Top 10 Reasons We Love Being Students at Pennsylvania Distance Learning Charter School

 Co-authored by Kiara Millie (Junior) and Garrett Pelkofer (Senior)

People have many views about cyber schools versus brick and mortar public schools. In brick and mortar schools, there’s constant contact with other people which is a plus for some. At Pennsylvania Distance Learning Charter School, students get to learn and experience new things. Independence is one of the most important factors of a cyber school student. Students are expected to learn and do things for themselves, this helps create lifelong learners and students who are driven and motivated. 

Below, we have listed our top 10 reasons why Pennsylvania Distance Learning Charter School has helped us grow as students.

1. Teachers 
Pennsylvania Distance Learning Charter School teachers are some of the most helpful teachers we’ve had. They make themselves available to you if you’re struggling, and they’re understanding about all student needs. Teachers are willing to meet every need and answer every question. Not only are they helpful and understanding, they all seem to take a genuine interest in the lives of their students. Many often engage in meaningful personal conversations that create a deeper student-teacher relationship. 

2. Low Stress
Our school is so flexible, and the hours to submit assignments to complete work are wide open.  This creates a very low stress environment for students. One of the pluses of any cyber school environment is the ability to complete school work on your own time. You aren’t pressured to complete something in a hasty manner. Students can always take a moment to catch their breath and relax in order to avoid being too flustered. This allows students to slow down and make sure assignments are done completely and correctly. It also encourages them to build a complete daily schedule for sleep, work, and play. 

3. Freedom to Access Schoolwork Anywhere
In cyber school, you’re not limited to one place to do work or go to class. You’re free to

access work and classes on vacation, at Starbucks, at  your grandma’s house,  and on your break at work. We’ve personally done all four. (Also, working from home allows our furry friends to study along with us.)

4. Resources
For families who may be low-income or have to follow a very tight budget, at our school there are many resources the school helps provide families at little to no cost to them so they can focus on what is truly important - education. Our school provides each student with a computer, printer, calculator, textbooks and school supplies to ensure quality education. Field trips are typically covered by our school’s FLEX funds and we offer reimbursement for internet, tutoring, and some recreational activities in relation to education. 

5. Friendly Students
It’s easy to make friends in classes. We’ve met really cool people in our classes and clubs that we’ve joined. Most students are willing to help you out and are always welcoming to new students. 

6. After School Clubs
The clubs after school are of growing importance to our school ecosystem. As members we look forward to our weekly student government sessions that allow us to make a definite impact on the school. Not only do clubs allow students to change and improve the school, but it also allows students to get to know one another and build friendships with other students. These clubs are a great platform to share interests, make friends, and make student voices heard.

7. Flexible Schedule
Another benefit of the flexible nature of our school is the ability to complete schoolwork whenever students are best able to. Work can be done at any time before 11:59 p.m., and this really comes in handy with longer assignments. Students can also incorporate other activities into their school day, like work, sports, or other extracurricular activities. Another cool benefit of Pennsylvania Distance Learning Charter School is the ability to work ahead. If students find themselves tossing and turning at night, they can knock out some work rather than stare at their ceiling, and thus, it gives them a head start on tomorrow. (Plus there is no dress code so pajamas are encouraged. :) ) 

8. Great Courses
Our school offers a wide variety of courses that meet a range of student interests and that students can dive into and learn about in-depth. Students are also offered clubs to participate in which can help build character and experience to ready you for college or the work force. 

9. Promotes Independence and Responsibility
Cyber school is extremely helpful for a student’s maturity and responsibility. You set up your own schedule and learn in the best way for yourself.  In addition, you are responsible for reaching out to peers and teachers when you need help. This is also a good form of college and workforce preparation. Students are entirely responsible for their assignments, learning the material, and being motivated to complete tasks. This foundation teaches students skills early that they will need to prepare them for higher education or the work force.

