Monday Notes 2 by Marcia

Marcia’s notes…
MONDAY November 6 10:30
SESSION: How to Make Your Online Classroom a Success
Presenters from Florida Virtual School:
Jamie Nagle jangle@flvs.net
Anna Coppola acoppola@flvs.net
(My comments are written in italics in parentheses—Marcia.)

Basic Outline:

How do you make the connection with your students?
Use what you have
Use the technology
Use your colleagues
_____________________________

1. Use what you have

What did you do in the traditional school classroom that helped you make a connection with your students?
Communicate with your students!
Phone each student. Introduce yourself, your expectations, and rules. Ask student about his/her hobbies, sports, job, etc. (I think it would be wise to chart this information for future reference when communicating with student.)
Email students regarding assignments, or just to “check in” with them. Always make positive comment first.
Phone students, again with a positive message first.
Set deadlines and follow up. If student falls behind, make contact. Find out why student is behind, and help him/her get back on track. Flexibility works both ways—student may be having a bad week, and you need to work with him/her. Accidents, injuries, family problems can happen to anyone, including teachers.
Front Page—make it personal, and update it regularly. Students need to know you are a person, too. Example: Tell students what you did this week.

Let the students know that you are willing to do “this much” for them, and you need them to do “that much.”

2. Use the technology

What technologies do you have that can help you make a connection with your students?

Get a guest speaker—use conference calling (students can come in to hear), or program which students can call in to hear. Students want interaction, a chance to socialize—make sure they can ask questions of the speaker. (Guest speakers show students that their learning is real, and is useful/necessary in various occupations.)
“Elluminate” has a voice over feature, works in real time, and you and your students can interact.
Instant Messenger—students can easily contact teacher
Students can use podcasts to show what they’ve learned
MSN has voice over feature
Webcam
Do the things your students are already doing technologically!

3. Use your colleagues

“Don’t try to do it all alone, make a connection with your colleagues. (from slide)

“Sharepoint”—a discussion board for teachers. Share your best practices, help each other with problems.
One of the questions that regularly comes up is
“I’m teaching from home. How do you manage your time, classes, students, and/or content?”

Teachers need to be able to “vent” safely (confidentially).


How to learn more about your students:

Track them, perhaps on a spreadsheet.
Make notes on students. When you contact them, ask what they like, hobbies, etc., and write this information down. If they send you photos, post them on your announcements page.
Call parents—ask them what is neat about their child.
Create a “chat room” for your students. (This could be monitored by creating a blog with submissions posted only after reviewed by teacher.)
Journaling online
There are potential problems with this. Emotionally sensitive material (depressed, bullied) may be written, and a situation may need to be addressed by guidance counselor. (If a child is being abused, authorities must be contacted.) What about confidentiality (students must be able to feel they can trust you, and how will you regain that trust)?

The perfect answer:
“I was very concerned about you, so I contacted this person to make sure you were OK.”