Five Reasons to be THANKFUL for Online Education


Happy Thanksgiving!!

What a great week to reflect on some of the reasons to be THANKFUL for online education: 

5. Flexibility
 Online education is SO flexible. At BlueSky Online, you can choose between My Pace courses and Group Pace courses. You can follow a weekly class schedule or you can budget your time the way that you'd like. 

4. Scheduling Freedom
 Online education gives students the ability to schedule their day in any way they would like. Like to sleep in until 11AM and then do school work until 10PM? You can! Students can also choose which classes to work on each day, how many classes to work each day, and which days to take off! 

3. Personalized Lessons
Each class can be learned at a student's own pace. The lessons are mostly asynchronous. So, if a student needs to pause, rewind, or rewatch an entire lesson, they can! And teachers can easily share more resources with students to truly personalize the learning experience. 

2. One-on-One Help
 The teachers are online schools are here to help their students. Many hours of the day are set aside for one-on-one tutoring help with students. Teachers use email, chat, phone calls, text, online whiteboards, etc. to help students. 

1.  Schoolwork in PAJAMAS!!
 YES!!!! Pajamas!!! ALL....DAY....LONG! Now that's a reason to be THANKFUL! 

Anonymous

0 comments:

[Teacher Tuesdays!]: Brittney Bailey


Another Tuesday..and another BlueSky teacher to showcase!

I'm happy to highlight Brittney Bailey:

Brittney wears two hats at BlueSky Online:
Physical Education Teacher (Group Pace Class)
Student Services Advisor

Brittney received a BS in Health Education from Minnesota State University in Mankato and a BS in Physical Education from Concordia University in St. Paul. 

When asked what her favorite food is, Brittney responded: 

"My favorite food is probably french fries (I know, not very healthy for a health/phy ed teacher)."

Brittney enjoys teaching for BlueSky because: 

"I love the flexibility we offer to our students. I also love being able to interact with students and their families one on one to give them the support they need to be successful."

 In her spare time, Brittney enjoys spending time with family and friends. Shopping, going to the movies, playing with her cat, and watching Minnesota sports teams. She also plays Co Ed Football and Kickball! 

Why Brittney chose to be an Online Educator: 
"Online education is a great option for students who have not been successful in a "traditional" setting. I love being able to help students succeed in new ways where they weren't succeeding previously."

Check back most Tuesdays to meet more of our BlueSky personnel! 

Anonymous

0 comments:

Learning: The Importance of PACING Yourself


It seems like every time you talk to your Student Services Advisor, or one of your Teachers, or your Counselor, they mention PACING.

Am I right? 

But...why?? Why is pace such an important part of learning?

In the article The Science Behind How We Learn New Skills, Thorin Klosowski notes:
"When we're picking up a new skill or learning something entirely new, it's easy to binge-learn and obsessively work on it over time. However, that's not always the best idea. In fact, spreading out learning, also known as distributed practice, is thought to be a better way to learn." 

Many of us are guilty of "binge learning"...there is even an Urban Dictionary entry: 

homework binge
doing the whole week, month or sometimes semester's homework in one night. 
often occurs on sunday night
Hey wanna go out tonight? 
No im gonna homework binge
Learning is one place where binging 
isn't the best option. 
As researchers spend more time learning about how we learn, they have concluded that it's similar to building muscle: 

If you just walk in the gym and try to pick up the heaviest weight, you won't be able to. But, if you spend time each day doing reps with increasing amounts of weight...you will soon be able to lift the heaviest one! 
So...PACE yourselves! Instead of waiting until the end of the week and trying to complete all of your work in one sitting...do some EACH DAY. 
Looking for ways to schedule your school work? Check out the post: A 'Bag of Tricks' for Scheduling your School Work!


Anonymous

0 comments:

[Teacher Tuesdays!]: Katie Roorda


On Tuesdays, check the blog to read about one of our amazing teachers!!

This week I begin with the lovely and talented Katie Roorda:

Katie is BlueSky's Family and Consumer Science Teacher. She teaches: 
Interior and Architectural Design
Fashion Design
Parenting
Life Skills
Culinary Arts 1 and 2

Katie received her BS in Family and Consumer Science Education at Minnesota State University in Mankato, MN. 

When asked how she likes to spend her free time, Katie replied: 
"I enjoy spending as much time with my family as possible. Love going on fun adventures together. I also love decorating my house and enjoy helping others put their visions to life. And don't forget.. shopping! Love to shop."


What Katie likes most about teaching for BlueSky: 

"I most like working at BlueSky because it was the perfect fit for what I was looking for professionally and personally. It allows me to work from home, which has always been appealing for me as well as advance professionally in my career. BlueSky allows me to really connect one on one with my students enabling them to reach their goals and succeed! It is so fun to see students who were struggling in a traditional environment succeed at BlueSky- very rewarding."


Why Katie likes teaching online: 
"I became an online teacher because I think it is awesome to be able to give students choosing the online route the same opportunities as those in the traditional setting."

And most importantly...Katie's favorite food? 
CHOCOLATE!

Anonymous

0 comments:

[Student Commons Discussion]: Staying Focused


Staying Focused: 

What works for you? What are your challenges?

One of the major issues of teenage learners is staying FOCUSED. There are so many distractions! And for BlueSky students who do their school work from home...the distractions can be oooohhh so tempting!

I hit up our Student Commons discussion board to see what students are saying about distractions and staying focused. Here are some of their responses: 

"My friends often come over when I'm doing my homework. They tend to talk to me and want me to have full out conversations with them. taking my time off of my school work." 

