Guest Commentary: Education Next Publishes Essay from a 'Virtual Schoolteacher'

Karen Faucett taught middle-school math in a traditional school setting for 13 years before moving to virtual education. In the Summer 2011 issue of Education Next, the veteran educator provides an insider's view of the life of an online teacher.
"My day begins at 6 AM, a quiet time in my house. I spend the early hours working on grade books. I teach 6th- and 7th-grade math to 90 students. Parents and students go online to the grade book to view the student’s progress. My goal is to give each one of them the productive, positive, and personalized feedback that will enable the student to turn mistakes into learning opportunities," she writes.
"My students vary in how much one-on-one instruction they need. Some students I speak to weekly, others less often, but at least once a month. Whenever students do not understand a concept, they can pick up the phone and call me for help. If their questions require that they be able to see what I am talking about, we have two options: We can use the “whiteboard,” where they can see what I am doing and talk to me on the phone at the same time. Students can write on the whiteboard and go step-by-step through a problem so that I can see where they are making mistakes. We can also use the web-based program Elluminate to work through problems together using a microphone instead of the telephone," she adds.
Click here to read more about why Faucett believes online education works for teachers and students.