The perception towards teaching is
rapidly changing. The pure, conventional, dreary face-to-face
teaching is now a thing of past. With educational institutes and
private companies increasingly promoting and preferring the learners
to take online education, the online teaching has today emerged as a
new drift, a newfangled vocation for smart teachers who in all
probability could be super task masters. The online education as an
industry has also shown tremendous growth both in enrollment and
turnover. According to forecasts of Marketdata Enterprises, Inc., the
market size in the US can grow at 7.7 percent per year from 2012 to
2015 touching $78 billion. The same report further suggests that the
enrollment status for online education is proportionately promising.
From a current estimate of 6.4 million enrollment in 2012, the figure
can even reach 7.4 million in 2015.
The proliferation of innovative
learning technologies blended with evolutionary social web
engagements are fast transforming the landscape of online teaching to
the super green venture of future. Of late the semantics of online
teaching strikes the right chord with the changing mindset of new-age
learners. Who does like a boring face-to-face classroom teaching? The
advent of highly collaborative and exciting online learning
environment powered by a barrel of modern technologies has
metamorphosed the exposition of learning. The journey of online
teaching is just poised to take a big leap. Ready to grab the
opportunity?
The Paradigm Shift
Teaching today is not a sheer linear,
one-directional method in which one preaches and others faithfully
listen. With evolution of technology and ever growing new demands of
learners, teaching has been a more complex subject. Earlier teachers
used to believe in a limited aspects of teaching process; however,
today the role is more demanding than it was ever before. The
intervention of state in education system, growing public-private
partnership, proliferation of technology, customized learning, and
multi-level evaluation process collectively define the complexity of
new-age learning and equally so the pressing role of an online
teacher.
Role of Teacher
The academic version of teaching is
expanding rigorously. The functions of teachers are not limited to
coursebook completion, rather a number of pertinent parameters are
being added. First, the accountability of learning outcome has become
a major concern for teachers. And this opens up many avenues for the
role of a teacher. For example, diagnosing learners' needs,
customization of program based on individual learners, keeping
learner-centered environment, innovating instructional strategies,
planning lessons, evaluating quality of content, program
effectiveness, continuous evaluation process, site-based decision
making, allocation of technological resources, monitoring learners'
performance, and assessing learning outcomes are some new
responsibilities that a teacher should discharge to stay competitive
with the changing time. Teaching now evolved into an exciting and
challenging profession.
Role of Technology
Technology is a key enabler of modern
teaching process. From lesson planning to content creation to
distribution to evaluation, each stage has been jazzed up by the
touch of technology. Notebooks, pens, and pencils are nearly
discarded and being replaced by high-tech gadgets like laptops,
tablets, and smart phones. Learning is becoming more exciting with
the advent of many interactive tools and social webs. Tech-savvy
teachers are increasingly banking on Google Apps, Skype, Wiki, Blogs,
and YouTube to grab the attention of students. A modern classroom can
be compared with a high-tech laboratory.
From Classroom to Virtual Learning Environment
The landscape of learning is
transforming faster than the mindset of learners. In an extremely
connected world, where knowledge and information are easily
accessible, the learning environment has crossed the border of
classrooms. Thanks to technological innovation. In an age of
globalization, technological advancement has proved to be catalyst in
bringing in novel nomenclature in education, be it “virtual
learning”, “online classes” or “virtual classroom.”
Huge investment in education sector to
democratize learning process has developed a universal ecosystem for
virtual learning. Historically, in the US, University of Phoenix
started country's first online degree program in 1989. Today, more
than 150,000 students are enrolled online for various programs
including Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees. Matching with
the industry requirement, University of Phoenix produces latest
course curricula and delivers quality education over web.
University of Phoenix was the
icebreaker. Now over 2500 colleges and universities in the US offer
online programs. According to a survey conducted by Babson Survey
Research Group, in 2010 alone over 6.1 million students at least
opted for one online class, a stark 10.1 percent rise over the
previous year. “Nearly thirty percent of all college and university
students now take at least one course online,” says study co-author
I Elaine Allen, Co-Director of the Babson Survey Research Group and
Professor of Statistics & Entrepreneurship at Babson College.
