D is for Daring

Daring...a perfect adjective for what educators are doing on a daily basis. We dare to offer students a different choice: using the virtual experience to learn. Not play, not organize, not produce slides, but teach and learn. Lots of "D" words rise to the surface: daring, different, daily. Add in doubtful, diligence, diagnostic, distance, dangerous....

Diligence is critical in the online environment. You and your student must be consistent and on task. The tone is set in the early days of a term, a course, a webinar. Serious attention to process, expectations, and progress can spell the difference between success and failure. When the content and delivery are virtual, the rules remain the same, crafted to work within the environment. A flipped or blended classroom? If you aren't going to "be" there in person, you need to develop guideposts along the way, like the signs on a highway telling you how far you are from the exit.With tools like wikis, Google Hangouts, dropboxes, you have easy and creative ways to check progress and keep communication flowing.

Diagnostic is not a dirty word. Teachers who are monitoring progress are using all manner of diagnostic testing. If the word "test" is disturbing, try assessments, check-ins, quick quizzes, or progress stops. It doesn't really matter the name, the intent is the same. To make sure every student's needs are addressed, spotlighting where he or she is in the content, and what is needed to move forward. And are we diagnosing just content? Just because the venue is changing from on-the-ground to online, whether fully or partially, it doesn't absolve educators from knowing the total student. Consider how the environment, background, economic standing all still affect each learner.  You need to make notes in that personal Student Directory you have created or in an online database or platform if provided by the school. Refer often to your various diagnostic tools and gathered information.

Distance is a circumstance some learners embrace, others fear. You need to reassure all stakeholders that learning is happening. You need to insure transparency. In the early years of online education, some teachers jumped from on-the-ground to online for obvious reasons: simplicity, the novelty of working from home, setting your own hours, and being schooled in "all things Internet and tech." What played out was natural selection. Some teachers just didn't handle that freedom well, weren't as tech-savvy as needed, and learning stalled. Those who persisted and remained excited about the potential in the Internet as a teaching tool have used distance to benefit their students and their own professional and personal growth. Teaching online requires as much or more of educators.

Disconnected is not okay. Don't make the assumption that a disconnected student is one who doesn't care. Again, knowing your students will prevent misconceptions. Your belief should start with yourself. You can be the educator for change for all students no matter where they are located. Only then can you offer a true commitment and belief in the learners committed to your classrooms and care.

Reflection: Can you dare to do more? Decide what that looks like, share with colleagues (and me!), and then do it!