10. Field Trips
Field trips are a quality way to encourage students to get together to see really cool places as a school. They create opportunities for students to get to know each other and meet in person. Students also get the chance to meet with their teachers and experience new things alongside them. 


Cyber school can be suitable for anyone, but it isn’t for everyone. Here at Pennsylvania Distance Learning Charter School, however, the school creates a suitable, enjoyable, and flexible environment for all who attend. Students are able to obtain life skills, experience a liberating education, and take their schooling with them wherever. Despite the distance. 

Learning is Messy: Group Work in the Online Setting

By Allison Harvey-Benedum, English 7-12

Learning is Messy

Learning is messy and group work is even messier. Question marks, emoticons, and a rainbow of text fill the corners of the chatbox to the brim. The chatter flows like mud through your toes. Squiggles, shapes, and text boxes appear on the once pristine whiteboard. Nothing a little bit of cleaning can’t clean up when we’re done. Learning is digging deep into the muck with your bare hands and searching for the treasures buried within. 

In my English IV classes, we wade deep into the BOGs for our messiest learning adventures. In our online setting, BOGs is an acronym for Break Out Groups.

Enter the BOGs


Group work is an important, albeit messy, step in the learning process. A step that I prioritize in my English classroom. Working together in small groups encourages students to take intellectual risks and ask questions they may not feel comfortable with in front of an entire class. Small groups can also offer a space to play and try ideas without penalty. Small groups offer a safe space to dig your hands into the mud and enjoy learning. According to a Carnegie Mellon University’s Eberly Center, “Group projects can help students develop a host of skills that are increasingly important in the professional world (Caruso & Woolley, 2008; Mannix & Neale, 2005). Positive group experiences, moreover, have been shown to contribute to student learning, retention and overall college success (Astin, 1997; Tinto, 1998; National Survey of Student Engagement, 2006)” (What are the Benefits of Group Work?). While our online setting helps students quickly adapt to 21st century tools and become independent learners, it is also a space to work together collaboratively.

BOG Activities

These are some of the activities I've done this year in our BOGs:

• Color Coding - In the BOGs, I have a list of character and thought bubbles. This was an activity analyzing internal conflict and character motivation in the Shakespearean play Macbeth. Students worked in small groups to color the thought bubbles to match the different characters. Their small group discussion focused on digging deeper into the characters and differentiating between subtle motivational changes. This could translate into a history review with key historical figures and their thoughts/decisions in the thought bubbles or a chemistry review with attributes of different family groups from the periodic table.
• Graffiti Walls - This is a discussion technique where they rotate from room to room writing/drawing as quickly as possible to a prompt - I have used this to introduce units with Big Questions/Ideas from the unit. They have 90 seconds or so to respond to the topic on the board and I “throw” them from room to room when time is up. As they go through the rooms, the conversations grow and they can start responding to each other as well. They can also respond in unconventional ways by drawing, using emojis, and adding hashtags. When they make it back to the beginning, they work in their small group to star good responses and present a summary of the conversation. It’s messy, fast-paced, fun, and students learn to analyze, discuss, and debate in a low-stress environment.
• Quote Analysis - In each BOGs, students have different quotes to analyze. They have directions to highlight, underline, summarize, and answer analysis questions. For one activity, during our Renaissance unit, students received different sonnets to scan the meter, summarize the stanzas, label the rhyme scheme, and decide the form type. To differentiate, I was able to use various sonnets from different eras. To extend, students could illustrate the imagery in the sonnet to create a themed whiteboard.  
• Gallery Walk - At the end of each BOG (time permitting), we travel from BOG to BOG and share our work. This offers an audience for students and a chance to present their ideas. When groups had different topics, students are able to teach the rest of the class about their topic.

Embrace the Mess

I encourage every teacher, student, parent, or any member of our learning community to go ahead and get a bit messy. Dig your hands into the mud and enjoy the process of learning. Go ahead! Laugh. Make loaves of mud bread. Get frustrated. Mix ideas. Have an epiphany. Change your perspective. Take a chance. Fail. Fall in the mud. 

