We can choose to bounce back – or to step forward, as almost all people have instinctively done in the course of this strenuous time. The current imperative need is to keep our students and listeners engaged in teaching/learning process and enable them to successfully complete the 2022 academic year. The online learning is a part of the SNHUU project, which is targeted for this purpose. Virtual teaching and learning is new, daunting, and rightfully feels overwhelming for most teachers. Luckily there are brilliant educators at our university, who are also experts in teaching virtually, even during this very difficult period for our country, and they are ready and willing to provide guidance and support in virtual interaction between teachers and students. When unwanted event like the war happens, human brains are wired to ask the questions: What does this mean? What could we do? How can we interact with others during the war?

There is very little that we seek to achieve in life that can be accomplished without speaking to another person, face-to-face or on the Internet. Virtual communication can cover much of our banking, social life, shopping, political venting, education! And therein lies the challenge, because oral communication is not intuitive or smooth, especially when it involves people, who are in trouble, like Ukrainians now. In a time of war, isolation and increased online interaction, face-to-face discussion has never felt more important.

In some situations, you can use yourself as a tool to help others manage stressful scenarios. Here is how.

1. Build and maintain relationships! In a virtual learning environment, creativity in building and maintaining relationships is key. Relationships have always been at the heart of teaching. Even in the current situation, providing time, space, and options for students to connect with their peers and teachers is needed!
2. Be human! When people stop seeing the humanity in others, you could remind them of it and give a lot of examples!
3. Controlled anger can be functional!
4. Tell people they are doing a good job in a trying situation! It might help others realize that someone is empathizing with them, too.
5. Set realistic expectations! Setting realistic expectations is not easy, but it is very important to make them realistic for both students and you.
6. Set boundaries! It is easy to forget about your personal health and well-being while helping students during this virtual learning, but please, make taking care of yourself a priority.
7. Treat everything as an art! You as a teacher, could try making a small overture and see what kind of reception you get. The teachers should know how to use their body language and their tone, as much as their words, to communicate the intentions.

“The explosion of the knowledge age has changed the context of what is learnt and how it is learnt to the concept of virtual classrooms was a manifestation of this knowledge revolution.” (Dr.M.Mohamed Sathik)

The precise recipe to maintaining a high level of student motivation and optimal tutoring performance in an online teaching environment has yet to be perfected by our colleagues.