Through the use of multimedia technology, the virtual college will
enable students to learn new material at their own pace, but also to
confer with tutors and classmates face-to-face during office hours. In
addition to weekly lectures, students will have access to multimedia
study tools, games, assignments, course calendars, syllabi, quizzes,
drop boxes, and gradebooks. Moreover, discussion forums and live
chat options will provide students with the opportunity to better
connect with their classmates. The multimedia courses are authored
by renowned topic experts from Armenia, reinforced by international
pedagogic experts in online learning. The learners are supported by
virtual teachers, who provide distance guidance, drive discussion
forums, respond to student inquiries, and grade assignments, projects,
midterms and finals.

AVC learners can choose to earn credits for each course that they
complete, ultimately leading to a diploma from the AGBU Armenian
Virtual College by completing 12 courses, or a minor in a subject
domain by completing 4 courses from a single department. Moreover,
students may transfer credits from AVC courses to various universities,
high schools and learning institutes across the world. Currently,
the AVC is actively pursuing accreditation with recognized educational
institutions in Armenia, North America and Europe. Such accreditation
may help students transfer credits from AVC to their corresponding
university programs or obtain credit as Advanced Placements courses
in their corresponding high schools programs.