Ms. Joy Smith

Joy Smith, Chief Development Officer, Florida Virtual School

At the Orlando-based Florida Virtual School, Chief Development Officer Joy Smith says the school is looking closely at how to tailor courses to make them more successful with both boys and girls. Customization, she says, is key.

The school is looking at allowing students to customize, for example, both the background colors for the course interfaces and organizational features for presenting information. In addition, the school is developing avatarsâ€"online representations of the studentsâ€"that could be tailored to their preferences. For example, an avatar might be “a big beefy man, or a scientist,†Smith says.

“We’re going to give them the opportunity to say how they want this information presented,†she says, “and then let them personalize it.†But the Florida Virtual School is being careful not to jump to conclusions about what boys will like or girls will like.

When it launched a new American history course called Conspiracy Code, which is an educational video game, most staff members assumed boys would be most interested and successful because they’re typically more interested in video games, Smith says. It turns out that some of the most successful students in the course have been girls. “We realized that there may be preconceived things we may be holding on to,†Smith says.

Joy Smith
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Joy Smith Chief Development Officer Nearly ten years ago Joy Smith first saw and understood the vision of Florida Virtual School. As a project manager for a company that partnered with FLVS in the late 1990s, Ms. Smith participated in that vision. Today as the FLVS Chief Development Officer, she lives that vision.

Joy Smith
...
Joy Smith Chief Development Officer

Joy Smith
...
Joy Smith

Chief Development Officer

Nearly ten years ago Joy Smith first saw and understood the vision of Florida Virtual School. As a project manager for a company that partnered with FLVS in the late 1990s, Ms. Smith participated in that vision. Today as the FLVS Chief Development Officer, she lives that vision.

Ms. Smith is a Project Management Professional certified by the Project Management Institute. By training and experience, she has developed a multi-faceted set of talents. She leads the Curriculum Services team in the development, maintenance and upgrading of FLVS course content and curriculum resources. Her approach involves leading and facilitating the collaborative and problem-solving efforts of her team members.

Ms. Smith first encountered FLVS while working at IBM in a partnership with FLVS. For eighteen years with IBM, she served as a manager, project manager, client representative, and an education and training specialist. She also taught Business Education in Cobb County Public Schools and at Georgia State University. Her decision to accept a position with FLVS was prompted by her belief in the FLVS vision for education, and by her desire to work with a talented group of people highly committed to that vision.

In addition to her Project Management Professional certification, Ms. Smith holds a Masters degree and a Bachelors degree in Education from the University of Georgia.