Who am I?

Once when I was teaching abroad there were already two teachers at my school who had the same name as me. To keep from confusing our students I used a nickname and for my entire time there that is the only name I went by. In this site I’m offering information, tips, tricks, and advice based on my own experience and research. In a way, I feel like I’m teaching again. So, I feel it’s fitting to return to that name.

Hello! You may call me Violet. For the past seven or so years I’ve spent a lot of time on both sides of the classroom. I’ve taken online classes every semester for nearly that entire time for various reasons such as working full time, class time connivence, class availability and distance. Those classes covered a wide range of subjects and topics from math to political science, anthropology to physics, various languages, music, and more.

I’ve taken hybrid classes, I’ve taken classes from a university that was close by, states away, and in another country. I’ve taken classes ranging from 1 credit hour to 5 both online and on-campus. I’ve taken four, eight, ten and sixteen week classes. I have a 150-hour TEFL certification that I completed entirely online. All in all, I think I have a lot of experience as an online student.

But, I also have some experience on the other side of the classroom that I think could be helpful, too. I’ve helped create and design online classes, advised professors on their online courses, worked in a team of instructional designers, and have also been a teacher to children ages 3 to 13 and college-level adults. For the most part my teaching experience is language based but my instructional design experience ranges from philosophy to international law to data analytics at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Safe to say, I have a bit of experience and I’ve learned quite bit by trial and error. People have been sitting in classrooms learning traditionally for millennia but the idea of an online classroom is very new and we’re all still learning a lot about the many facets of this new education platform. I’d like to share what I’ve learned with you!