Just make sure you always get back up embrace the mess and continue to progress in your learning adventure. Learning can be messy, but it is a beautiful mess.

Works Cited

“What Are the Benefits of Group Work?” Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation.     Carnegie Mellon University, 2015. Web. 12 Dec. 2016. 

Townsend, Alison. “The Literature Collection: What the Body Knows: Poems: Mud Poem.” The Literature Collection: What the Body Knows: Poems: Mud Poem, University of Wisconsin, 2002, digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Literature/Literature-idx?type=turn&entity=Literature.Townsend.p0011&id=Literature.Townsend&isize=M&pview=hide.

How Do You Teach Music in a Cyber Setting?

By Elisa Carpenter, K-8 Music Education Teacher

When I have a colleague, family member or friend ask me what I am currently doing with music, I tell them I am an online K-8 Music Teacher.  The FIRST thing that is asked 99% of the time is the question, “How do you do that?”  Some other questions that are asked are,

• Do you even see the kids?
• I bet playing instruments is really difficult, right?
• Isn’t the value of music depreciated because it is not in person?
• How do they participate in games?

These are all wonderful questions…..but these are also the most common thoughts that people have about teaching music online.  Teaching music online has recently been limited to specific fields most related to technology and the creation of music. Fields such as Music Technology Performance, Professional Sound Recording, or even Technology Composition, emphasize real-time products and computer-assisted access to the latest digital technology.  This technology assists instrumentalists with the ability to work with notation software, digital performances, sound boards and mixing professional tracks, synthesizers, multi-track digital audio workstations, audio engineering, advertising, radio, music publishing, marketing, MIDI instrumentation, and much more.  To live in an exciting time where technology and music are one in the same, our students in a cyber school setting deserve the very best in an online environment, regardless of the materials to be learned.

All of the above mentioned careers in music technology are important to our rapidly expanding use of technology as a classroom.  The careers above are normally discussed with students once they reach high school.  This is after they have had their general music education and time to experience music in many simpler ways. In a cyber setting, we can foster an interest in music, and technology at the same time, at the Kindergarten level, and the possibilities are endless!

So where do we start? We can’t possibly limit students in a cyber setting to experience music from 9th grade and up only…….and if we limit it to the career paths listed above, we completely leave out Music Therapy, Music Education, and most importantly…..Music Performance!  The students in our cyber setting receive an all-inclusive elementary music education curriculum that allows them to explore music through singing, playing instruments, composing, notating, listening, analyzing and performing individually and in groups. This is the kind of education that traditional brick and mortar schools offer, so why should we be any different?

This brings us to the meat of the article….how?

It truly starts with the elementary students. The youngest of minds can be the most inspiring and imaginative, the most creative and comprehensive.  Zoltan Kodaly, a famous musician and master in music education says the following about children:

"Let us take our children seriously! Everything else follows from this...only the best is good enough for a child." (1941) 

Kodaly had it right from the start – when we invest in our youngest students, our students will invest in

themselves and others as they continue to grow. So our investment is two-sided.  Yes, we as music teachers need to be concerned with the material taught and how they receive the experience in a cyber setting, but also that the material is authentic and exciting!  It is like telling your kids you are going for ice-cream, and you go to the grocery store to get yogurt…..kind of a letdown!

Here is how, as an elementary music teacher, I make my musical experiences for my students engaging, achievable, but also fun!

1. I have general goals for my students as musicians and people too!
2. The curriculum has music that stands the test of time, and is developmentally appropriate.
3. What we do is relevant to the music industry today, fun, and has goals that they can reach!

