Goal Setting: Why it Matters

Almost all successful people attribute their success to practiced goal setting in their personal and professional lives. However, the practice of goal setting is rarely taught in educational institutions. Research shows that when appropriate goals are set, students take a more active role in the learning process. Furthermore, they become more likely to develop a continuous interest in the world around them, creating lifelong learners. Every child is awarded the ability to live a happy, successful life, but oftentimes, specific direction and support are required to make this a reality. The beginning of the school year, and October is still the beginning, is the perfect time to set this in motion.

Along these same lines, several teachers have asked me how to inspire students who want nothing to do with school. While this is no easy task, there are a few basic steps that can impact student motivation rather quickly, one of which is goal setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riding a Coaster of Emotions through a Diversity Walk

Have you ever participated in a diversity walk? I’ve participated in a few, but this past weekend, my professor conducted one for my doctoral cohort and boy was it powerful. We are being trained as Public Dialogue Facilitators in the Everyday Democracy Framework, and this activity was one of the first steps in the training process, focusing on developing our facilitation and listening skills. It was incredibly moving, so I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on the experience and share my thoughts with you.

How it worked:
We began by standing in a straight line. As the professor read statements, we either stepped forward or backward depending on our personal responses. The questions began with “If you regularly see people of your same race and religion on television, step forward.” I naturally assumed that because of my social identity—the white privilege that I am so cognizant of—that I would progress to the front of the pack. However, the prompts quickly changed to ones along the lines of “If you had a library of children’s and adult books in your home as a child, step forward,” “If your parents are college educated, step forward.” At this moment in time, I realized that I would not end up leading the pack, but I would quickly fall behind. And that’s exactly where I landed, in the very back with three other peers, while the majority of our cohort was far, far ahead.

8 Alternatives to PowerPoint for Online Educators

Hello teachers!

As online educators, we rely on PowerPoint presentations heavily. While this program offers diverse designs, themes, fonts, animations, and the like, it has a tendency to become redundant and creating new designs from scratch can be a burdensome daily task, right?!

As one who enjoys creativity, I’ve tested numerous alternatives to PPT and have compiled a list of my recommendations. There’s a plethora of other options out there in the cyber world, but I’ve chosen the most user-friendly and FREE programs to include. Since we live in a digital world and new programs are developed almost daily, I’ll continue to update this list as the next latest and greatest presentation options become available.

emaze
emaze is a free online presentation program and is my top pick. Besides being incredibly easy to use, there’s an extensive selection of visually appealing templates to choose from and the presentation transitions through a nonlinear path as you progress through it (think Prezi). Select from premade templates and themes, add text, images, media, and charts, then save. Note that, unless you upgrade your account, your creations will be public, which means your presentations should focus on basic skills rather than copyrighted content from curriculum providers. Simply share your screen when using emaze in a synchronous virtual lesson and allow your students to be amazed.

TED Talk: Every Child Deserves A Champion

About a year ago I came across an inspiring quote that I loved so much that I saved it and eventually turned it into an image:

Teacher Spotlight: Brittany Frey

Teacher Name: Brittany Frey
Office Location: Williamsport Office
Currently teaching: Pre-Algebra

How do you build relationships with your students?
Before each LiveLesson, I allow students to share news or pictures of current things they are doing. The students love this (and so do I!). We cheered on one another through their sports seasons, wished each other luck in competitions, and saw a lot of awesome talents by doing this. I have also become a “DJ” during the LiveLessons. I take song requests to play during warm ups so we heard a lot of different genres and some of our own talented students shared, too. This year, I am starting (and carefully monitoring) a classroom “Me” MessageBoard. My students will be creating their own FaceBook page and I will be posting it to the section MessageBoard so students can use it to also build relationships with one another.

The Power of Teacher-Student Relationships

As we kick off another exciting school year, let’s begin by examining the power of teacher-student relationships.

In his 2007 meta-analyses of 119 studies, Cornelius-White found that the majority of students who dislike school, do so primarily because they dislike their teacher. {Who says teachers hold no power now?!}

Furthermore, after evaluating person-centered teacher variables and student outcomes, Cornelius-White found that positive teacher-student relationships were critical to student success.

So now you’re asking yourself, how can I establish effective relationships with my students this year?

Hello World!

Thank you for visiting my new educational blog! I’ll be sharing online instructional strategies for fellow virtual educators teaching in this exciting landscape. I’m sure you know that in the grand scheme of education, online learning is still in its infancy stages. Therefore, those of us teaching in the digital field are still working to uncover what actually works in this complex environment and with such diverse populations of students.

As an instructional coach for a Pennsylvania online school, I have the opportunity to observe various strategies and practices for several different grade levels and subject areas. My doctoral work also focuses on effective online instructional practices, so I’m looking forward to sharing my learning here with all of you.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for additional resources and inspiration.

Thanks for reading and come back soon!

Never stop learning.
~Ashly