This school year has opened up as a season full of new experiences and innumerable “opportunities”.  So much of what is happening is outside of our control, but we are certainly striving at EEM and as a community to ensure our students are physically safe and receiving the best foundational education.  

While the Canvas LMS has presented numerous “opportunities” it would have been no different if we were working with any other Learning Management System - it’s simply difficult to transition to new learning.  With a full month of experience under our belts, our teachers provided the following advice for the best possible virtual learning experience (many of these tips are also helpful for our onsite learners):

  • 1) Ask for help if you need it!  It’s why we are here.

  • 2) Develop a routine/schedule and stick with it.

    • -- If possible, wake up and work during school hours.  

    • -- Log in to Canvas on a scheduled/consistent basis and set aside specific time to work.  Logging in daily is best for keeping up with work.

    • -- Check your Canvas Inbox on a daily basis.

    • -- Use your student planner to keep up with your grades in the weekly “Grade Check” section. Grade checks are Thursday on campus, we encourage you to keep this routine too.

    • -- In Canvas, check for missing work in the grade book sections of classes at least twice a week. This will prevent students from having large amounts of missing work at one time or getting too far behind.

  • 3) Communicate directly with your teachers!  We are here to help, but we can only help if we know the issue.

    • -- Contact us if…

      • you don’t understand something

      • you are having a hard time submitting an assignment

    • -- We can be reached via:

      • Canvas Inbox (you can even send us a video)

      • SSD email

      • Call the school and leave a message 501.261.6565

  • 4) Remember:

    • -- Log-in to classes, not just the to-do list on the dashboard.  The to-do list skips the teaching and takes you only to the assignment.  Avoid frustration by going to the class and through the full lesson before jumping into the work. Read all instructions carefully.

    • -- If possible, it is best to do work during school hours.  When you have issues and are reaching out to your teachers late at night, your answers may not come until the next day. By waiting to do your work late, students are often falling behind before you ever got started.

    • -- Keep at it! If you are having trouble, do the best you can and then send a note to your teacher about what the challenges were.

One reminder for our on-site learners: Charge your device every evening.

Remember:

Excellence does not come from the BIG things we do.  

Excellence comes from the little things we do CONSISTENTLY every day to improve.

...and we are all in this together!  YJNation strong!