My utmost priority as a music teacher is to not create the next Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Michael Bublé…..although that would be pretty awesome……it is to have a classroom environment where my students can learn about music, and explore what their musical purpose is in life.  I want to aid in the well-balanced social and artistic development of my students, and to offer the opportunity to become a musically literate adult. I want my students to be able to sing to their children when they go to bed, or sing Happy Birthday to celebrate another year.  Music is about sharing the gift of expressing who we are, and how we are effected by the world around us.  My students don’t have to be the next big thing, just a big thing in their own lives.  I do this by implementing the following rules in my classroom:

1. At all times, we are respectful of the level of musicianship of our friends, and choose to support their learning.
2. We always have some class time to perform for our friends, and practice audience etiquette.
3. We give helpful feedback during a presentation of what we have listened to.
4. When working in small groups, we keep each other accountable – following rules and being polite helps us all learn better!
5. If you or a friend is struggling, offer encouragement, or ask for help!  Learning music in any way is like learning a second language, and that takes time!

I put in place activities, performance opportunities, progress checks and games so that my students can consistently be encouraging and well-minded musicians.

Second……the huge elephant always in the room….is the curriculum.  The two most important aspects of my curriculum are that the music being played stands the test of time, and that it is developmentally appropriate.  I feel as though having these firmly in place allows for some really wonderful and musical things to happen! When the curriculum is built upon how children develop physically, vocally and mentally, their achievement rate will be much higher, and the sense of accomplishing musical tasks will become intrinsically valued and later built upon, rather than just another check on the to-do list.  Music that stands the test of time simply is music that intrigues their musical ears and employs them to move. See the example below:

Setting: Student in a kindergarten classroom, at home currently in their music class

Activity: Gross motor – Skipping

In this class, a student will practice skipping to 5 different types of music: A classical overture with a rhythmic skipping value, Irish tap dancing music, to the beat of a lollipop drum, to an unaccompanied children’s folksong and to a short piece of rhyming literature.

In the example above, the student is at home, but still gets the opportunity to move in a way that they are already familiar with. They are also in the comfort of their own setting.  On top of that they are experiencing different cultures, and mediums as to how a rhythmic skipping pattern can be found in instrumental music, literature, dance music, and folksongs, while reinforcing gross motor development. You could also see this in a traditional setting.

Whew…almost done!

Lastly, the material is relevant to what they see today.  Most young musicians are exposed to music through the radio, television, mobile device or through music in their own home or culture. Technology is expanding quickly, so we must keep up with it, and offer learning materials that are just as exciting and new, but also attainable. Below you will see a chart of tools that I use for games, assessments, and some big ideas I cover in each of my grade levels. 

Student Learning is ascertained through keyboard performance. The students have supporting materials throughout their musical experiences.	Games	Assessments	Big Ideas in Music	Learning Theories Used
	-Circle Games used with online spinner http://wheeldecide.com/ -Prezi Presentations    https://prezi.com/ -Reading with an interactive book https://prezi.com/ -Flashcard review games https://quizlet.com/latest -Jeopardy    https://flipquiz.me/ -Resources: http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/	- Google Forms -Quizzes -Tests -Written papers -Notated music -Group work -In-class performances	Google Document Link: Big Ideas in Music	Zoltan Kodaly Carl Orff Dalcroze Gordon Music learning Theory

I would like to encourage you to think of music learning as nurturing a mind to be aware of all facets of human life; that sometimes we don’t have the words to explain how we feel.  There are those who are better with mathematical computation skills, or others who use a written language to make human experiences tangible.  Regardless of our gifts or talents, music learning in a brick or mortar school or cyber setting should be the same; a chance to explore each bridge that music connects us to.  Whether the bridge leads to the divisions of note values and math, to describing the science behind amplitude and frequency to musical pitch, or the physical demands of practicing an instrument – music is in everything we do. Why not figure out how we can do it best?

The title of this article is “How Do You Teach Music in a Cyber Setting?”……and I hope this article has led you to answer the question in the title; that technology enhances music learning – not solely to make a way of living, but a way of life.