The growing numbers of online
enrollment in various global colleges and universities suggest that
the time has come for a tradeoff between learners and teachers. The
erstwhile monopoly of classroom teachers is gradually collapsing and
simultaneously the demand for online teachers is moving northward.
Need of Online Teaching
The
growing need of online education among students and working
professionals has profound implications on online teaching. With
emergence of internet and other collaborative technologies, the
teaching landscape has been ever changing. The online environment
provides a number of advantages over traditional, face-to-face
classes. Along with real course-ware, for instance, the online
teachers can integrate many informational resources via a web page,
which could be a blog/article, a video, a multimedia presentation, or
a threaded discussion forum. Imagine the benefits the virtual
learners can achieve. This also expands the scope of responsibilities
of online teacher. Now the online learners communities expect their
teachers should not only meet their expectations, but also in most
cases they should exceed. The fun of learning lies in its engaging
characteristics. Apart from the richness of learning, there are other
dimensions, discussed in this section, as well that propel the growth
story of online learning, and online teaching as a demanding
profession.
Breaking the Barrier
As
education is an investment-intensive program, many bright students
often shed the idea of getting enrolled in a reputed US college.
However, the online learning programs offered by various
colleges/universities in the US and other countries have allowed
students to go for learning even from disadvantaged locations with a
fraction of cost that's normally incurred when one opts for regular
courses. So, the online education first dislodges the rich-poor
divide while spreading quality education in a democratic manner.
Primarily, online education is easily accessible anywhere in the
world if the learner has a computer and an internet connection at
home. Moreover, students find it convenient to get course materials
such as homework, exam schedules, test scores, and certificates
without struggling.
Accessibility
The
popularity of online education lies in its easy accessibility. For
face-to-face learning, students normally wait for a specific time
when the instructor/teacher is available to take the class; however,
through online education, they can find all information regarding a
subject by simply browsing the desired website or even can start a
live chat with an expert in that field. What's more interesting that
students can also consult peers via a web chat. This whole exercise
provides a meaningful way to enhance the overall learning experience
of students. Furthermore, online teachers can disseminate information
to thousands of students in real-time, which is hardly possible in
face-to-face teaching.
Quality of Learning
Many
online teachers also invite experts such as researchers and authors
as guests to their virtual classes. Sometimes, eminent professors
and industry professionals also join various web-casts to enrich the
learning program of students. Although this happens in physical
classrooms, the difference in online environment is that a
student/learner can be multitasking while attending to any such
program. As technology continues to advance, teachers can invest time
to build various scenarios and case studies to enhance the learning
process of students. Apart from a SCORM-based curriculum, teachers
use various other mediums such as Wiki, Blogs, Forums, Chat, and
Videos to deliver quality content.
Higher Student Engagement
The
online learning becomes more engaging because it evokes both deeper
and boarder discussions when learners willingly participate in the
learning process with their peers and teachers more actively. Each
student gets exposed to an array of debates and thought-provoking
discussions, which in turn permeates a psychological impulse for a
non-participating student to break his or her silence and contribute
to the learning process.
In
an asynchronous learning environment students get sufficient time to
go though threaded discussions posted in a forum and post their own
after deep analysis. This increases the participation of students in
comparison to classroom teaching where the constraints of time is a
major dampener.
Anonymity Brings Empowerment
Anonymity
plays a major role in online education. It creates more equality
among the students in an online class. Normally students feel free to
ask any question to an online teacher without any inhibition because
there is no direct eye contact with teacher. At the same time, the
online teachers also find it quite easy to respond to any query as
there is classroom disturbance syndrome, which is quite common in a
face-to-face teaching environment. So this is a win-win both for
students and teachers.
Communication Matters
The
most unique aspect of online teaching is that teachers and students
rarely see one another, and this specific feature brings in a major
responsibility for online teacher – comprehensive communication.
