Online teaching is simply put distance education where the tutor and the learners get to meet and learn “online”, that is, through the internet.
Online education typically includes teachers and students communicating via emails, webcam, video chat etc for instruction. Internet has practically opened the doors for global teaching and learning as in online education both the teacher and the student are based around the world.
An online post secondary teacher needs to have exceptional skills to communicate online – be it through email, chat or video-conference. Unlike as in a real-life classroom, here the teacher and the taught have negligible eye-contact. Therefore, a greater amount of onus is placed on the online teacher to thoroughly impart the education even in the absence of physical presence.
Why Online Post Secondary Teacher is an attractive profession:
Flexibility in work schedule: Online post secondary teacher do have the freedom to choose their work-timings. They can also choose to either work from their home or operate from an educational institute such as a university or a college.
Pay scale and perks: The pay scale for an online post secondary teacher varies with the department and the experience. On an average an online post secondary teacher makes up to $58,000 yearly with some earning as high as $$121,800.
Rise in number of online students: The demand for online post secondary teachers has seen a rapid rise chiefly due to the growing number of students learning online. Learning through the web has its own set of unmatched advantages which makes it easier for students to get education without having to commute long distances. As per the statistics, job opportunities for online teachers are set to rise by more than 15% by 2018.
Changing student demographics: Interestingly, there is also a change in the online student’s demographics. These days a variety of people such as young school students, college grads and even adults are seeking online help with learning different subjects. This calls for some Career Counselling on the part of online teacher.
When you are contemplating over a career as an online tutor the foremost thing to be considered is your ability to translate conventional study material in to an interactive piece of information that can be effectively shared with students of varied nationalities and cultures.
If you are looking forward to a career as an online post secondary teacher this is indeed the best time to invest your skills in to making the fullest of this career. Not to mention that teaching is a recession proof career.