Mindfulness: An Inner Tool for Thriving in School and Life

by Susannah Azzaro, Business Technology Teacher

A few weekends ago, I participated in a workshop entitled Sustainable Compassion for Educators presented by the non-profit, The Courage of Care Coalition.  The mission of Courage of Care, as stated on their web site is “to empower both personal and social transformation by providing deep contemplative training coupled with powerful tools for systemic change. We support individuals, organizations and communities in realizing a more courageous, caring and equitable world.”  ("Courage of Care Coalition")

In the workshop we explored the latest research on the science of care; engaged in mindfulness practices; explored possibilities for creating more inclusive education communities; and affirmed that “the best learning happens when students feel safe, seen, and connected.” ("Courage of Care Coalition")  *

The workshop - particularly the information on mindfulness - inspired me to write this week’s blog post.  Mindfulness is a practice that is radical in its simplicity, and in the realm of Education, it can positively and deeply affect change in the well-being of students, parents, teachers, and administrators.  A regular practice of mindfulness can lay this essential foundation for feeling safe, valued, and connected. 

What is Mindfulness and How Does it Work?  

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor of Medicine Emeritus and creator of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, HealthCare, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School shares, “Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.” ("Jon Kabat-Zinn: Defining Mindfulness - Mindful", 2016)

Mindfulness works by calming the part of the brain that wants to react to the constant stream of fickle impulses. By building our capacity to slow down and notice our thoughts and feelings without judgement, we build our ability to make choices that are more in alignment with our highest good.

How Can Something So Simple Help in the Classroom?

Science is proving that stress has a tremendously negative effect on parts of the brain responsible for executive functioning, emotional regulation, and working memory, which are all functions that play a critical role in learning and behavior.  

Kabat-Zinn, in his foreward to Learning to Breathe: A Mindfulness Curriculum for Adolescents by Patricia Broderick, expands on this science:

Through the systematic cultivation of attention, awareness, self-compassion, and kindness toward others…a set of fundamental and highly beneficial life skills are developed…These life skills form the basis for building successful relationships, beginning with oneself.  They can also contribute to optimizing the classroom environment and learning. (Broderick, p. ix)

How Can I Get Started?

While you can practice bringing mindful awareness to any activity, the mindfulness approach I’m referring to in my post today is one in which you pause, close your eyes, slow down your breathing, and pay attention to what you notice.

You don’t need anything but YOU and about 5-15 minutes to start.  If you want to set a timer, you can.  Sit comfortably, close your eyes, slow down your breathing, inhaling and exhaling through your nose (if your nose is obstructed, you can breathe through your mouth).  

Your attention will, inevitably, wander off your breath to any number of topics the mind likes to obsess about. When you notice this has happened, non-judgementally bring your attention back to the feeling of the breath at the tip of your nostrils.  

Just start here.  Try it daily for a while.  Five minutes.  That’s it.  You cannot get this wrong. It takes patience and consistency, but it costs nothing… and the returns are stunning.

What Are Some Effects of Practicing Mindfulness?

• Your Body – By relaxing your body and your breathing, you shift from a sympathetic nervous system response (also known as fight or flight) into a parasympathetic response (also known as rest and digest).  The effects of shifting from sympathetic to parasympathetic response include lowered blood pressure, improved digestion, and better sleep.

• Your Mind – Our minds are like a yard full of untamed puppies.  These puppies are like our thoughts. When you regularly practice mindfulness, you don’t get rid of the puppies, they just calm down, and you become a better caretaker.  Translated: your focus and attention improve, your creativity increases, your capacity for caring and compassion amplifies, and you can make decisions for your life with more integrity.

• Your Inner Self – When you regularly carve out time to pause, relax, and breathe, you become aware of things you never noticed before.  Maybe at first it’s just the sounds and smells around you, but then you start noticing things within you.  You may feel things you have never felt and notice patterns of thought and behavior you never noticed.  This connection with your inner life can help you gain clarity about what’s being reflected back to you in your outer life, which, in turn, can help you make better choices for yourself in any given situation. 