So, online teachers should focus on the communication part of
teaching, whether it's related to coursework designing, evaluating
students academic progress, responding students' queries through
emails/chats/discussion forums, or posting a blog/article on their
website. The basic requirement is online teachers should write and communicate well, unfailingly. And they should understand the nuances
of words and verbiages so that there is no communication barrier.
Future of Online Teaching
Education sector is experiencing an
overwhelming degree of transformation with the emergence of digital
age. From social web to high-touch apps to tablets and smart phones,
today's education embraces the digital revolution wither greater
emphasis on mass collaboration and faster communication. With
cutting-edge learning technologies, teaching and learning now become
more demanding than ever before. Especially in higher education
segment, the adoption of new technologies and innovative
methodologies is visibly prominent. This is backed by “2010 Sloan
Survey of Online Learning” report that underlines the fact that
enrollment in online courses in the US colleges almost increased by
one million students from the previous year. And the most revealing
fact of this survey is that approximately 30 percent of all college
and university students now take at least one online course.
Students are increasingly opting out
for online education because of flexibility of timing, customized
learning packages, easy accessibility, and a value for money. Also
the education service provides such as public and private institutes
and universities are heading towards a deep competitive regime. The
players in online education space would only sustain the growing
competition provided they adopt new technologies, encourage
innovation both in pedagogy and delivery, and engage smart teaching
staff to deliver the best learning package. While new technologies
are popping up every alternate week, their applicability and
acceptance largely depends upon the opinion leaders and evangelists
and in this case they are the new-age teachers and instructors who
can bridge the gap between learners' adaption and the desired outcome
of industry expectations. And this evolves more responsibilities and
greater accountability of teaching staff. If technology plays a
significant role in the transformation of online education, equally
so the online teachers, and for them staying afloat during the
journey is more relevant than anything else.
Bringing in Enhanced Pedagogy
In online education, the primary
element that drives the tempo of popularity is pedagogical strategy.
An effective pedagogical strategy for online teaching can ensure
richness in learning, student engagement, and desired learning
outcomes. Here comes a tribe called subject matter experts who decide
the online instructional strategies. According to a survey on higher
education in the United States, the respondents who are mostly
teaching staff opine that the best instruction strategy is the one
which supports and encourages the learner's inquisitiveness, widens
the learner's perspectives on the subject matter, infuses critical
and creating thinking, and brings about sustained growth in overall
experience. Hence the onus lies on the online teachers who are
supposed to carry out research and suggest the desired changes in the
instructional practices.
Using New Technologies
Technology plays an important role in
the success story of online education. In last two decades, an
increasing number of universities and colleges in the United States
have adopted new technologies while delivering learning. The
evolution of Internet has transformed the learning process in higher
education. According to an online survey conducted through the
members (both teaching staff and administrative personnel) Multimedia
Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) or the
Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET), the
respondents opine that several emerging technologies for online
education have found their acceptance for course management. Whether
it's online test tools, online library, streaming videos, live chats,
discussion forums, and wikis, they have all contributed significantly
to the learning experience. The adaption is increasing
proportionately with dawning of new technologies. Even today many
universities have gone beyond the formal teaching methodologies.
Gamification, social web, synchronous conferencing, and real-time
collaboration have marked an increased adaption.
Meeting Spiraling Demand of Learners
One interesting factor that still holds
a precious position in online education arena is that the demand of
online education is revving up. And this aspect drives the industry
crazy. When demand is rising, it's certain that the online
educational players foresee a better future. But that doesn't
singularly excite them because in that comes a whole lot of hard
works. Online learners are gradually tasting the demand-supply
churning. It's quite tricky a scenario. Very similar to customer
service market. More the service providers, happier the customers.
Because the competition among various educational players at least
ensures the services are competitive in quality and cost. And this
aspect of competition is a never-ending cycle. So what comes out from
this churn is an array of new demands like pedagogical competency,
technical competency of teachers, course and content quality, quality
of service, worth of certification, industry acceptance, and not the
least a competitive pricing structure.
