8:30 pm, home

After dinner, Jill unpacks her laptop and sets it up on her desk at home. VHS has asked Jill to be a faculty advisor (mentor) to new online VHS teachers who have just completed their NIM training and are in their first semester of teaching for VHS. Please note this is an extra and unique role to teaching an online course at VHS and is not required of novice VHS teachers.

A new teacher has emailed her a question about adding a new group activity. The teacher asks students to do a hands-on experiment at home with their families, and then to share their data with students in the class by posting their results in the Discussions area. The activity then asks the students to compare and contrast their findings with the rest of the class. Using her laptop to access the Internet, Jill reviews the new activity and writes some positive feedback. Jill comments that assignments are most successful when they balance work on and off the computer.

Jill is having a lot of fun sharing her online teaching skills and experiences with this new group of teachers. It helps her feel connected to the VHS community and allows her to collaborate with teachers from around the world. Jill finishes up, and then turns off her computer for the night. The end of another VHS day is completed.

LINKS: Interested in teaching a course in VHS? The Join Us section contains information and applications you need to become a member of Virtual High School.