Time Management: Hello, Productivity!

This past fall, my husband became quite angry with me because I was ALWAYS working, but getting NOTHING done! Sound familiar? He lovingly pointed out that I am not very efficient when cleaning; I bounce from room to room, never finishing anything I start. He noted that I was probably practicing these same habits with my work. I’ll admit, he was right! So I did some research on productivity and found a wealth of strategies. I began applying them to my life and realized that these tricks do in fact work!

So I wanted to start off the New Year by sharing my favorite productivity strategies with you!

2015 Jumpstart Series: Work It Wednesdays!

Calling All Presenters!

I love the fresh start a new year brings and am always looking for diverse ways to improve ALL aspects of my life {and I’m sure I’m not alone in trying to whittle down my waistline each year, right ladies?!}.

So I thought I’d seize the opportunity to offer a 2015 jumpstart series entitled Work It Wednesdays!

During my welcome calls, I asked everyone to identify their biggest strengths. Let me tell you, we have some STARS among us! If you’ve got it going on, I ask you to share your secrets with the rest of us! I’ll present the research and do all of the planning and preparation. You, my efficient, organized, creative friends, can simply show up and share what works for you! {Think daily schedule, call spreadsheet, etc.}

50 Ways to Check for Understanding in the Virtual Classroom

Are you a chat pod offender?!

Do you rely on a single chat pod for student responses? Or do you frequently vary the student response methods? If the chat pod is your best friend, it’s time to re-evaluate your relationship; you are an offender!

Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself; it’s incredibly easy to fall into the habit of only using the chat pod, but I challenge you to think for a moment: is this the most effective method for every single question? For some, yes! For others, no.

November App of the Month

Hello, teachers!

This month, I’m totally crushing on the Word Cloud app!

Are you wondering how to use it? Simply ask your students to share key terms in a chat, short answer, or Q&A pod. Then copy and paste the words into the app and generate a word cloud right from your LiveLesson room! How cool is that?!

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