What Do You Need to Be an Online Teacher?
Teaching face-to-face and teaching
online are altogether two distinct subjects. It's not necessary to
claim that a very good conventional teacher who has received scores
of applause from students could be a successful online teacher. The
first and foremost challenge faced by an online teacher is
understanding the online environment. Many bright teachers who are
engaged in face-to-face teaching even feel reluctant to teach online.
On the contrary, teachers having sound knowledge of pedagogy and a
fair amount of understanding online technologies can deliver better
results. Barring technology there are other dimensions as well which
play key roles in the making of a successful online teacher.
Understanding the Environment
The chief characteristic of online
teaching environment is that it's driven by technology, so it may
require an adequate knowledge of contemporary technologies to stay
competitive. An online teacher should understand that the flexibility
of classroom teaching is limited in online teaching. Hence it
requires more planning, organizing, commitment, preparation,
creativity, time management, discipline, empathy, and detailing to
optimize the learning experience.
Comfortable with Technology
While many teachers believe that a
formal understanding of computer and Internet would bail them out in
online teaching, the truth is just contrary. It's much beyond the
connotation of computer literacy. For online teaching, a high degree
of comfort with various tools and applications marks the premium. It
finally boils down to how efficiently you use the technologies at
your disposal to optimize the entire learning experience of students.
Here are some essential technology skills that online teachers should
possess:
- Working knowledge of collaborative documentation tools, for example, Google Docs
- Hands-on experience with web conferencing tools, for example, Mikago, Skype, etc
- Email management skills
- Online presentation skills
- Videoconferencing skills
- Social media skills including blogging and handling online forums
- Website building skills
- Knowledge of unified communication tools
- Knowledge of SCROM-compliance tools for designing courseware
- Content management system skills
Teaching Strategy
Although many classroom teachers are
well-versed with face-to-face teaching methodologies, when it comes
to online, they often mess up. While teaching online, the teachers
should practice the following strategies to ensure effective learning
environment:
- Define student-centered activities to evaluate learning effectiveness
- Facilitate and moderate online discussions
- Encourage problem-based and collaborative learning
- Provide timely feedback
- Use interactive/simulated tools to enrich learning
Online Teaching Certification
While most of the teachers have
teaching certification/diploma, online teaching requires a lot more
than that. Given the technological and pedagogical skills required by
online teaching, the aspirants in this profession should possess
online teaching qualifications. There are many universities and
colleges in the US such as Drexel University which offer exclusive
online teaching training for teachers. This training offers critical
skill development such as pedagogical skills, interfacing with online
technologies, mentoring and moderation skills, instructional strategy
skills, and social web skills.
Tools and Connectivity
The fundamentals of online teaching are
that they happen in a virtual medium where learners may be sitting at
any corner of the world. So to interface with learners the online
teachers should have the following tools and gadgets.
- A standard desktop loaded with basic applications such as Word Processor, PowerPoint, Spreadsheets, course authoring tools, collaborative white boards, collaborative working tools, designing software.
- Peripherals such as webcam, headset, external storage drive
- Broadband Internet connectivity
- Subscribed to web mails and chat apps
Best Practices
Online teaching is one of the smartest
vocations of 21st century. With growing needs of online
education, the scope of online teaching has been widened in the past
decade. The new-age online teachers though are bedecked with many
skills, here are seven best practices that would certainly value add
to the overall skills.
Best Practice 1: Be Regular
Regularity breeds contempt, but here
the contrary works wonder. An online teacher who maintains the
predefined schedules and keep the learners updated about programs,
announcements, discussions, and postings becomes the most popular
among online learners.
Best Practice 2: Be Supportive
Online teaching needs a fair amount of
continuous support in terms of developing online course community;
posting lectures, videos, audios, and blogs; attending to forum
questions; developing social we ecosystem; and setting up support
groups.
