Rashel Fitchett's Blog (9)

As a teacher, I can increase graduation rates of my students by increasing engagement in learning, especially when it applies to at-risk learners (Archambault, 19). So, as a brand new online teacher, I felt it was within my education, training, and scope to attempt to increase engagement in my online classroom.



Yesterday I contacted 34 disengaged students with a personalized letter inviting them to come back to the online classroom and turn in an assignment. Within 24 hours, 10 of…

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John* failed to log-in 8 days in a row after he’d enrolled in my online, 10th grade, English course. I watched my Performance Dashboard, waiting for it to report that John wasn’t, in fact, a disengaged student. On the 8th day, I picked up my phone and dialed the number of his mentor. After a short run around at the front desk, I was transferred to Paul*, who reported to me that he hadn’t seen John in over a week and all he knew was that the boy had made a court appearance sometime back and…

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Learning only happens for me in one manner. Writing. Today, Will Richardson reminded me of that in his The "Future of Education" webinar (http://bit.ly/K2WJp).



Among the numerous topics discussed, was the idea that Educators as Learners are a powerful tool in the classroom. An educator, according to Richardson, is most effective in the classroom when teaching students how to learn, not what to learn. So, first off, the educator himself must be a… Continue

My second week of work as a full-time online teacher had me lurking around Aventa Learning’s Teacher Resource Center in consideration of viewing an Elluminate Live! session titled "Stress Relief for Online Teachers (Time Management Tips)". This was the case not so much due to the fact that I was “stressed”, per se, but more resulting from the fact that it had become blazingly apparent that stress would soon be on its way to my online classroom door. She would come, clicking down the tiled…

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What a wild ride it’s been! The past week has proved both exciting and challenging. Becoming an online teacher is not for the faint of heart. Not if you are becoming an online teacher in a company as fast-growing as Aventa Learning.

After spending a couple weeks eating up my Mentor's online courses, I tip-tapped my fingers, charged and waiting at the gate, for my first course to open up. The training program was so complete and the time I was given to review another teacher’s…

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After being transferred from a Part-Time to a Full-Time Teacher position at Aventa Learning, I was wisked off to meet my mentor. I had been itching to meet this person since the day I had finished my Teacher Training Course, which I had completed 10 days ahead of schedule, resulting in lots of nothing-to-do-but-self-teach time. I spent my "down-time" well, making Avatars and practicing using Sparkling Text for my online classroom Announcements Page, but I didn't want to just focus on the…

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My Aventa Learning Interview for a part-time teaching position took place on November 29th, 2010. The interview consisted of a conference call from two Human Resource representatives, one of whom would become my English Department Instructional Supervisor (who knew?). Both friendly, they eased me into a questioning regarding my pedagogical knowledge and I answered the best I could with full confidence in what I had to say. My IS threw me for a loop with one question, "How will you physically…

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I wasn't expecting my "interview" to actually be a screening call, but that is exactly what happened. A human resource specialist called me at a predesignated hour and day and made it clear this contact was a screening call she would hand over to supervisors at Aventa Learning, to which end, I MAY receive a callbackand. She went on to ask me a set of pointed questions: What did I think was the biggest barrier to an online student's learning? Why did I want to become an online educator? And…

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I've been trying to land a job with KC Distance Learning for over a year. My interest in online education began three years ago, when I chose to homeschool my oldest child who had recently been given an IEP and was still not doing so hot in the classroom. Since I was a teacher and had just recently left my position due to a relocation, I was jobless and needing a focus. I decided to take on the education of my own child and after careful research into the world of homeschool curriculum I…

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