BSO Tips and Tricks

Welcome to Branson School Online! We are so excited to have you with us for the 2020-2021 school year. We know that many of you are new to online learning, so we have complied a list of tips and tricks that we hope will help ease the transition for you and your family. 

Veteran BSO families, please add your thoughts, ideas and suggestions to the comments to help all of our new families.

We are all working and learning from our homes, but we are a dynamic, supportive community and we are all here to help you!

                                               

• If you don't already have one, create a spreadsheet to organize usernames and password so they are easily accessible.

• Create a daily schedule. Allow 1 hour per class per day. Work not completed during the hour is “homework.” Alternatively, some students benefit from completing all the work for the week in one class each day. We call this a block schedule. Build breaks into the schedule, based on the individual needs of your student(s). Remember that you can always change the schedule if it’s not working. Ask your teacher about a modified block schedule if a full block schedule is not the right fit or your student(s). 

• Parents of multiple elementary students who need lots of support, consider splitting the day in half and focus on helping one child separately during each half of the day, until everyone is comfortable, routines and established and students become slightly more independent. 

• Use daily checklists so students know exactly what needs to be completed in each class each day.

• Attend all DI classes live, whenever possible. Set alarms to help remember the schedule. Students get a LOT more out of the live classes than out of the recordings. This is also an opportunity to interact with teachers and classmates. 

• Encourage your student(s) to read ALL directions in blackboard and other websites. Explain to your student(s) that they would not leave a classroom while a teacher is giving directions and then come back in and try to complete an assignment. Typed directions are equivalent to teachers giving directions in a classroom. 

• Encourage your student(s) to ask teachers for help as much as possible. Students have email addresses and phone numbers for each teacher and are strongly encouraged to use them as frequently as needed.

• Figure out how to use any new websites BEFORE you sit down to show them to your student(s). We all know these are stressful days, and parents and kids tend to butt heads on the least stressful day. Figure everything out before you sit down with your student so you are not trying to manage their behavior AND figure out new technology at the same time.

• Set small, daily rewards for work completion and a larger reward at the end of the week if daily goals are met. Video game time is ideal for rewards, if your kids like them. Find the "currency" that is most motivating for your student(s).

• Break up the days and weeks, when possible, by taking advantage of fun activities such as online cooking classes for kids, museum tours, live online art classes, online exercise classes, etc.

• Be flexible, calm and patient.

• Contact teachers for help when you get frustrated. While working from home, it’s easy to feel like it’s just you and the computer. Remember that real people exist and they are always here to help you.

• Spend 5 minutes trying to solve a problem. If you can't solve it, ask for help. Don't waste time and energy trying to fix a problem on your own when there is always someone to help you.

• Give it time. Don’t expect perfection immediately. It takes a while to settle into the groove of online school.

• If it helps you to focus and feel awake and normal, get ready for school every day, just like you would for a classroom. Save PJ days for a special treat!

• Not moving around enough? Losing focus? Try working on the computer from a standing position. You don't need a fancy desk, just stack books on a table or use a shoe box and place your laptop on top. Make sure your work station is stable and your computer is not at risk of falling. 

• Take vision breaks from the screen frequently and look all the way to the horizon (or as far as you can see) for a few minutes.

• Get plenty of sunlight. Try working outside as a special treat!

• Get exercise EVERY day. 

• When appropriate and approved by parents or guardians, let students connect with friends over facetime, zoom, or skype. Parents: You can feel isolated too!  Make sure you are connecting with other adults during the day.

• When possible and appropriate, allow your student to move and fidget while learning. 

• Designate work time and space and designate home/family time and space.