Advice For Virtual MS Students
Getting started:
Find a quiet, comfortable study area away from distractions. Make it your space with everything you will need to be productive and successful. (Sitting yourself up in front of the TV with your phone is probably not a good idea!)
Set aside time EACH day to work on your classes. It's also good to keep a scheduled time to work on your classes and be consistent. There is a sample schedule posted and your advisor can help you create a personalized one. Students that set up a daily routine with a schedule and stick to it have the most success.
You should be working for at least 1 hour each day for each class. So if you are taking 5 classes, you should be working on school work for 5 hours each day. (About 5% of coursework in each class should be completed each week.)
It is okay to take breaks. Example: Set a timer, work on classes for 1 hour, take a 10 minute timed break.
Communication is key, if you do not understand something, contact a teacher or advisor.
Make sure that you know how to access your school email and check it daily.
Materials that might be helpful but are not required:
A white board and whiteboard markers
Paper and pencils or pens
Calculator
Wireless mouse
Blue light blocking glasses
If you need help and can't get ahold of a teacher or advisor:
Use your resources. There are many resource links provided on the Virtual Academy webpage. However, there is a difference between using your resources and not paying attention to your lessons and other information in your classes.
Your classes have a function that will read the lessons and stories to you. Use it if you have a hard time reading or just staying focused.
YouTube also has audio of the stories you need to read in ELA class. You may also find copies of the stories on Google.
Work on a different class if you cannot go on in the class you’re currently working on.
**If you are using other resources, make sure you are not plagiarizing other peoples’ work! Plagiarism is against school policy and can get you released from the Virtual Academy.
Remembering what you learned in the lessons:
TAKE NOTES, they will only help you.
Have a notebook to take your own notes.
Some classes also have guided notes that are great to use.
**Don't forget to actually read what is in the lessons and watch the videos too! Don't just hurry through the lesson skipping lesson questions and hope you do well on the quiz.
Grading:
Essay questions are not optional, so if you submit them blank, the teacher will reassign them.
If you don't understand a question, just email, text, or call your teacher.
Do not submit assignments blank or assignments with comments saying “I don’t know how to do this” or “this lesson didn’t work.” Instead, contact the teacher after you reread the given information. You will still be expected to do it.
Plagiarism is not okay. Copying and pasting and using someone else’s ideas can get you into a lot of trouble. It can potentially get you released from the Virtual Academy. This also includes Chat GPT. Please just don’t do it. Your teachers want to read about what you think and about your ideas, not some random person’s on the internet.
If your teacher sees that you are struggling on a certain lesson or skill, they will reassign a section for you to do. Please redo the lesson, look at your resources for help, and ask questions!
Remember to follow the directions given to you.
If you are having problems, remember to contact your teacher. The people you live with may also be able to help, if you give them a chance.
In most lessons, quizzes and tests, the program automatically will let you redo or retake them two times. If you continue to fail a section, you and your teacher will need to go over it together and review the lesson/quiz/test.
Virtual Meetings:
Click HERE to see an example of a daily schedule