"Who are you?"     

Online teachers look just like what you would find in today's traditional schools.  They come in all shapes and sizes, ages, and demographics.   They are experienced teachers who have extended their education with graduate classes, certificates, and advanced degrees. Online teachers want to engage their students just like a traditional teacher.  The difference is an online teacher's delivery is in an online environment using current technology tools. Simply stated online teachers not only think outside the box, they get out of the box and embrace the changing world.


" You can't teach them until you reach them" is my philosophy and technology has given us a way to connect with our students.   After all this is their world. We now have more technology tools to use for designing a lesson than we know what to do with.  In my humble opinion, technology has given back to us the very creativity and imagination spark we lost years ago. I like what Kristen Kipp said in her video "A day in the life" about online teaching.  She said her focus was all about the content.  She said, "I want my students to be engaged with the content, engaged with each other, and engaged with me.  Then they care about the class".  This hits home with me because I have experienced this very concept with online students.  I was one of two teachers to begin the first online health and physical education program for Loudoun County.  I had the opportunity to design and implement physical education lessons for high school students.  The first two years, the students on my roster were either physically or emotionally disadvantaged to the extent they could not attend a regular physical education class.  Some had panic attacks, phobias, severe lyme disease, bipolar, suicidal, immune deficiencies, etc. Most had an IEP. I began to interview them with the mission of finding physical activities they enjoyed.  Most hated PE and my personal goal was to change their thought of physical education. Every student became an authentic problem with the student helping me design individual lessons for them.  The student with lyme's disease helped me create yoga and nutritional lessons for future use.  She was engaged along with her family and doctor.  Some students I met only in the beginning of the school year.  We would work all year round and meet at the end of school.  Relationships were stronger than the students I saw every day.

I relate also to Holly Mortimer's video One Teacher's Take: Holly Mortimer Took her Teaching Career Online .
Holly Mortimer explains how online teaching has changed how we teach.  She said, "It's changed from what you're going to teach and how you're going to teach it (traditional classroom) to what are they learning and how are they not learning, how are they not engaged." She says the way to engage students is to give them prompt feedback. With my students, I gave them my gmail account instead of my school email.  I knew they would have better access to me.  My iphone was set to let me know when I received emails.  I could review promptly and respond right away for my students.  By responding quickly, students didn't become frustrated and I could often call them if they needed a more in depth conversation. Accountability goes both ways in online learning meaning the teacher and students.

I've learned I'm on the right track, that what I've achieved through online so far is in the right direction.  I can reach them more effectively online than I can in a classroom of 47.  I've learned this field is growing faster than we can accommodate the demands. Our educational system is outdated.  I introduced Mendeley and Popplet to several English teachers this week.  They were blown away by the program and the fact someone older actually showed them something new.  If I'm not careful, I may be presenting at the next facility meeting.