Self advocacy has to start with you. It is about standing up for yourself and being kind to yourself. It is not being selfish, but rather, it is about self respect and dignity. In order to be or do any good to others, we must be good to ourselves. If we are not good to ourselves we cannot, in turn, be any good to or help others.
In order to be an advocate for yourself, you must learn how to love and respect yourself. Teachers are so often so involved in and worried about others that they often neglect themselves. They need to take the time from their hectic schedules and just relax and take care of themselves. If teachers see something that is not right or fair in the world or with their students, they must stand up for those people. If a teacher is in a situation where he or she must stand up for him or herself, it is important to be assertive and to respect the fact that they are in a caring profession where they are trying to do good for others. Helping is something that teachers care about, and they want to make a difference in the lives of their students. Standing up for themselves is, in reality, also standing up for their students. Teachers serve as role models, and their students and the community members see and take notice of what they do. Teachers can model for their students how to be self advocates so that they, too can be their own advocates.
Learning online seems a good way, according to comments by students as well as teachers, to help students to foster within themselves a sense of self-advocacy. It provides them with the confidence they need to continue and suceed in their educational pursuits.
Students who learn online seem to gain a lot from the experience. They can interact with other online students from all over the United States and often, from all over the world. Doing so teaches them about other people and cultures and helps them to get an understanding of how to work well with other people. Even though students do not meet face-to-face and they do not see their teachers in person, much is valuable and assets are retained from online instruction.
Students who learned online and offline often said they liked the combination of both types of learning. Both, they said had their own unique value.
Online teachers should use a lot of visuals such as drawing and graphic organizers for their online students. This is something that is especially important for English Language Learners. Technical issues will arise in the online classroom, and online teachers should be educated, prepared and equipped to handle such issues. A new online teacher may not always be familiar with all of these aspects of the teaching process, but with time will of course improve quickly. Many online classrooms or online teaching companies offer tech support people who can be contacted via phone, email or instant message. They sometimes can even come into the classsroom to assist you with any issue you might be experiencing. This is a godsend in such situations!
According to the students interviewed during my research I found that online learners are students who use the technology to their advantage. It helps them to move ahead quickly in their academic goals in order to learn things they would not otherwise have had the opportunity to grasp.
When learning online students have said that they need to be good listeners. They also discuss how they are not bothered by other students who might otherwise have behavioral issues in the traditional classroom. Much time is wasted when students are disruptive, and this issue is minimal in the online classroom situation. Students like this and this and other features of the online environment bring them back again and again.
Online teachers must be equipped to handle any technical problems or situations that will inevitably arise in the online classroom.
Online college classrooms are typically not interactive, but of course that is not always the case. Usually the online college or university classroom consists of classes on blackboard or some other similar program, and there is typically not a classroom per se. Sometimes there are also, and this is common, discussion boards where students answer and share each other's questions. Often teachers will, in the online college courses I have experienced, ask students to reply to at least one other person. Otherwise assignments are posted and there is not usually that much interaction. So the online situation really is varied, and it is growing and changing every day.
There are different types of online learning situations, and this must be considered when thinking about how and why students learn online. Some students are homebound and therefore learning online works well and is more convenient for them. Others learn online, but also go to school offline. Each situation is different and varied.
When teaching students online there are a lot of things a teacher can do to help students. Most of these strategies are also used in the regular, traditional classroom setting. For example, the online teacher will activate prior knowledge in students. Students will be helped if the teacher has them relate their learning in lessons to what they already know. This will make the learning process more interesting for students, and it will engage them so that they care more about what is being learned.
Students who like online learning say that they like not having to leave their homes. They mention time and cold weather as factors contributing to their preference.
With online learning there is a lot that can go wrong technically. If teachers or students have computer problems, they will not be able to get into their classrooms. Also if there are audio issues that can make lessons difficult, although at times chat can still be used. The tech support people who work with online education really are key to the success of the programs.