"I like to be alone and listen to music to keep me focused!" 

"when I get distracted I normally just take like a 20-30 minute break. then when my break is over I start on assignments." 

"I could have my cellphone off and just allow myself to be on just bluesky instead of facebook or twitter."

"The thought of graduation helps me stay focused"

"The phone gets me distracted so I turn it off when I am doing my homework.  My friends text my alot and tht can be a problem"

Who knows the distractions of online school best? Other online students! 

So many of us (faculty and staff included) have to be aware of the distractions that threaten our focus. 

Many students mentioned turning off their cell phone.
 What a simple idea! Allowing yourself to shut off the constant stream of information, can seriously limit distractions. 

Your fellow students also offered some great suggestions for refocusing. 

"...just take like a 20-30 minute break"

It's so true! A break, a breath of fresh air, some water and a snack...and you're back in business! 

And...probably the most important reason to stay focused: 

"The thought of graduation helps me stay focused"

Make sure to check out the Student Commons discussion board for more about Staying Focused, and for other weekly conversation topics! 

Anonymous

0 comments:

Creating a Home Work Space

Get ready to spend hours scouring Pinterest....


Creating a Home Work Space


One of the most important needs for an online learner, is a PLACE to work. Sure, students have the computing device that they use for their school work...but where they use that device is also important. 

Online teachers, advisors, and counselors also have to create their own work space in their homes. Here is a picture of my "office". It's a desk in the corner of our family room. It's kind of messy...sorry about that!!


A few elements of a productive workspace (which mine hits the mark on!) are: 
  • Find the perfect space: It's important that your work station is relatively free from distraction. Choose to work in a quiet room, instead of in the middle of the kitchen at dinnertime. 
  • Organize!: Although my desk is a little messy....there's a method to that mess! Make sure that you have an organization to your work. Order increases productivity. 
  • Make it pretty: Well...maybe not "pretty"...but make your work space somewhere that you want to work. Decorate with things that are inspirational or motivational for you. 
  • Create a schedule: Did you see my blog post A 'Bag of Tricks' for Scheduling your School Work? The post offers a number of ideas to help you organize your school day. Create a schedule for yourself and POST IT in your workspace. It will help you stay focused! 
Having trouble coming up with some ideas? Seriously...look at Pinterest!!! It's ridiculous what inspiration you can find. 

A happy workspace creates a happy (and successful!) learner! 

Go forth and decorate! 

Anonymous

0 comments:

Our School Goal: READING!


Did you know that our school has a goal? 



Every school year, our faculty and staff come together and choose a goal to help our students. 

This year, we have decided to focus on READING. 


Think about all of the times during the day that you read: 
  • You read the time on your alarm clock.
  • You read any emails or texts that you receive. 
  • You read signs while you are driving. 
  • You read menus at restaurants. 
  • You read posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. 
  • You read your school work...right? 
  • You read various things on the internet...like this blog! 
  • You read for pleasure: books, magazines, newspapers, catalogs, etc. 
Reading is one of the most important things we do each day. And we do it ALL DAY LONG.

How are the teachers, counselors, advisors, and administrators at BlueSky working to help your READING? 
  • Teachers are increasing the amount of READING strategies that they use in their lessons. 
  • Teachers are using rubrics and outlines to help READING and writing skills. 
  • Counselors and Advisors are increasing the higher-order questions that they ask you. 


You may be asking...WHY should I read? I have a few good reasons: 
  • Reading is fun and entertaining! 
  • Reading is relaxing and reduces stress. 
  • Reading increases your creativity and imagination. 
  • Reading improves not only your intelligence, but also your memory. 
  • Reading increases your success in SCHOOL! Yeah!!! School!!! 


Look for all of the ways that BlueSky is helping to increase your Reading abilities while working in your classes. 
Ask anyone at BlueSky if you need help with Reading.  

And PICK UP A BOOK! 

Anonymous

0 comments:

Parent-Teacher Relationships in an Online Setting


It's that time of year! 
Parent-Teacher Conferences!! 

Everyone at BlueSky Online is pretty excited about Conferences this week. We really look forward to meeting our students and parents IN PERSON!!

The relationship between teachers, students, and parents has a totally different dynamic in an online setting. And that relationship is oh so important. 

At BlueSky Online, communication is one of our main goals. Advisors, Counselors, Teachers, and Administrators spend a great portion of each day contacting students and parents. And even though we have the pleasure of reaching many of you, nothing can replace meeting face-to-face! 

Here is a list of FIVE REASONS why parents (and students!) should attend Parent Teacher Conferences:

 1. Get your questions answered! - Nothing beats a real live meeting to have an actual conversation and get your questions answered!

2. Establish a relationship! - Build a rapport with the teachers and staff. Students are more likely to feel comfortable contacting teachers if they know them a little!

3. Understand the Class Expectations! - Take the guesswork out of what teachers are looking for in their courses.

4. Get some constructive feedback! - Learn what your student is doing well, and what areas can use some work.

5. Never underestimate the power of the In Person Meeting! - Online learning has some different hurdles than the classroom experience. Teachers can't see if students are struggling by just looking at their face. Meeting in person gives teachers and students the chance to foster their relationship. And for both sides to clarify the best ways to communicate with each other.

Technology has created some amazing pathways in education, but it still has its limits. And nothing can replace the Face-to-Face interaction of Parent Teacher Conferences.

So, make your way to our school office on Wednesday!!!


Anonymous

0 comments:

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)