Best Practice 3: Set Expectations
Setting right expectations for students
and yourself can make the learning process practicable. Here you can
create a sharable document pointing out the rules for communication,
instruction for students, feedback response time, and specifically
your schedule.
Best Practice 4: Develop Community
Online teaching can be more engaging
when it's supported by a variety of teaching communities with
broad-based experiences in online teaching. This encourages
brainstorming among students.
Best Practice 5: Judicious Use of
Synchronous and Asynchronous Tools
Online education originally started
with asynchronous way; however, with influx of new technologies, it
has become synchronous. As an online teacher you have to decide to
draw a line where you need to go for what. Both are important, but in
a collaborative world every method has an edge.
Best Practice 6: Continuous Feedback
Faster feedback helps students save
their time in correcting themselves. Don't wait for tomorrow. Make it
a practice to provide real-time feedback, and this will amplify the
degree of learning enthusiasm.
Best Practice 7: Create a To-Do List
Prepare a To-Do list for students by
clearly articulating their tasks, activities, and other necessary
information that they often require.
Skills Required for an Online Teacher
Online teaching requires more complex
skills than conventional teaching. When medium and environment of
learning change, it becomes imperative for teachers to concentrate on
a number of factors simultaneously. Apart from the common teaching
skills, the online teachers need a set of competencies in various
domains such as technology, administrative, pedagogy, and
communication. Here each skill set is elaborated based on teaching
requirements.
Technology Skills
Sound understanding of emerging
technologies is an essential requirement for online teachers. As
medium of instruction changes in online teaching, technology takes
over the manageability of dissemination. Thus it becomes important
for online teachers to gain multiple skills which include, but not
limited to the following list:
- Understanding operation of computer
- Knowledge of operating system
- Knowledge of basic application pool such as Word Processing, Spreadsheets, and PowerPoint
- Database management skills
- Project management skills
- File management and storing
- Hands-on experience in online collaborative tools
- Social media and blogging skills
- Online research skills
- eLearning management system
- eLearning content authoring system
- Content management system
- Email management system
- Working knowledge of unified communications suite
- Network management skills
- Web designing skills
- HTML authoring skills
- Scripting skills
- Data storage management
- Knowledge of modern computer peripherals such as webcam, digicam, scanner, bluetooth
- Common software installation
Administrative Skills
While conventional teachers have the
luxury of using institutional support/administrative support, the
online teachers badly need those skills to develop. Here are few
skills that you should develop before embarking on the online
teaching job.
- Schedule management
- Audio/video conference setup
- Student information management
- Account management
- Payment management
- Mail response
Pedagogy Skills
Online teaching is as much
technological as pedagogical. A teacher with good pedagogical skills
has a better edge than his/her peers. Here are certain skills that
you should learn before jumping in to the fray.
- Learning analysis
- Instructional designing
- Community building
- Reflective teaching
- Creative teaching
- Brainstorming
- Forum management
- Lesson planning
- Activity designing
- Knowledge of Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)
- Test evaluation
Communication Skills
Communication is the key to become a
successful teacher. In online teaching, good communications skills
saves time and even enhances the quality of learning. A teacher with
bad communication skills often creates confusion in learners mind. An
online teacher should consider the following aspects of
communication.
- Structure of communication
- Cross-culture communication
- Procedural communication
- Technical communication
- Cooperative communication
- Personal communication
- Strategic communication
Challenges You Face for Online Teaching
Although online teaching seems to be a
very exciting career, it comes with a fair amount of challenges.
However, these can be addressed effectively to ensure smooth sailing.
The primary challenge an online teacher faces is to become “jack of
all trades”. You need to wear many hats during teaching –
teacher, mentor, facilitator, tech geek, and administrator. Sometimes
online teachers find it difficult to switch from one train of thought
to another due to lack of multi-tasking skills. Secondly, an online
teacher needs to innovate constantly and it requires sufficient time
to develop this mindset. Constraint of time and loads of
responsibility often hard presses an online teacher to repeat the
learning methodology. Apart from the intellectual aspect of
challenges there are other physical challenges as well. For example,
while taking an online class if your Internet connectivity fails, it
mars your reputation, in which you don't have any control. A similar
problem happens when you use a specific online tool and the server
goes down. Here are some top challenges that an online teacher faces.
