H is for Home

Home is one of the many reasons why students and teachers enjoy the virtual education world. Sophisticated technology has opened doors to innovative ways to teach and learn. And here we are standing on that cutting edge.

Home is a place of comfort and support, and has as many definitions as there are places to call home. Wherever home is, successful educators and students have learned quickly how to avoid the distractions. You have no choice but to ignore the piles of laundry, dirty dishes, scattered toys, and blaring television shows. Ignore the knowledge that no one can "see" you in your work space, thereby allowing for whatever flexibility looks like to you. Make sure your definition is not too flexible. Finally, ignore those things you would rather be doing: online games, weeding, reading, texting, instant messaging, talking. You simply must stay on task.


Honesty is key. Many students will insist they are on task. After all, courses are online and that's where you are: always online. Unfortunately, it isn't that simple. For instance, how many tabs are open in your browser window and on your tool bar as you read this blog post? When you are trying to work, to study, close most of them. A minute on Facebook turns into fifteen; a quick word game turns into a rematch; and one searched article turns into two and then three. Being in a home office or workroom is a privilege, but it can be so easily abused. How many corners do you cut in a day?

I often have asked students or teachers to do their own private time and motion study, an honest accounting by ten minute blocks of how our day really looks. Do we have childcare or are we constantly trying to work while juggling babies and dirty diapers and snacks? Do we dash out for the missing gallon of milk or a "quick doctor's appointment," losing two hours of our day? How efficient would our day be if we honestly made changes? Both students and teachers need to own the decisions made concerning the privilege of working from home, and constantly check we are making the right decisions.

Help students understand how to use the responsibility of being at home wherever that may be. Sleeping until noon just isn't the best plan. School is your job and theirs and if the schedule isn't reasonable, the job isn't getting done. If you could watch a student work online for a day or could do a video of your own work habits, it would be apparent only a regular routine leads to completion and success.

Remember, for many students, wherever they live and work, as the teacher, you ARE home for them. Be the role model and inspiration they seek.

Reflection: Challenge yourself to start and end your work day on a traditional time card grid. Ignore distractions, take a set lunch break, and stop at 5 PM. How did that work for you? For your students?

G is for Glass

Glass...or glasses. Improve our vision, allow us to see better, more clearly. The ultimate goal of a teacher is to make things clearer; the end result for a learner is for things to become clearer. A student can "see" when we give them the best information, the best tools, and a chance. Simple, yes?

Glass is transparent, something which students often are, even while believing they are an enigma to everyone, or hard to understand. They need discipline, firm and reasonable guidelines, understanding, patience, and love. The more we use these guidelines, the more transparent students become as they increasingly trust the instructor who cares.

Glass is made from simple elements: sand, limestone, soda ash, and borax. Hard to imagine from such simple powders comes the array of glass in the world. Can you pull the analogy from this on your own? We are working and learning in a technologically sophisticated environment, but we need to remember the basic elements at play: ability to read and relate, willingness to listen and learn from our students and colleagues and experts, and above all else, the recognition of how different every student is and what he brings to the kaleidoscope of our classrooms no matter where those classrooms are located. So simple yet so complex.

Glasses are in one of four conditions: half full, half empty, full, or empty. While there is a reality to each state, how we view each reality is a "state" of mind. How do you view your students' need or desire to learn? Which one indicates an enduring belief in the right of every child to learn? And what does each condition say about a teacher's mindset?

Glass is durable but also fragile. One wrong move and it can be shattered. Sometimes even our best intentions can end up shattering self-esteem or an eagerness to learn or teach. And just as a person's view of self, once damaged, is often beyond repair, so too a glass once broken, is impossible to reassemble perfectly. However, the good news comes in a description of the final element used in glass making: cullet. Cullet is recycled glass, added to the process to strengthen the final product and shorten the length of time it takes to heat the elements to a molten state.

The parallel? Even a student severely behind grade level, one who is disenchanted with learning, or one who has had few positive learning or teaching experiences can be recycled and made stronger through the exposure to those who care. There is no time limit for this - even disenfranchised college students can be infused with the excitement of learning. A person is strengthened by joining with others. Makes simple yet profound sense when you consider how this plays out daily in our lives. No one teaches or learns in complete isolation, invigorated instead by community.

Reflection: Set a glass on your desk and look at it throughout your day. Are you up to the glass making challenge?

F is for Fit

A classic explanation given to students and parents who seek information about online learning programs, college courses, or blended learning experiences is a commentary on what makes a good fit between learner and school. Can the instructor make a determination about whether a student is in the right place for the right reason? And if the student insists on enrollment, can the program and teaching approach adapt to the student's unique needs or expectations? I believe both questions can be answered with a yes. First, a look at the markers which give a good prediction for success.

