Jones Knowledge Offers Online Course in Volunteerism as President Bush Calls For Americans to Serve Country

Sagemont Virtual School, the online arm of Florida’s Sagemont School, has

created a groundbreaking online course in volunteerism for secondary schools,

“Volunteer School/ Community Service” (VCS). Sagemont selected Jones

Knowledge™, Inc. to license the course to other U.S. schools, and Jones is

making it available through Knowledge Store®, Inc., its comprehensive collection

of high-quality, online education and training content. The course will be managed

and delivered on the Jones e-education™ platform.

VCS engages students in projects that help them appreciate the concept of service

and community. Course modules cover why people volunteer and identify global

issues that would benefit from volunteer participation. Students play the roles

of vice presidents of non-profit service organizations and must plan, implement

and analyze the success of their projects. To pass the course, they must complete

75 hours of community service that evidence all three of the project phases.

Sagemont Virtual School Director Pam Birtolo said the process gives students

tools they can use beyond volunteerism.

“This is a course that teaches students time management and helps them

develop high-level, critical-thinking skills,” Birtolo said. “But

it is first and foremost service-learning.

“Secondary schools across the nation are concerned with increasing student

awareness about the importance of service,” she said. “The idea behind

VCS isn’t simply, ‘I’ll bring a can to school for the annual

food drive.’ The idea is, let’s explore why we volunteer at all. Why

is it important to become a valuable member of the community and the globe?

Why should we become active volunteers in our world? It is a very values-driven

course.”

Jones Knowledge President Heather O’Mara echoed Birtolo’s sentiments.

“This is a particularly important time in our country’s history for

our children to learn to give volunteerism a place in their lives,” she

said. “The president’s call to action is one more good reason for

our schools to integrate service-learning into their curricula.”

Knowledge Store is also offering a second course developed by Sagemont, “Art

History 101,” which exposes students to a wide variety of artwork, from

ancient times to the Middle Ages.

About Jones Knowledge, Inc.

Since 1987, the Jones companies have focused on global learning, continuously

originating ways to use emerging technologies to support educators, learning

institutions, corporations, and lifelong learners worldwide.

Jones Knowledge is a leader in the development and deployment of online learning

solutions for educational institutions, corporations, and individuals.

The company’s businesses include Jones e-education™, a highly flexible

platform on which to build a customized, fully integrated online learning solution;

Jones International University®, the first fully online accredited university;

and Jones e-global library™, the first virtual library designed specifically

for online learners.

Jones Knowledge is a Jones International™, Ltd. subsidiary.

About Sagemont Virtual School

The Sagemont Virtual School is the first private, online high school to offer

its students a fully accredited diploma without the physical boundaries of a

traditional high school, while still providing the learning community each student

needs in order to thrive. In a time when flexibility is key, the faculty and

staff are dedicated to providing individualized learning programs to suit even

the most unique education and lifestyle needs. Visit the Sagemont Virtual School

at, www.sagemontonline.com.