I have learned a lot about online teaching from watching one of my sons do virtual school. He has one teacher for 2 core classes and another teacher for his other 2 core classes. After much consideration, I decided to post my observations here.

My only hesitation in sharing is that I don't want to come across like I am bashing one teacher or being unsympathetic to how hard this is for everyone. I am learning a lot, and I am sharing here in case my teacher network can also benefit from my observations.

Teacher 1 (he/him) is very relaxed, minimalist, and always seems to have time for tangents and questions in class. He talks about the concepts, finds out what the students already know, does demonstrations, and asks students to do demonstrations. It's all VERY relaxed.

His tech includes Schoology plus Microsoft Teams for sync meetings (both required by district). He uses a virtual whiteboard for demos, an occasional Kahoot quiz live, and every assignment, whether homework or test, is done as a self-grading quiz w/the score posted immediately.

On async learning days, Teacher 1 has set office hours when any kid can pop in for a video chat about the material or anything else, and my kiddo regularly takes advantage to ask quick questions. Usually 2-5 minutes is enough.

Teacher 1's class time really focuses on interaction among participants, the work my son submits is predictable and easy to navigate, and the whole vibe of the class is really working for my kiddo. He can do it with very little help from me. He is learning a ton w/ little stress!

Teacher 2 (she/her) is very passionate, energetic, not at all minimalist, and always seems to be packing in as much as possible in every class period. She talks about the concepts about half the time, and spends the other half of class explaining tools or giving instructions.

Her tech (so far) includes Schoology, Teams, Kahoot, PearDeck, and a few others. (My kid loves Kahoot and PearDeck.) Assignments are discussions or submitted as Word docs or submitted as videos or pre-loaded modules or quizzes. Not much is auto-graded, rather she hand grades.

Teacher 2's class time focuses on teacher led activities, instructions, and tech. Every time there is an issue, the teacher makes a change in procedures to try to fix it. (And every day I want to tell her, just pick one thing and stick with it!)

On async learning days, she is available by email but not video chat. My son refuses to write emails. He just will not. So he has never reached out for help. When I can't figure out how to help him, I write her emails, and she answers promptly.

My son can only complete Teacher 2's class activities with my direct supervision and assistance. He is learning a ton, but the stress is high (for us both), enjoyment is low.

Conclusion: I am VERY MUCH like Teacher 2. I love planning and trying new things and talking about how they went, but I aspire to be more like Teacher 1.

I am getting such a good education as a virtual school parent.

And it may also be helpful to note that I have:
1) taught online for 15+ years,
2) studied/published in this area as an academic,
and 3) a job in which I support instructors who teach online. I am by no means new to online teaching.

There's just always a lot more to learn!