The world of education has gone through major changes since the advent of the Internet. One of the most important changes is the rise of online education. With it, a new employment avenue has opened up for Teachers - online teaching through virtual classrooms. Platforms exist already through which you can be a teacher sitting in India and teaching a student who’s in Norway with the help of just one computer and an internet connection! It is safe to say, that Online Teachers/Educators are the future of teaching.
Online Teaching as a career has recently started booming. One of the main reasons behind this is the drastic improvement that has taken place in the field of Information Technology in the past few years. It is a flexible, well paying and respected career that requires a Teacher to be tech - savvy.
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What do Online Teachers/Educators do?
Online teachers work for education companies and even universities to build and deliver online study materials using computer enabled aides.
Some online educators use publicly available platforms to put up their lessons online for students to enroll into. Those that register can use the study material, take tests, even interact at given times with the teacher.
The difference between traditional teaching and online one is obviously the use of computers, technology and internet. This means that he/she has to use power point presentations, animations, sounds, pictures etc. to impart knowledge and make the student understand concepts.
Another important task that an Online Teacher/Educator has to perform is to answer every student’s queries and doubts as and when they come up. Students use emails and skype or similar to interact with the teacher. The teacher would need to be adept at managing such interactions.
An Online Teacher/Educator has computerized interfaces to monitor the study progress of his teachers. He may also need to check and correct responses to long answer type questions.
Another job that an Online Teacher/Educator has to perform is to constantly motivate students. The best methods to do this are still evolving.
There are exciting times ahead for online teachers and educators. Becoming one now would help you establish yourself early in an emerging area of education. You could also lead new development and setup new ways to overcome the existing shortcomings in this method of teaching and learning.
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How to become an Online Teacher/Educator?
Even though the field of Online Teaching is fairly new, it’s growing at a very fast pace. More and more teachers are turning to Online Education due to its flexible nature.
You can become an Online Teacher/Educator at any level, from Primary to Post Graduate. In all cases, you would at least be expected to have completed a B.A, B.Com or B.Sc in your subject as the most basic educational qualification.
To become an Online Teacher/Educator, you need to do almost everything you would do to become a traditional teacher. You would first gain knowledge about the subject you wish to teach, obtain the educational qualifications, and gain the experience of teaching people face to face. You would then need to explore and become friendly with the online education platforms, learn to use the available presentation methods, and become adept at using the available tools creatively to teach your students.
The easiest and the simplest way to become an Online Teacher/Educator is to join an Online Education company as a teacher. Companies such as www.educomp.com provide teachers with great opportunities to become Online Educators.
Another way of becoming an Online Teacher/Educator is to start your own class for Online Teaching on an existing platform as a Freelancer. You can choose the subjects you’re willing to teach and create your own system of payments and classes.
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To become an Online Teacher/Educator, it is absolutely necessary for you to have a multi-media friendly computer and a fast, reliable internet connection. Without these basic requirements, you can never be an Online Teacher/Educator.
To become an Online Teacher/Educator, you have to learn different software such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Whiteboard etc. You need to be tech – savvy and extremely comfortable with computers. It is helpful if you have a pen tablet that enables you to share hand-written information with students.
What are the skills required to become an Online Teacher/Educator?
First of all, you need to be extremely tech – savvy. It is absolutely necessary to be very comfortable with computers and new software. Also, it is important for an Online Teacher/Educator to be very flexible in terms of his/her teaching methods. This is important because a lot of times you’re dealing with international students who have very different ways of learning. It is helpful if you’re knowledgeable about different cultures and languages.
As an Online Teacher, you need to be have strong written communication skills, so that you can compensate for the lack of personal touch. It is important for any Online Teacher/Educator to be a good leader and motivator. Not only that, it is also important for an Online Teacher/Educator to willingly answer all doubts and questions that are raised by his/her students. Online Teachers/Educators need to add emotion to their teaching, to establish a sense of belonging. Most importantly, Online Teachers/Educators need to have a genuine interest in teaching and motivating students to achieve things in life; only then will they enjoy the profession.
Is this the right career for me?
The life of an Online Teacher/Educator is full of academics. They are constantly in touch with their subject. Online Teachers/Educators have to constantly sit in front of the computer and teach students that can also be living far away. They have to constantly deal with students who leave the course abruptly. Also, they need to be extra creative while teaching as the absence of personal contact acts as a barrier in learning.
So if you’re looking for a job that requires you to go out and do field work and if you want to appreciation for your work, then this is not the job for you. But if you’re in love with teaching and learning and if you’re okay with spending your whole day in front of a computer, then becoming an Online Teacher/Educator might be a good option for you.
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