BRIGHTLinks Partners with NCSSM

On August 25, 2021, BRIGHTLinks received a phone call from NCSSM's own Dean of Distance Education and Instructional Leadership and the interim Vice Chancellor for Distance Education and Extended Programs, Dr. Jamie Lathan.

On behalf of NCSSM, Dean Lathan proposed starting a Pilot Program to reach more NC students by partnering with BRIGHTLinks. The idea is to offer four of their Interactive Video Conferencing (IVC) Courses to for free to homeschoolers in the same way the offer IVC courses free to NC Public School students in need.

ALL North Carolina BRIGHTLinks families with high school students can participate in this pilot program. If you know a students who would be interested and ready for these courses, but is not a current member of BRIGHTLinks, have them email lisa@brighltinks.us.

While NCSSM is piloting only FOUR courses at this time, there are indications that there will be more available in the future.

What you need to know:

• NCSSM started their IVC classes yesterday. IF YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CHILD IS INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THIS PILOT PROGRAM, YOU NEED TO REACH OUT TO ME ASAP. lisa@brightlinks.us

• This offer IS OPEN to both Home and Traditionally-Schooled High School Students. For the purposes of this program, they are only allowing high schoolers to participate at this time. *** BRIGHTLinks will continue to push for access for all students based on readiness vs age/grade restrictions***.
  

• These classes are all synchronous classes that will be taught by NCSSM instructors, live and online through Canvas.
• IF you are a public school students in high school, you may have access to more than the four courses that they want to pilot with BRIGHTLinks.
  

See below for the 4 class options.

AP Calculus AB covers the material typically covered in first-semester college-level courses in Calculus. The course covers all of the topics in The College Board's AP Calculus AB curriculum. Learners will cover functions, limits, derivatives and their applications, transcendental functions and special integration methods and their applications. During the semester, learners will use multiple representations, such as graphical, numerical, analytical, and verbal to foster a more complete understanding of Calculus. Technology will be used to reinforce the relationships among the multiple representations of functions, to confirm written work, facilitate experimentation, and assist with interpretation of results. Students registering for AP Calculus AB in the fall continue in the yearlong sequence by taking AP Calculus BC in the spring.

AP Calculus BC covers the material typically covered in second semester college-level courses in calculus. The course covers all the topics in The College Board's AP Calculus BC curriculum not already covered in the AP Calculus AB curriculum. Students should be comfortable with derivative and integration techniques, as they will use these fundamentals to build understanding of the calculus of polynomial approximations and series, vectors, polar functions, and parametric functions. During the semester, students will explore concepts graphically, numerically, and analytically so as to foster a more complex understanding. This course is intended for students who have a willingness to learn calculus at a very rapid pace and exceptionally good study habits. This course will prepare students to take the Calculus BC Advanced Placement Exam in the Spring by utilizing class time to complete AP review problem sets.

*Note: This course is designed to be a two-course sequence. A prerequisite to continue in the yearlong sequence in the Spring is a B or higher in AP Calculus AB.

Meeting Times:
Fall Semester: 8:10-9:20am M-F

Requirements:
Materials/Textbook: Calculus: Volumes I and II by Gilbert Strang, and Edwin “Jed” Herman. This text is an Open Education Resource and available digitally (and for print purchase) at:http://openstax.org/details/books/calculus-volume-1 http://openstax.org/details/books/calculus-volume-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-938168-02-4

Site Requirements: Students must have computer access with stable internet connection. Each student must have a TI-84, TI-84 Plus, or equivalent graphing calculator that they may take home. Students should also have access to the internet via smartphone, tablet, or personal computer to access additional instructional materials.