A Word about Resistance

As simple as the technique of mindfulness is, when you begin practicing, you will encounter resistance.  This is normal and expected.  We are creatures of habit, and when we try to incorporate anything new and possibly uncomfortable into our daily lives, we will encounter a push-back from our ego.  What does resistance look like? Boredom, fidgeting, a laundry list of avoidance techniques … the usual culprits. Don’t judge the push-back; just keep showing up and doing the practice anyway.  

An Invitation

I’d like to invite you to give mindfulness a try. Jump in today…right now if you want.
Let me know what your experiences are.  I would love for you to share them here in the comments section. 



It’s a radical thing to get quiet and still, and to be with yourself without judgement; radical, because in our, outward-focused world that doesn’t stop moving, thinking, planning, dissecting, analyzing, talking, and reacting, turning inward has the ability to bring us back into balance, and lay a new foundation for our teaching and learning experiences, our personal lives, our world.

* Check out PDLCS's mission. Part of why we exist is to cultivate this feeling of safety and connectedness with our students and their families.

Works Cited

Broderick, P. C. (2013). Learning to breathe: A mindfulness curriculum for adolescents to cultivate emotion regulation, attention, and performance. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Courage of Care Coalition. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://courageofcare.org/

Jon Kabat-Zinn: Defining Mindfulness - Mindful. (2016, January 11). Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.mindful.org/jon-kabat-zinn-defining-mindfulness/

Establishing a Human Connection in a Digital World

by Katie Devlin, Secondary Social Studies Teacher

When I first became an online teacher three years ago, I felt as if I needed to adapt and acquaint myself with a brand new world. However, I knew that I still needed to present myself as the teacher that I knew I was; someone who was dedicated to her students and school and who really wanted her kids to succeed and do well. In a cyber world, the computer is both a gift and a curse. It enables us to create lessons that are interactive and at the cutting edge of technology. However, it can be so hard to maintain that human connection in our digital world. As a fairly new educator who is currently in the midst of her fourth year teaching, I have found that connection is key to fostering student success. Here are some of the tenets of online teaching that I try to integrate into my daily practices as an online educator:

1. Embrace your humanity! As I often stress to my students, we are all human. This means that mistakes will happen, as well as amazing successes in the school environment. In my live classes, I use my webcam so my students are aware of what I look like and see my smile as they enter my online classroom. When I create videos for courses, I use my camera so my students see that I am putting time and effort into crafting a (hopefully) great lesson for them. If I make a mistake, I acknowledge it and move forward; modeling to students that we can all overcome our missteps in the online world. Keeping a human element in an online world can foster connections.
2. Make it a community! Throughout my years as an online teacher, I have stressed to many students that this is a community of learners, not just a teacher and students. I also use online mediums such as Twitter and Instagram to follow educators that inspire me. One of the things that has stood out most to me in the past year is that teachers also need to assume the role of learner in the classroom. If we aren’t willing to accept changes, we won’t move forward in an ever-changing society! In my courses, I offer students the chance to offer feedback on lessons. Many students can be timid, so I stress to them that all feedback is valued and appreciated, even negative feedback. By showing students that they have a valued voice in the classroom and can indeed “teach the teacher”, a community is formed where everyone is valued.
3. Keep in communication! The hardest part about working in an online environment is communication. Many students who come to our school are extremely shy and mentioned that they “don’t like talking”. This means that self-advocacy skills are often lacking. I’ve tried to diversify my means of communication with students at our school. This means that I text students, email them, use gchat as a communication means, and use the phone to contact. While a student may be shy on the phone, they could be comfortable expressing themselves in a different manner. I’ve also found it important to ask students about their lives as well as how school is going. In the past, I have done check in emails that ended with a fun question instead of asking about their grades. The insight I gained into the lives of my students was powerful and helped the human connection grow in our digital environment.

Although this list is short, there are many different ways to foster the human connection in our digital world. How do you do so? I’d love to see your feedback in the comments section below!