IGUANA Provided for IGGY Juniors- Warwick
Virtual Learning Environment for International Gifted Education
Nov 16, 2008
The IGUANA learning community strives to connect a global community of young gifted learners from the top 5% internationally in achievement and potential. Online gifted education courses stretch intellectual boundaries and deepen understanding. Participants are encouraged to develop their unique voices, explore creativity, and learn leadership skills. An exclusive, yet diverse, community of bright minds gains exposure to university academics and intellectual peers worldwide.
IGUANA Provided for IGGY Juniors– Online Gifted Education Courses
IGUANA offers a broad range of online courses for gifted kids. Students can complete weekly math and science challenges, compose a sonnet, participate in debates, solve logic puzzles, explore philosophy, and even learn a bit of Mandarin Chinese.
Top-notch course instructors from the University of Warwick present thought-provoking concepts, solicit student responses, and evaluate multi-disciplinary work. Peer review is encouraged in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. Participation leads to accolades for the writer of the week, top quiz scores, and certification of primary course completion with merit or distinction.
The most popular course is the Bodleian Room- a place for gifted kids to share knowledge and display their best poetry, fiction, and nonfiction writings. Recent Bodleian Room projects include creation of a wiki as a chance to explore a new or favorite topic at depth and communicate that information to peers while improving research, writing, and computer skills. Other courses in Writer’s Club explore persuasive speech and poetry forms.
The IGUANA community fosters peer interaction through assignment structure, instant messaging, and a chat room with topic prompts and polls spurring conversation. In the 10 week Write Away! course, students are paired with partners to share stories and poetry, conduct “Talk Show Host” interviews, and ask probing questions about future aspirations.
Some gifted children will plunge headlong into the coursework but show reluctance to interact with peers. Parents should encourage these gifted learners to post an introduction in the chat room. Full participation in the virtual learning environment will yield the most rewards in intellectual and social-emotional growth.
IGUANA Provided for IGGY Juniors at University of Warwick– Fun Online Gifted Education
A six-year-old gifted reviewer found everything from the IGUANA online learning community engaging, though she spent most of her time in the Writer’s Club. Even though she claimed the Mandarin Chinese pod cast format was less interesting, she self-directed through six lessons and reviewed material at her own discretion. Even her two-year old brother is repeating words and tones from the lessons.
Her mother appreciated assignments targeting a diversity of learners. The six year-old focused on rhyming and syllable counts while writing a sonnet; older learners could explore the nuances of stress in iambic pentameter. The whole family enjoyed lateral thinking puzzles and science challenges making everyone think. There is no lack of challenge in IGUANA virtual learning environment, but the exercises gently draw students into creative and critical thought without intimidation. The progressive nature of weekly lessons continually demands more depth from students, but they have fun while expectations rise.
Some areas of the site focus on play more than others. The Game Room is filled with classic strategy games like Mastermind, Battleship, Checkers, and a fun quiz of custom content where students get to “fling the teacher” if they get all 15 answers on Leonardo Da Vinci, Ancient Civilizations, or other course topics correct.
IGUANA Provided for IGGY Juniors – Membership Fees
Enrollment in IGGY Juniors requires school recommendation. The program targets six to eleven year olds in the top 5% academically with particular interest in highly gifted students who are not currently fulfilling their potentials. Annual membership fees are £350 GBP (about $520 US). IGGY Juniors members may apply for IGGY membership when they are twelve, gaining eligibility for additional international learning opportunities. The IGUANA virtual learning environment is just one project serving IGGY Juniors members.
University of Warwick IGGY Juniors – Additional Gifted Programs
The IGUANA online learning community is provided for IGGY Juniors, a program serving younger gifted children within University of Warwick’s International Gateway for Gifted Youth (IGGY). During the academic year, IGGY Juniors also conducts the Da Vinci Project with weekly classes on the campuses of Warwick, Exeter College of Oxford, St. Thomas More, and Sibford. Holiday courses include master classes with recent offerings on Fibonacci and Michaelangelo where students learn history, theory, and practical techniques.
Coral Milburn Curtis, Lead Professional for the project, says upcoming plans for IGGY Juniors include after-school gifted clubs in the United Kingdom, in-school curricular enrichment for gifted learners, and a global expansion of IGGY Juniors gifted services.
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