From Law to Learning: 5 Lessons I Learned as an Online Teacher

After working in the legal profession for 20+ years, I was ready for a career change. I looked at my potential options and took an immediate liking to the online learning arena, which in 2010 was still taking shape but already positively impacting the K-12 educational landscape. 

At the time, I didn’t really know what online learning entailed. However, when the opportunity to become a virtual teacher surfaced, I said sure, why not? I started out teaching high school English and social studies courses to students in Jacksonville, Fla., 15 years ago.

When I learned about the nonprofit VHS Learning, I signed up for the organization’s 4-week-long Online Teaching Methodologies (OTM) course. The graduate-level course is conducted entirely online and teaches participants how to use and apply resources, tools, and strategies to create engaging, effective learning experiences in the online classroom. 

After completing the rigorous course, I was asked to teach the nonprofit’s AP® Human Geography course. I’d taught several AP classes before, including language arts, English and social studies, so I went for it and started teaching the course with VHS Learning in September 2024.

5 Things to Know About Online Learning 

There are certain nuances to teaching online and I’ve been learning them as I go along. I’ve also spoken at different online symposiums and events over the years, sharing my ideas and research on student engagement with other virtual teachers. Here are five things I’ve learned along the way: 

1. Student engagement should be prioritized. The VHS Learning platform includes a very active discussion board where students and teachers can talk, collaborate and bounce ideas off each other. There’s a new topic every week; students are graded on their contributions to the discussion board. It’s great because teachers are encouraged to jump in and respond to students’ comments and posts, and to stoke conversations with them.

2. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. We also have “news items,” which includes original content posted by the course instructors. I think outside of the box and post videos whenever I can, and then I use them as tie-ins for the topics I’m teaching during any given week. For example, I recently filmed some footage at the University of Florida’s campus and used it to create news items on what it’s like to live in a college town (Gainesville).  

3. Bring lessons to life. I also use the news items to showcase student-related events, accomplishments and travel notes that tie into their current coursework. For example, one student who visited an Idaho potato museum on a family ski trip created a video and shared photos of the experience. We were studying agriculture and human geography at the time, so he thought the videos and pictures would be a great way to bring those lessons to life.

4. Teachers need platforms that support them. During my first semester as a VHS Learning online instructor, I worked with a mentor from the nonprofit who answered my questions, provided feedback and shared success tips and tricks with me. A new teacher needs support and the organization has been awesome with that. There are multiple people there ready to help—including in-school site coordinators— and it’s good to know that I am supported and there are a wealth of resources that I can turn to for help. 

5. And procedures that keep students on track. Having a mechanism for when kids need to turn in assignments late, and established processes and guidelines for creating recovery plans if they must be out of class, help them find their footing should they go off track. For example, I recently had a student suffering from a concussion and unable to do her work for about three weeks. We came up with a plan for her and now she’s back on track.

Becoming a Better Communicator & Teacher

Being a VHS Learning online teacher has made me a better communicator with my students. I’m also more empathetic and focused on developing strong relationships with them. After all, it takes work to create a relationship with the level of rapport that we have with one another. I think I’ve gotten better at that in a short period of time thanks to the robust course offerings and strong support for students and instructors alike.