Let me take you back to early March in 2004 when I accepted a full-time distance education lecturer position for a teacher ed program in North Carolina. Not only had I never taught online…EVER…but I was going to be the first full-time lecturer for a brand new fully online program. The ironic thing was that I had never even aspired to become an academic, but I loved teaching, and the thought of preparing future educators for the field drew me in. I’d had a little experience in higher ed as an adjunct while teaching second grade, but full-time was not on my radar at all.

Fast forward to the summer of 2004, when I was charged with designing my courses. I received a rubric, yes, one rubric that outlined what a quality course should entail, and a binder filled with information about my LMS and the department. Other than that, I was clueless about distance learning. I even remember receiving an email from our coordinator who kept using the initials Bb, wondering, “What is she talking about?” Only to find out that Bb stood for Blackboard (how embarrassing).

By 2006, I realized that I would not be able to sustain working in a virtual environment if something did not change. I loved teaching—any age—so I knew that wasn’t the issue. The issue was the lack of connection with the future teachers I wanted to impact, the lackadaisical approach to online learning that I witnessed based on grades, emails, and attrition, and the daily feeling that I was a robot, hired to grade papers, post grades, rinse and repeat.

So, I decided that I had to do things differently. I needed to make teaching online satisfying for ME, first and foremost, and then I knew that I could make it meaningful for my students. It took me years of trial and error to figure out how to transform my online courses into dynamic learning communities, communities where students communicated, collaborated, and co-created, communities that I looked forward to serving and challenging to grow, communities that resulted in a transformation in everyone—including me.

I no longer felt like a robot and finally possessed that excitement that I had every single year as I planned for my first and second graders to enter our home away from home. Yes, I finally approached designing online courses with the same enthusiasm that I did as an elementary school teacher, and it felt AMAZING!

My students were excited about what they were learning. I got to know the people behind the names on my roster. I started receiving emails from students expressing how they had never worked so hard while learning so much. I was invited to graduation parties, baby showers, weddings, and even enjoyed lunches and dinners with students well after they graduated. I even received cards and flowers in appreciation for how I invested in my students, students that I taught ONLINE!!!

I could not believe it, but slowly and surely, I fell in love with teaching online, semester after semester, year after year.

In 2020, after studying online teaching self-efficacy, I was saddened to learn that the struggles I experienced in 2004 were still being experienced 16 years later by online faculty. I knew that there was absolutely no reason for this issue to continue. So, I spent several days identifying the core skills that satisfied and fulfilled online instructors master and created a framework--the F.A.C.E. Method.

The F.A.C.E. Method is my offering to avoid wasting your time, feeling like you are going through the motions, doing something just because it is “convenient”, and being frustrated about the input and output that are required. It cuts your learning curve and allows you to experience online teaching and learning the way you and your students deserve. It makes teaching online purposeful and enjoyable.

Put simply, the framework helps you see the vision for online learning and then guides you down the paths that make it come to pass. Here is what I want you to know: Everyone talks about student success, but student success begins with YOU!

You can make online learning meaningful and fun. You can make students feel seen, understood, and empowered, and you can cultivate a dynamic learning community, but only when you feel good about what you are doing.

So, if you are feeling “icky” as I was two decades ago and you suspect that there is a better way, partner with me. It’s time to master the art of teaching online with the F.A.C.E. Method. In the welcoming words of Shania Twain, “Come on over, come on in.”

Learn more about my mission at kelliealston.com.