The students of Scott Elementary are encouraged to show good citizenship in the virtual classroom when working from home or at school. The Virtual Etiquette guidelines are as follows:
Virtual Etiquette
1. Be on time.
Punctuality is especially important for online meetings, because we are working in the absence of normal checks to ensure that everyone can be gathered to start classes on time.
2. Wear proper attire.
Learning from the comfort of your home can make it feel desirable to dress down, but we want to make sure we are looking presentable and professional for each other, just like we do at school. It is our expectation that students dress in a way that is modest, clean, and avoids any unnecessary distraction.
3. Choose a good location.
The most important thing is to have a clean and non-distracting background. If possible, set up a desk with materials ready and a neutral background. Another factor is the possibility of background noise. If siblings are at all likely to be loud in the room, try to isolate yourself. If your parents have a headset that you can borrow, this will make your situation much more flexible. As much as possible try to make sure nothing from your location becomes a distraction to others in the class.
4. Mute yourself if you experience unavoidable background noise.
If for reasons beyond your control noise becomes a problem in what you thought was a quiet space, please click the icon that will mute your audio. Try to do this sooner rather than later, and either ask family members to move or else move yourself. If it’s impossible to find a quiet place in your current family scenario, it’s still important for you to attend the meeting. Just mute yourself for the whole time, except when called on, and let your instructor know by a private chat message what the situation is.
5. Be ready to take notes.
It will be beneficial for you to be able to jot down a note on the instructions the teacher is giving or important information he or she is sharing with you
6. Give your full, focused attention.
Show respect to the important learning process that you are engaged in, just as you would if you were present in person with your whole class.
7. Participate fully.
Participating fully may look different depending on what your teacher is expecting of you at any particular moment. At times, your teacher will be leading the class in a discussion and this is when it is most important to speak up and share your thoughts. Of course, if your teacher is simply sharing instructions with you, then participating fully means paying close attention to be sure you understand, writing anything down you don’t want to forget, and being ready to ask any questions you have about confusing parts when the teacher is done.
8. Do ask relevant questions.
Your teachers are there to support and help you, and it makes it easier on everyone if you can ask a question while together in an online meeting. If you are experiencing some confusion or have a question about something, it’s likely that someone else has that same question. Speak up!
9. Review your notes and the recording later.
When possible, the teacher will share a recording of the online meeting with you and any student who missed the live meeting because of sickness or other circumstances.
10. Keep up with all assignments.
One of the challenges posed by online learning is the increased level of responsibility that students will have for their own learning. Adopt a mindset that each day you will put in a solid day’s work on school and learning. Give yourself little breaks and set micro-goals to ensure that you keep up the motivation.
11. Check your email regularly.
Your teachers will be emailing you assignments, instructions, and links to online meetings. Check your email regularly throughout the day to be sure you are informed about the day’s assignments.