Powerschool: 2A007X0

Honors Foundations in Research prepares students for the Advanced Placement Capstone Seminar/Research sequence. This course is designed around six essential skills and their development—critical thinking and reasoning, critical reading, inquiry and research, constructing persuasive arguments, communicating publicly, and collaboration. This is a foundational course that engages students to explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives of different areas of study in academic research. The course prepares students to investigate research problems in any field of study, but many of the sources used for training come from the fields of science, engineering, and mathematics. The fall course focuses on finding, assessing, and paraphrasing/synthesizing professional research, and breaking down a real world topic into a research problem or question. Students will be working collaboratively toward the completion of a team research project and presentation. Ultimately, the course aims to equip students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments. Students ready to join this class are self-motivated, willing to step outside the bounds of their comfort zone, and ready to work hard. You will be making several presentations in front of classes, peers, and potentially professional colleagues. This course places great emphasis on reading, writing, and presentation both in and out of class. The expectation is students continue to Advanced Placement Seminar in the spring.

AP Seminar prepares students for the AP Capstone Seminar/Research sequence. This course is designed around six essential skills and their development—critical thinking and reasoning, critical reading, inquiry and research, constructing persuasive arguments, communicating publicly, and collaboration. The spring course focuses on an individual research synthesis project based around a theme chosen by the College Board, building presentation skills, and refining a student's skills in analyzing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing sources in preparation for the end-of-course examination administered by the AP College Board. Ultimately, the course aims to equip students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments. Students ready to join this class are self-motivated, willing to step outside the bounds of their comfort zone, and ready to work hard. You will be making several presentations in front of classes, peers, and potentially professional colleagues. This course places great emphasis on reading, writing, and presentation both in and out of class. Upon completion of the course and meeting College Board requirements, students can continue to complete an AP Research course, where students complete independent research.

Meeting Times:
Fall: Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday, 12:00-1:10pm

Requirements:
***Note: This course is designed to be a two-course sequence with AP Seminar.

Powerschool: 96105X0

This course introduces students to the major concepts of hypothesis testing and confidence intervals and uses methods like randomization and bootstrap intervals to introduce the fundamental idea of statistical inference. The course includes the more traditional methods like t-tests, chi-square tests, etc. but only after students have developed a strong intuitive understanding of inference through randomization methods. The focus throughout is on data analysis and the primary goal is to enable students to effectively collect data, analyze data, and interpret conclusions drawn from data. The course is driven by real data and real applications. With the course curriculum established by The College Board, the course is to be representative of college-level mathematics.

Meeting Times:
Fall Semester: 9:50-11:00 M-F

Requirements:
Materials/Textbook: Unlocking the Power of Data (2nd Edition) by Robin H. Lock, Patti Frazer Lock, Kari Lock Morgan, Eric F. Lock, Dennis F. Lock ISBN-13: 978-1-119-16366-4 (Loose Leaf Version) ISBN-13: 978-1-119-53976-6 (Bound Version)

Site Requirement: Each student must have a TI-84, TI-84 Plus, or equivalent graphing calculator that they may take home. Students should also have access to the Internet via smartphone, tablet, or personal computer to access additional instructional materials.

Powerschool: 2A037X0

This course combines three perspectives: inferential thinking, computational thinking, and real-world relevance. Given data arising from some real-world phenomenon, how does one analyze that data so as to understand that phenomenon? The course teaches critical concepts and skills in computer programming and statistical inference, in conjunction with hands-on analysis of real-world datasets, including economic data, document collections, geographical data, and social networks. It delves into social issues surrounding data analysis such as privacy and design.

Meeting Times:
Fall Semester 1:45-2:55 M-F/ Spring Semester 9:50-11:00 M-F

Requirements:
Site Requirements: Students must have computer access with stable internet connection.

Powerschool: 96105X0

Our Mission

The mission of BRIGHTLinks is to create opportunities for emotional, social, and intellectual growth of profoundly gifted children, particularly those whose needs cannot always be met by traditional schooling, by offering structured and unstructured recreational connection, intellectual engagement, and collaboration.

Email: lisa@brightlinks.us
Website: https://www.brightlinks.us/apply
Phone: 919-964-1141
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightlinks.us