STEP 2: BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL LEARNER
You Should Know...
To become a successful learner in an online course or school, you will be required to learn the key pillars of success in this type of program. They include:
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Create Your Learning Space
The first topic we will cover in this orientation is how to prepare yourself and your home for online school learning so you will find the experience to be both successful and enjoyable. Online School is the process of completing your education online. Your classes and credits required for high school graduation will be accessed on the internet. Your schedule of classes for each semester and school year will look the same as a schedule one may have in a brick-and-mortar school. You will complete assignments and exams, all submitted work will be graded, and your attendance will be monitored.
Key features on taking online courses:
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Classes are available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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You can contact a teacher by e-mail and phone.
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You will create your own schedule as to how you will complete the work in each class.
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Educational technology tools will be the basis of instruction.
To make this all work, you need to become prepared to be an online student. This does not just happen. There are things you need to do to transform yourself and your home so that online learning can take place with ease and success.
First, watch the "Virtual School Student" video (below) and be prepared to explain what problems this student might have in online school.
In the "Virtual School Student" video you should have seen a number of problems for this online school student, such as:
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Loud music blasting while he was trying to do his work
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Multiple open windows for activities other than school work, like Minecraft
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A messy desk, no school supplies, no paper, no notebook, eating Doritos while working, darkened room
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NO PLAN!!! No schedule, no idea what was due and what he should have been working on
It is safe to say that this video was used as an example of HOW NOT TO DO ONLINE SCHOOL! Yet, so many students "work" under these conditions and it is sad to say that these students have a challenging year. They are always behind in one or more classes and find themselves stressed and anxious the entire semester. This does not have to occur. As mentioned previously, becoming a good online school student does not just happen upon registration and turning on your computer. It requires planning, organization, and a work ethic. So let's get you started on a path to success.
Here is where to start:
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Set up your work space in your home. It can be anywhere that is quiet, with plenty of light, and where you will be able to focus on your studies with minimum interruptions. It can be your bedroom, living room, dining room, anywhere so long as it meets these requirements.
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Have the appropriate supplies. You should have a desk or table with a comfortable chair and space for supplies such as writing utensils, paper, binder, and a clock. Some students find having a bulletin board to post their schedule a useful tool.
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Set up your computer and be sure it has antivirus software running. Have reliable high-speed internet, preferably wireless on a home network. Laptop computers are a good option as so you can take it anywhere. A printer/scanner is also advised. We also recommend a headset, speakers, and a built-in webcam. There will be occasions when you will communicate online with your teachers so audio and video are important. Your teachers will discuss these things with you during the first week of school.
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Save video games or social media as rewards. In the video, the student was playing Minecraft while also doing his work. You will not be able to focus on your studies if you are running multiple windows with games, social networks, and other applications while you are also trying to do your school work. When you sit down at your computer to work, you should feel like you are at school.
To be successful in online school, the planning and preparation are critical.
Get Organized
Now that you have set up your work space for your online school studies, we will now move on to our next topic, organization. After getting over the hurdles of adapting your home and yourself for online school learning, you must now think long and hard about how to manage the task of taking 4-6 online classes at once and get them all completed on time.
As mentioned previously, becoming a successful online school student requires planning. It does not just "happen." The same can be said for the management of your classes. In a brick-and-mortar school, a student arrives at school the first day and receives a schedule of classes to follow. In an online school, a student is given a list of classes, but the scheduling of them is up to him or her. This is one of the greatest advantages of online school, but it can also for some students be its greatest downfall. Therefore, it is important to create a daily and weekly schedule for your classes! Think back to the video of the disorganized student. He had no schedule; he had no idea what he was doing each day or week in his classes. How will you handle this?
Here are some tips:
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Ask each teacher on the first day for a schedule or pace chart for his or her class, they will give you one. This schedule will show you what assignments are due in each class for the entire length of the course. You must follow this.
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Print out this schedule and put it somewhere handy so that you can look at it every day.
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Create your own daily and weekly schedule of how you will complete the required assignments in each class. You have complete flexibility here.
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Think about your strengths and weaknesses as a student. What is the best time of day for you to work? How many classes do you want to tackle in a day? We do not recommend spending an entire day in just one class, it does not work. Your brain is not wired that way, you will lose focus and/or get bored with the subject.
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Write out your daily and weekly schedule and have it in front of you each day as you work. Check off assignments as they are completed.
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Teachers take attendance. How? Teachers monitor your attendance in classes on the basis of assignments completed each week. If you do not do the weekly assignments, you are marked absent for the number of assignments not done. This is a written attendance policy and has serious consequences for students that do not abide by this policy. We hope that you can now understand why organization is so important and why you cannot just "have it all in your head" like our student in the video.
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Monitor your completed work by checking your grades on a daily basis. Generally speaking, your teachers will grade your assignments within 48 hours of you submitting them in. Checking your grades is another way for you to stay organized and be sure that you have done all the required assignments for your classes each week.
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Communicate with your teachers. If you have any questions about assignments or if you are having trouble submitting an assignment, call or email your teacher as soon as possible.
