While traditional college and university enrollment is on a decline, online education has noticed a steady and continuing increase. There are many reasons for the increase in online education in higher education, but did you know that there are many other online teaching jobs available?
If you are looking to explore online teaching to augment your present salary or as a new career focus, read on to learn 8 tips to help you land the online teaching job you desire.
Top 8 Tips to Land Online Teaching Jobs
In our modern, face-paced world it is no wonder that online learning is popular. Online learning creates a unique opportunity for learners and educators to interact using technology which prevents geographic and time barriers. There are some things to consider before you jump into the online world, so read on.
1. Love Teaching
Face-to-face, online, asynchronous, synchronous, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have the desire to teach. The delivery of the content will vary across platforms but at the end of the day, you will still be teaching to students.
If you are passionate about teaching and want to help others learn, that is the first step to finding the right online teaching job.
2. Know if You Want to Work 100%, Remotely
Decide if you are ready to work remotely. While this gives you more flexibility in your daily schedule and you can skip the commute; it can be lonely if you are working from home. Make sure you take this into account then you look for an online teaching position.
In some positions, you can work remotely part of the time and work in the office other, you may want to choose this type of hybrid role if you love interacting with people face to face.
3. Are You Willing to Work Non-Traditional Hours?
As you will see, online teaching comes in many different shapes and sizes. Many online positions have non-traditional hours, while for some this is a blessing for others this is a challenge.
It is important to know how you like to work so that you can find the online teaching job that best fits your lifestyle.
4. Decide Your Role
There are many more opportunities to teach online than just in higher education. Tutoring is a popular side hustle for many teachers, but will you focus on K-12 or higher education? Or are you going to focus on test preparation tutoring?
Teaching English as a second language is also a popular gig for teachers. There are many ESL programs that are looking for qualified instructors.
Creating courses geared towards adult learners, this can be everything from traditional GED or College courses to Photography or Yoga 101.
Many colleges and universities have online programs as do many high schools. This allows students to focus on the skills they need from the privacy of their own homes.
Online teaching isn’t limited to just teaching, there are also positions for test scoring for programs like Advanced Placement Program, Praxis, the GRE, and TOEFL all hire test scorers to evaluate written and spoken answers and essays.
5. Master Technology
If you are not proficient with technology, now is the time to brush up. There are a lot of online and software tools that make teaching online easy if you can use them.
You should be comfortable with both the Microsoft and Google Suite of products, as well as have the ability to learn the required online learning platform. Your skills should also include video recording and uploading, file sharing, and basic troubleshooting of the programs you use.
In the online environment, it tends to be a situation where everyone uses a different mode of communication, so you should be comfortable switching between online chat, email, video chatting.
6. Know the Difference Between Synchronous and A Synchronous, and Hybrid
Just as communication in the online environment is personal, so is the type of learning. Synchronous teaching and learning happen at the same time, with a video screen being the means of communication.
Asynchronous teaching and learning allows you to create content and upload it for it to be digested at a time that is ideal for the learner. The challenge here is that if you are not clear in your message, you will end up with more confusion and a lot of questions from students.
Hybrid courses and setups may have a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning or online and face to face learning.
Know how you like to teach and find an online environment that works best for you.
7. Set Up An Adequate Working Environment
Working at home, or remotely, can be difficult. Make sure you understand the expectations and take time to set up your remote work environment appropriately. For example, if you are working 100% asynchronously, then it might be ok to work from your dining room table.
However, if you are giving a synchronous lecture and the dogs are barking in the background that will not have a positive impact on the learning environment.
You should set up an office or space that can house all the tools you will need to make online teaching easier, microphones, headphones, 2 screens, etc.
You may also want to check your internet connection to make sure you have enough bandwidth to stream your videos. Knowing that your internet is stable and that it has enough bandwidth for your needs is important.
8. Set a Schedule
This is especially important if you are working remotely. Set a schedule to ensure that you get your work done when it needs to be done. Often times, setting a good work schedule is the hardest part of transitioning to any remote job.
Now that you know what to look for in an online teaching job, it is not time to land one. Assess yourself and your teaching style and then start applying.
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Whether you are an employer looking for quality staff, or job seekers looking for their next online teaching jobs. Contact us and let us help you find the right staffing solution for you.