- Establishing the resonance with online students
- Adapting to the cultural practices of various origins
- Calibrating learning outcomes with efforts
- Transforming learning theories into practice
- Zeroing on appropriate learning models vis-a-vis learners' requirements
- Being hands-on with latest tools/applications to meet growing expectations of learners
- Addressing emerging ethical issues in virtual medium
- Understanding the evolving role of techno-academic profession
- Handling data security issues
On a conclusive note, even you can
manage mastering skills and stay competitive, other external
challenges can be sometimes irksome, though not difficult to assuage.
Tools Required to Teach Online
While teaching online, teachers require
a number of tools for various purposes. Starting from defining a
pedagogical strategy to lesson planning to course-ware authoring to
delivery of content, online teaching is a complex task and more
specifically you can't do it with a single tool or application. To
deliver successful online teaching programs, you need to master a
number of tools and applications. And the best part is that they are
available free or at a very nominal price, which can be easily
affordable.
Here is an exhaustive list of tools
that can help you excel in your profession. You can visit each
website and learn more about the product.
Earning Potential of Teaching Online
A common myth that sticks to teaching
profession that it's not at all a lucrative profession. However, this
is not true. A recent news on the earnings of a kindergarten teacher
by selling lesson plan online rightly discards this false notion.
According to this news report, Deanna Jump, a kindergarten teacher
from Georgia, US, has earned mindbogglingly $700,000 from simply
selling lesson plans on Teachers Pay Teachers, a startup ecommerce
platform where teachers sell their lesson plans to fellow educators.
This is just tip of the iceberg. In the US, a fairly experienced
online teacher can earn $50-150 per hour.
The salary of online professor in the
US is quite competitive; however, the earnings vary based on various
parameters such as location, institution, position, domain, teaching
experience, and level of expertise. According to a survey conducted
by the American Association of University Professors in 2008–09,
salaries for full-time teaching staff averaged $79,439. Further
classification by ranks reveals that the average salary of professors
was $108,749, for associate professors was $76,147, and for assistant
professors was $63,827.
According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) 2009 data, the average annual salary for high school
teachers, both classroom and online teaching, was $52,200; however,
the highest-paid teachers in the 90th percentile earned more than
$82,000 annually. The salary also varies based on cities. For
example, the highest-paid high school teacher in New York, Illinois,
and Alaska earned $68,010, $67,960, and $67,640 respectively.
Moreover, the salaries also vary in a particular city based on
specific locations. For example, in the metropolitan areas such as
Nassau-Suffolk in New York,
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet in Illinois, and Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine
area in California, the top salary was $83,560, $74,530, and $73,890
respectively.
At the post-secondary level, the
salaries are even visibly more. According to BLS report, the
post-secondary teachers even get more than $128,330 at the top level.
The highest salaries in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York,
California , and the District of Columbia were $115,130, $87,820,
$87,780, $84,930, and $84,270 respectively. Although there is no
striking difference between the salary of classroom and online
teachers, the salaries vary according to industry, institute, and
subject. For a deserving professional sky is the limit.
Conclusion
The changing educational
environment, technological evolution, and market demand have equally
contributed to the growth of this industry. The growing need of
flexibility, accessibility, quality of learning and meaningful
results have supported the journey of online education. As innovation
is the cornerstone of technological evolution, the future of online
teaching is certainly going to be more engaging and enriched. The
aspirants for this profession need to focus on the core aspects of
online teaching – the medium, the strategy, the enabler, and the
market. The ecosystem for online education is abuzz with ideas and
their realization. It's just a matter of conviction as how
effectively you transform yourself from a conventional view point to
radical approach through which you can explore the world of
opportunities in this domain.
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