The Advantages of Cyber Education for Elementary Schoolers: A Teacher's Perspective

Discussing my job with someone I’ve just met is always entertaining. I am often asked, “So… what do you do?”  When I reply that I’m a cyber school teacher, I often get a blank stare or a confused look.  I then explain that I’ve been a cyber school teacher for 18 years and have exclusively taught in lower elementary grades, primarily in Kindergarten and first grade.  I have been teaching first grade for the past 10 years.  At this point, I either get a more confused look or a nod and smirk of someone impressed by my statement.  Regardless of the response, it always results in many questions and a deeper discussion.  How does that work?  Are the kids all at home?  Do the kids sit still for you?  What does that even look like?  How many kids are in your class?  Do you expect the kids to sit in front of a computer all day?  You’ve been doing this for that long?  My responses are typically pretty standardized, but for this blog, I will go into more detail about what my job entails daily and what my students hopefully experience in my classroom.

First, let’s highlight the unique aspects of cyber education as compared to common misconceptions.  I still teach a full school day, just like my brick-and-mortar counterparts.  No, I don’t expect students to sit still or be in front of the computer all day, just like students in traditional settings who aren’t required to sit all day.  I work for a public charter school, so I must follow all the same standards and educational requirements as any other public school.  My students certainly make friends, have good and bad days, and have unique learning styles and needs, just like any other children their age.  I create group activities, foster a positive classroom culture, and incorporate research-based instructional strategies like my brick-and-mortar counterparts.  I actively communicate with parents and seek to support all my students, just as any other teacher would.

The differences come in how the day-to-day looks for students and what families get from enrolling their children in a cyber school.  My contracted hours run from 8am-4pm Monday through Friday, but like any other teaching position, I am not teaching students for that entire time.  I run scheduled classes and instruct my students in ELA (English Language Arts), Math, Science, and Social Studies.  I also hold small group sessions for students needing more practice or enrichment on a regular schedule as well. Students spend time working in live classes as a whole group and in smaller groups, with additional tasks assigned outside of class under the supervision of a Learning Coach (typically a parent).

Let’s take a look at a sample day.  Students would sign in to start class at 8:10am and we start off the morning with a song and a review of our schedule for the day.  We would do our daily circle time activities highlighting the date, how many days of school we have had, as well as a few other items to get our brains warmed up and ready for the day.  We’d then work on writing skills such as capitalization rules in sentences as a whole group and pause for a few minute brain break when we finished.  I like to use video brain breaks that get students up and moving while having fun, such as those found on GoNoodle.  I’d then bring students back to do some whole group phonics skill work and review.  Before we move into small group phonics instruction, I like to give the students a full 5-minute break where they can intentionally get up and move around, get a snack, use the restroom, or do anything else they may need to do before focusing in on important instruction.  I would then move students through small groups, instructing each group based on their academic needs. 

Students who were not actively with me during this time would be working on tasks assigned to them and supervised by their Learning Coaches.  These tasks are not all on the computer and allow students to practice skills and work on hands-on activities and projects, which are developmentally very important in the early elementary years.  Students then return as a whole group for a literature lesson and activity before breaking for lunch.  PA Virtual’s schedule includes a school-wide lunch break, allowing families with students in different grades to eat together and enjoy their well-earned break.  My students would then return in the afternoon for math class and their small group intervention/enrichment time.  The rest of the day would be asynchronous and students could complete assigned tasks throughout the day and the week as assigned by their teacher and Learning Coach.  My day continues after the students are done with meetings and prep time, during which I can complete standard teaching duties such as lesson planning, following up on communication with families, and organizing student data.

During classes, my students certainly do not all sit still, staring at a screen for hours on end.  Students may stand or sit as they prefer if they are still focused on learning.  I tell parents constantly that I don’t need a student to “look” like they are learning as long as when I ask them to engage with the content, they can demonstrate that they have been learning along with us.  It does not distract me, or typically even their classmates, if a student needs to get up and jump around, spin in a chair, or even click their webcam on and off throughout the lesson.  Throughout the class, we are frequently moving and using multi-sensory strategies to enhance learning whenever possible.  Students are doing a mix of writing using pencil and paper and interacting digitally.  We do hands-on activities and science experiments.  Students do group activities and projects as well as individual activities, and we have guest speakers and parent volunteers to support learning. 

One of the key advantages of teaching in a cyber school setting is the transparency and flexibility it offers.  Students are quite literally invited into my home every day, and I am in turn invited into their homes as well. This level of transparency allows for a unique and informed learning experience. Learning Coaches often sit right with my students and are actively involved in many classes or will pop in frequently to see how their child is progressing, empowering them to be an active part of their child's education.  My classes are also always recorded, so students who may be out sick or need to miss part of a lesson for any reason can go back and access the recording to view the missed lesson or even review it if necessary.  This also adds another layer of transparency and accountability for both myself and the students.  Learning Coaches can see exactly what is going on in the classroom, see me modeling how to teach it and even see where their student is struggling or succeeding.  This type of transparency and window into the learning process isn’t something most parents get to see regularly, let alone be active participants!

This transparency often leads to deeper conversations with parents about their student's needs, and trust develops quickly.  I will email, text, and speak on the phone with some parents almost daily, while others prefer fewer, more traditionally formal conversations during parent/teacher conferences.  Parents are always well-informed about the tasks and skills we are working on in class, as they are responsible for some of the practice outside of class time.  I love developing partnerships with parents and feel their voice is as important and valuable as mine in their child’s education, if not more so.  While I may know the student academically quite well, I cannot always see everything going on with a child and rely on a parent or Learning Coach to report back on how things are going outside of class or if there are any difficulties during class.  This consistent communication also gives me greater insight into the efficacy of my teaching and encourages me to reflect frequently and adjust my practices accordingly.

I also love that my students are gaining more autonomy at an earlier age than some of their peers.  My students are quite used to logging into class and navigating various digital platforms.  They must advocate for themselves when they don’t understand something or need technical assistance.  While their peers in a brick-and-mortar setting are also getting exposure to technology and utilizing it similarly, the level of independence seems to happen sooner simply because of the technology students are exposed to in a cyber setting.  They learn it earlier because it’s around!  While students in a cyber setting may develop some independence by utilizing technology at an earlier age, it’s not the only skill developing.

My students need to do some work individually outside of class and will progress along asynchronous tasks at their own pace versus with a group during a set time and learning speed.  Students in a physical classroom will often do many tasks as a whole or in small groups and sparingly on a truly individual level until ready.  As my students are not physically located together, they must all produce their own work every time and seek to engage with the whole group by doing so.  The intrinsic motivation can develop much earlier as students seek to share their learning with their peers and myself.  Is this the case for all students?  Certainly not.  No educational setting is perfect for everyone at every stage of development.

As someone who has taught in a cyber school setting, been a Learning Coach in this model, and completed my own Master's degree via online learning, the biggest perk for me is flexibility in when and how learning takes place. My students can attend classes from their home, the park, a family member’s house, or even on the road when necessary.  This can incredibly benefit families balancing medical needs or nontraditional itineraries with a traditional daily schooling schedule.  I loved being able to extend or supplement my daughter’s learning during the weekends and even planned ahead for it based on the curriculum content she was covering in classes.  As for my own learning, I found it helpful to work on my asynchronous tasks when I had the time and ability to focus on my own schedule instead of on a predetermined one with attending physical classes.  It takes more discipline and perhaps a bit more work in the long run, but the benefits strongly outweigh the drawbacks.