by Kathryn O'Hehir

Created on: June 17, 2008   Last Updated: July 08, 2008

On-line education is not only advantageous for students, it is also one of four top(legitimate) work-from-home occupations. On-line continues be the fastest growing, most cost effective way of delivering educational services. How do teachers get on this fast track? After five years of teaching English on-line, for both universities, public and private schools, I offer the following advice.

As the cost of fuel and commuting to work/school increases, school districts are having to make hard financial decisions regarding transporting students, either cutting the service, or surcharging increased costs back onto parents. Parents will have to decide if they can afford the time and fuel to get their children to school and pick them up. For this reason, on-line enrollments will climb proportionately, and could explode, along-side the price of fuel. Both state and privately owned K-12 on-line schools continue to be free, and parents who can arrange to monitor their children from home, are turning more and more to the on-line option. More on-line students increases the demand for on-line teachers.

You will need to have (or acquire) solid computer skills, but other than that, each school trains its' teachers on their particular format and curriculum options. For example, in English, students are required to write an essay each week, which I monitor and offer advice on before final grading. The software allows students to re-write the paper automatically for a better grade. What you teach does not change; how you connect and communicate does.

Teachers love working from home, but as with all new technology, there is a down side. Following is a summary of the pluses and minuses of teaching on-line education.

For Teachers (Full-Time)

Plus +

Work from home. Many on-line schools will provide you with the technology and equipment you will need to operate their particular classroom format or "platform." You will need a high speed line and a cell phone; schools often reimburse you, or pay for it outright.

Can apply for positions, and sometimes interview, on-line. Your computer skills will be tested, as schools may require you to download a particular program that "pre-interviews" you electronically. You'll need to navigate that successfully to go on to the interview pool.

Face-to-face Interview

Most schools seriously interested in you will normally require a face-to-face interview. However, this, too, may be conducted on-line with web cameras or other instant message/communication tools.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>