Flexibility is a clear and early indicator for success. Online coursework is organized in a sequential form which makes sense, but a student is often free to alter the pathway to complete work in a sequence that makes sense to him or her. The instructor needs to be flexible to work with students at their pace, while making sure the start and end dates are clearly messaged. The older the student, the more life interferes and students have the responsibility to stay in conversation with the instructor while the teacher needs to be flexible enough to support unique student needs so he can have success.

Freedom can open wonderful doors to increased learning, but it can also provide a serious pitfall for a student or teacher who does not know how to either construct it or handle it. With the rich depth of
lessons and supplemental activities offered, a student needs to be guided by teachers to learn pacing, overview, review, and completion strategies. Scheduling our interaction with students ("I will be online for your questions from 5:00-6:00 PM" or "Work turned in by 5:00 PM today will be returned by 5:00 PM tomorrow") creates a role modeling opportunity for task completion and commitment, the best gift we can give students. Freedom in online learning and teaching while, for some, is as simple as where we do our jobs, offers a framework for life and job success. Freedom comes with responsibilities.

Failure, the obvious opposite of success, is a good indication of the student's needs and a teacher's oversight. Online coursework opens the door to procrastination. If you don't need to appear at any given time in a classroom, "doing it tomorrow" or "later" can be seductive. Flexibility is good; failure, however, can become a pattern and self-fulfilling prophecy. Jobs, family, finances rarely allow such liberties and so teaching prioritizing of tasks is critical.

Online teaching and learning has been undergoing a maturation process for nearly two decades. Education and educators have been redefined multiple times and that definition isn't done. We do our students a great service when we assist them with knowing how they fit into the bigger picture. For now, some learners no matter their age just do better in a physical classroom with a physical instructor present. But does that necessarily preclude accessing the benefits of online curriculum? Think blended, training, and maturity.

So what makes for an excellent online teacher? Highly-qualified and certified/degreed? Check. Professional and creative? Check. Flexible and technologically savvy? check times two. Add the eagerness to learn, a positive attitude, and the ability to be a strong communicator mixed with focus and commitment to excellence, and the fit is good.

Reflection: Consider all types of fits: a close fit, a bad fit, a perfect fit, a forced fit. Which one are you? And more importantly, which one describes each of your students when you assess connections to the school, curriculum, and success? How do you go about making their fit a positive?

E is for Energy

Energy. How is it that we all seem to have so much of the "E" word? Let's rule out Starbuck's and Tim Horton's, Keurig, and Mountain Dew, and examine the issues.

Eager to help our students, we work tirelessly to do the best job we can. It means we aren't likely to get things done between 8 AM and 5 PM. It also means if we are forced to work within those boundaries because of family responsibilities, we are often beset with guilt feelings. Guilt is a huge drain on energy. If you are indeed working at home and online, your job is a family affair and not something done in isolation. You can't isolate your office far enough to not let it overflow. Make healthy decisions for yourself and you will still get the job done. It's all about balance.

The moniker, "Energizer Bunny," is accurate for teachers. We just keep going and going. We don't know the meaning of quit or failure and are crushed when a student does just that: quits. You will

www.energizer.com

form relationships with your students no matter their age or the learning platform. They quickly move from a name to someone whose greetings or emails you recognize. How is that happening? The same way it happens in an on-the-ground classroom. We care so we work hard, tirelessly, to be connected and inevitably, happily, it happens.

Ecstatic. This is what we feel when everything flows as it should. Even under great pressure, teachers are professionals and while you may let off steam, you are steady in the classroom, happy to be helping students learn, and ecstatic when you find that one approach that works for the most reluctant learner in the room.

Echoing reassurance and enduring hope for success, we move our students forward daily. Virtually, we even do this on weekends when no one has that expectation for our time. You might face missing materials or intermittent connectivity, but you are Super Teacher to your students. You symbolize strength and stability, the person who can answer the questions because, well, you wrote most of the questions!

An effectual teacher creates striking responses. You do this every day in a thousand different ways. Your tone of voice, your email or text responsiveness, your phone or Skype demeanor, and yes, even your voice messages. They need to be welcoming so students who might otherwise disengage will be more likely to turn to you for assistance. Student success is why you do what you do, so any incoming contact should never be an intrusion, but instead, the deepest reason for why you and I teach.

Keep the energy flowing - from you and to you - and remember that even when you feel drained or don't see immediate results, everything you do for students, no matter how insignificant it seems to you, reaps long term results.

Reflection: When the energy wanes, what is your plan to regroup and re-energize? Studies show that planned action is much more likely to happen at the time you need it,  like practicing the family fire drill. So, are you ready?