Unboxing Education

A smooth start to the school year sets the tone for everything that follows,  especially in the online classroom . Whether you're new to virtual teaching or a seasoned pro, building trust , clarity , and connection early on pays off all year long. Here are three essential steps to help you start strong: ✉️ 1. Send a Welcome Letter That Connects Before students ever click into your LMS, send a warm, clear, and visually friendly welcome letter. Include: 👋 A brief personal introduction (with a photo, if you're comfortable) 📚 A simple overview of what to expect in your class 📬 Preferred communication channels & your response times 🔑 Login instructions and how to get started 🎥 Bonus: Add a short video greeting to help students feel connected, especially in asynchronous or self-paced programs. 📊 Fun fact: A 2014 study found that instructor-generated video content boosted student engagement and satisfaction in online higher ed courses. 🔥 Pro Tip: Use a m...

After reading “Reimagining School Starts with Reclaiming Time” from Getting Smart , I found myself nodding in agreement—but I’d like to take the conversation a step further. We’ve been promised for years that technology will save us time, increase efficiency, and create more equitable learning experiences. But here’s the reality no one wants to admit: those promises will always fall short in a system that’s fundamentally bound by time . ⏱️ The Problem Isn’t the Tools—It’s the Schedule It doesn’t matter how adaptive, AI-powered, or data-rich our edtech becomes—if we’re still measuring student progress in seat time, daily minutes, or pacing guides, we’re trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. Learning isn’t linear , but our systems are. Time-based structures demand that students move at the same pace, finish on the same day, and absorb the same content in the same way. Even with technology offering flexibility, we’re still building within a rigid frame. 🤖 Tech Promise...

  Wait—before you clutch your annotated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird , let me explain. I’m not burned out. I’m not bitter. I still believe in the power of story and the necessity of critical thinking. I still light up when a student finally cracks open a book they claimed to hate—or when their writing hits that sweet spot of clarity and voice. But after years in the ELA classroom, I’ve come to a difficult but exciting realization: English class, as we’ve traditionally framed it, is too narrow for the kind of reading and writing students actually need. 📚 Reading and Writing Don’t Belong in a Silo We live in a world where language is everywhere—slippery, powerful, and inextricably connected to every subject. So why do we keep reading and writing corralled into “English class,” dissecting fictional texts and over-analyzing symbolism as if that alone builds literacy? I’ve seen what happens when we teach reading as a skill for English class , not a survival skill for life. S...

Every now and then, someone refers to me as "just an online teacher." It might be said with curiosity, confusion, or even subtle dismissal. It’s a phrase that seems small, like my work is somehow less than what happens in a traditional classroom. But here’s the truth: I’m not just an online teacher. I am an ONLINE Teacher. I remember a quote about Ginger Rogers that says she "did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels." Online teachers do everything but on a computer and in a different location from their students.  Online Teaching Is Real Teaching Let’s get this out of the way: online teaching isn’t easier, simpler, or less demanding than face-to-face teaching. It’s not an escape hatch from “real” education. In fact, it often requires more intentional planning, more data-driven decision-making, and more individualization to meet student needs. I don’t just post assignments and hope for the best. I analyze engagement data, craft personali...

There’s No Magic Bullet in Virtual Instruction—and That’s a Good Thing When you started teaching virtually, you probably found yourself asking: "What’s the one tool, activity, or strategy that will finally reach all my students?" I hear it all the time as an instructional coach: “Just tell me the best way to...” But here’s the truth I always circle back to— There is no magic bullet in virtual instruction. And honestly? That’s not a problem. That’s the point. The virtual learning model is designed to give students personalized pathways,  not standardized experiences. That means it’s perfectly normal (and expected ) for students to take different routes to the same goal. As teachers, it’s our job to provide multiple access points, not one perfect solution. The Myth of “One-Size-Fits-All” In a traditional classroom, we’re already used to differentiation, but online, it can quickly feel overwhelming. It's not just about a conversation; it may be lesson design, 1 on 1 m...

🎯 Why Instructional Coaching Matters Even More in Virtual Asynchronous Schools 💡 Isolation is Real—But Coaching Can Break It All teaching can feel isolating. Even with teachers just down the hall, some may feel left out or unsure. In virtual asynchronous schools, teachers often work alone behind a screen, compounding the isolation.  🟡 No hallway conversations 🟡 No informal classroom visits 🟡 No quick team huddles after school 🎯 Instructional coaching is the bridge between isolation and innovation. While good coaching is the same in any school environment, in a virtual, asynchronous school, intentionality is key to meaningful conversations.  “Coaching in Brick-and-Mortar vs. Virtual Schools” Coaching Role Brick & Mortar School 🏫 Virtual Asynchronous School 💻 Peer Collaboration Daily, informal Rare, must be intentional Feedback Opportunities Frequent and real-time Needs to be scheduled and structured Access to Classroom Practice Ea...

 What does learning look like in the age of AI? Generated with Adobe Firefly AI Cheating Is Getting Worse AI cheating is hopelessly, irreparably corrupting US higher education AI cheating is overwhelming the education system These headlines tend to frighten educators both about their current work and their future relevance. It has caused me to honestly reflect on what I want my students to do and know upon leaving my courses.  Do I want them to know HOLM  (the acronym for Shakespeare's tragedies)?  Or, do I want them to think critically about human behavior and universal themes? What it comes down to is that I want my students to think about their learning. This is why the use of AI presents problems in the classroom. Not because it shortcuts creativity or gives them ideas they wouldn't have come up with. Those aspects can be assets to certain learners. As I wrote here , I want students to know, or remember, the purpose of assessment, and it's not to submit the corre...

Do you feel attacked when you open your To Be Graded list?   Nearly every online teacher has been in a situation where the grading inbox seems to be an avalanche of work that needs attention, feedback, and evaluation. There are even days when a teacher grades one assignment only to return to find the queue has grown by 5.  While most of the advice available begins with the beginning, course design, there are things a teacher can do TODAY to manage the load. Then, the teacher can find time to plan for the future, to minimize the storm of grading next semester. What to do TODAY: Wrangle the TBG Monster (To Be Graded): 1. Search for or scan for items that are easy to grade. Eliminate short assignments, assignments with rubrics attached, and anything that is for completion. Return any blank assignments, documents that are not shared, or other errors in submission. 2. Sort by Date: Feedback is most impactful when it is timely. If an assignment is more than 5 school days old, the st...

 

 Incorporating student choice into assignments can increase engagement and show mastery of 21st-century skills.  A popular method for choice is a choice board. Choice boards give students parameters for demonstrating mastery of concepts but allow them choice in the final format of the assignment.  Check out a great Literacy Choice Board Here: This assignment demonstrates mastery in the following CCSS ELA Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.10 By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11—CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 11—CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently. This link will take you to a Canva project that includes the slide above, a rubric, and step-by-step instructions for each project listed. Tools use...

 Mentally, I was drafting an update on how I'm handling AI in my virtual Britlish Lit class when I received this email: Click for GrammarlyGo Well, great.  That blurred the lines, didn't it?  Created with openart.ai Over the last few weeks, I've met with over a dozen students to discuss their use of ChatGPT. Surprisingly, they've all been honest about their use of AI to "help" them write assignments in Brit Lit.  Here is my process: 1. I sent all of my students a friendly "Don't be dumb with AI" message:                Dear {{First name}} So far this year, many new tools have become available using  artificial   intelligence  (AI) to assist in various tasks.  Depending on your age and with your learning coach's permission, you can no doubt find many helpful things out there. For instance,  Quickdraw  is a fun AI game, and Chefgpt.xyz generates recipes from ingredients you have on han...