Use Effective Communication
The importance of effective communication between you and your teachers has been mentioned earlier in this Orientation. This cannot be stressed enough. In the online schooling world, teachers do not "see" their students. In a brick-and-mortar school, a teacher can physically observe whether a student has a question, see the confused look on a student's face as concepts are discussed, observe a student not feeling well, or any other issues that might arise that would affect a student's performance in the class. In online school teachers do not have those cues. They rely on other less tangible forms of communication such as email and phone. In this digital age today, effective communication can easily occur in the online world. Teachers can easily and quickly exchange emails and voicemails with our students. Teachers have other amazing technological communication tools at their disposal like Skype, Google Voice, FaceTime, and a wide variety of online collaboration tools. Your teachers are available to you Monday through Friday by phone and anytime by email. To assure effective communication with your teachers, here are a few pointers:
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Check your email several times a day. Teachers are emailing students on a regular basis. However, if you don't read your messages, then effective communication cannot occur.
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Make sure your teachers have a current, active phone number. Again, it is critical to your success that you update your phone number if there is a change.
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If you ever have a question or a problem with a class, CALL YOUR TEACHER! Teachers expect and welcome calls from their students. Your teachers want to know what is going on with you and your school work. If your computer is not cooperating, call them. Teachers are familiar with most computer issues that might prevent you from logging into your classes, or problems you might have with submitting assignments. If your teachers can't help you, they have access to customer support people that can help.
Use Academic Integrity
What is academic integrity? This is a very important topic as you begin online school, so please read this material carefully. Here is a basic overview of the concept of academic integrity:
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Academic Integrity can be defined as the practice of maintaining honesty in your school conduct and work. It means never cheating on an exam, never plagiarizing an assignment, and never misrepresenting the true author of your work. This concept of honesty in all of your online school classes is taken very seriously and any violation of this policy can have dire consequences for the offending student.
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How do students cheat in an online school? There are several ways students might cheat. It is considered cheating if students have another person does their work for them like a parent, sibling, or friend. Another action that is consider cheating is when a student cuts and pastes information from the internet and submits it in as his or her own work without crediting the source. This is plagiarism, it is cheating. Today there is sophisticated technology that can detect whether work submitted by a student is indeed that student's work.
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Teachers have many other techniques to keep their students honest. One such technique is a "Discussion Based Assessment" or DBA for short. A DBA is when a teacher calls the student before a major exam or at the end of a unit of study and discusses the material covered in that unit to determine if the student has mastered the material and is ready for the exam. If a student has no idea what material was covered in a unit yet turned in all the assignments during the unit, which signals to the teacher that in all likelihood the student violated the academic integrity policy. In a case such as this, the student will not be allowed to take the unit exam and would need to schedule another DBA for a later date when he or she can demonstrate mastery of the material.
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What happens if you are caught cheating? If you are found to have plagiarized or submitted any work that is not your own, you will be subject to a progressive form of discipline. The first instance will result in the work being rejected and the teacher has the discretion to give you a failing grade. Multiple violations would eventually result in you being removed from the school program. Please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy in your student handbook for more details.
The bottom line is that academic integrity is never a problem for honest, hardworking students who are in school to learn. Be honest and ethical in how you do your work and this issue will never be a problem for you!!
Read the dictionary’s definition of plagiarism: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/plagiarism.
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Calvert’s Policy: Calvert’s Plagiarism Policy can be found in the Student/Learning Guide Handbook.
Use Our Tips for Success
Let’s take a moment to review some key components that will ensure you will find success as an online learner:
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Stay in touch with your teachers. Establish a rapport and a working relationship with your teacher from day one. This is one of the biggest advantages of online school, your one-to-one relationship with your teacher.
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Appear in all of your classes every week. There are assignments due in all of your classes every week of the semester, be sure to stay on top of this. If you finish all of your assignments in a class on Monday, use the rest of the week to pop back into that class and work ahead of pace.
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Do not forget about the attendance requirement in all of your classes. If you do not understand the attendance policy, ask your teachers about it when you get your welcome call the first week of school.
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Maintain your focus, keep distractions to a minimum. Do not run multiple windows while you are working in a class. Save Facebook, Twitter, Minecraft, Spotify and whatever else you do on the internet for later when your work is done.
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Keep your computer in good working order. Run antivirus software at all times. If you are having computer problems tell your teachers. We have seen every possible computer problem before with our students and we can help you. If your computer or internet access fails, think of other places that offer free internet access like a library.
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Don't forget that your classes are available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are behind in a class, use the weekend or evenings to get caught up.
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You should be getting a welcome call from your teachers in the first few days of school, and a monthly call thereafter. If you do not hear from a teacher, you call them. Ask for your monthly call, ask how you are doing in the class, ask how you could do better, ask what you do well and what not so well. This is YOUR online education, make the most of it. Also remember to make your own calls. Don't ask your Learning Guide to call your teacher for you. Teachers always encourage communication with parents, but they also want you to understand that this is your responsibility and you need to gain the skills to fulfill it by reaching out on your own.
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Get started on the first day you can access your classes. If for some reason you do not have a log-in name and password on the first day of school, CONTACT THE SCHOOL! Get off to a flying start. There is nothing worse than being behind pace after the first week of school. If you ever do get behind a teacher's pace or weekly schedule, call the teacher and ask to see you can get caught up.