So You Want to Be (or already are) an Online Educator?

Also...

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I don't have anything yet, I hope to get that in the call with my principal on Monday. So no roster, no access to programs, nothing. But monday is the first day, so there is time. Thanks for the letter idea, that's something I can do now.

 

I have been at my virtual school for about 6 months now! It is going well. When I started there I worked in an office, but they closed the office and I now work from home full time. It is lovely being able to sleep until 7:30 AM, and then work in leggings and a hoodie most days! Sometimes I do go in person places for meetings or for testing, and I wear professional attire on those days only.

I would get paid more in a regular district/traditional school, but overall I did get a small raise over what I used to make when I lived in NC.

 

I'm going to start live sessions with students on Monday. And so far they've kept in My caseload small. But they've warned me that I'm getting a whole bunch of new students very soon. They will all need transfer IEPs, TPO forms, some of them will have expired and missing IEPs. I am not looking forward to having to do a whole bunch of paperwork all at once. I also still don't know how to use Blackboard as well as I would like. It's a bit terrifying but I'm adjusting.

 

Blackboard is fairly intuitive. You don't have to flip anything to a .wbd file unless you want to, so stick with PowerPoints if that's what you're good at. If you are loading videos, try to save them toward the end of the class because Blackboard pushes them out to students SLOWLY. Don't be afraid to turn on that webcam, either, but if you do, I recommend you get into the session early to get used to talking while looking at yourself.

 

Yes, loading PowerPoint into blackboard ....no idea. Same with webpush. I plan on more practice this weekend.

Big question? A lot of my students have math goals on their IEPs, how do I do math problems?

 

I have GOOD NEWS! You can share items on your desktop or your whole desktop (which I do NOT recommend if you have multiple programs running). You may not be able to hand-write everything, but you can show steps and manipulatives.

 

My desktop, as in the computer? I knew that....so how do I show handwritten math problems? Draw with the mouse in the whiteboard portion of blackboard?

 

Hmm... I guess typing wouldn't work in that case. I've never taught math!

 

I'm trying to.figure it out, if there is a will there is a way!

 

OH!

Do you have a whiteboard you can hold in your hand? Turn on your webcam and write on that.

 

Yeah a small one a d a big one. I'll give it a try

 

It's a stop-gap until you can figure out something else. Hoping your school has some kind of document camera ability. My friend who is an art teacher used Google Glass to film her point of view, but that's probably over the top.

 

Thanks for this and the links to prior posts
Teaching is a challenging yet rewarding profession that requires teachers to be lifelong learners. Before pursuing this profession, make sure you thoroughly research the occupation's requirements, time commitment and pros and cons to determine if teaching is the right fit for you. In order to fully understand the commitment you are going to make, speak to any friends or family members who have experience teaching and learn about the latest trends in education through e-newsletters and other resources.
باغ تالار باغ عروسی تالار عروسی تالار پذیرایی سالن عروسی

 

After this year I'll have 2 years of "regular" teaching under my belt. I'm really wanting to get started seriously looking into online teaching. The only problem is, the pay is much less than my current job.

Is it possible to maybe be a sub at the same time?

 

Sorry if my question has already been asked before - I'm on my phone and don't see a search thread function.

 

Pay at an online school tends to be a little lower. On the other hand, especially at a school where teachers work from home, expenses are MUCH lower, especially travel and wardrobe. For me, at least, it came out fairly even.

 

I am considering becoming an online English teacher who works from home. However, I would miss the classroom setting.
I do not know what I will do with the opportunity, but I think I'll stay with my SPED students.
Actually, I wonder if I could do both...would that be possible??

 

That totally depends on the schools and their handbooks. Where I taught, taking a second teaching job was almost always a no-no (pretty sure tutoring was okay).

 

Thanks for the insight. I am happy with the traditional classroom setting, so I'll stay there.

 

I'm working with online education portals who offers Masters programmes online. As per my experience, online education is the best option to save your time and money. Today, more than 50% people interested to take online courses. It also the best career for online trainers/teachers.

 

Do you think online teaching is fun? What challenges did you face?

 

I don't know in case I will have any investment from the meeting board or if it's simply to show how I clarify ideas. I don't know where to start! They just gave me a couple of days see (intentionally I'm certain) so I'm exactly at a misfortune. The meeting email particularly says PowerPoint and a mouthpiece just, no other innovation or stages. Any assistance on the most proficient method to plan such a smaller than expected lesson would be so valued!

 

Hi, I'm not sure how active this thread is anymore, but I've been reading through it. I am a newly certified math teacher looking for my first job. Along with numerous local schools here in Alabama, I also applied to Connections Academy (ALCA) and K12 (ALVA). I didn't make the cut with ALCA, but I'm in the process with ALVA. I started with a digital interview, then recorded and uploaded a virtual lesson yesterday. The email said after that step, I'd get another email about the second part of the Virtual Interview process. I'm not sure what that consists of. If anyone knows, I'd love some tips!

To be honest, I was surprised to get the first interview invitation from ALVA as I have no classroom experience other than my internship last semester. However, one of my children attended ALCA last year, giving me experience with virtual school as a parent. Also, as a former computer programmer, I am very comfortable with technology of all kinds. I mentioned both of those in the digital interview. I suspect those are big pluses that may somewhat counteract my lack of experience.

Thanks!

 

My first full-time teaching job was an online one. They tend to look for people they think will be able to work with computers as easily as they can work in a traditional setting. It sounds like you have that qualification.

Biggest suggestion is to brush up on your skills with Microsoft Office, especially Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I had to take an aptitude test on all three when I interviewed. Also, make sure you can show how your programming skills can benefit your classroom. One of my favorite co-teachers developed an HTML "virtual rubric" that would adjust for each assignment and would spit out a grade based on the parameters given. We could then paste the results into the student's dropbox as comments and feedback. It was brilliant!

 

It's been over 20 years since I left the computer field, so any skills I had are likely no longer useful. I was a mainframe programmer, and that isn't something I'll ever need to do as a teacher. It's more that I'm not afraid of tech and learn new things quickly. I'm really good at figuring out what I need to know, for example, I've never used Blackboard Collaborate before, so I googled and read lots of tips and the like on how to use it before recording the virtual lesson yesterday. I am proficient with Office products. I just completed an MEd, so I've been writing papers, presenting lessons with PowerPoint, etc.

While Connections and K12 aren't the same, I figure the past year as my son's learning coach has to be helpful. I'm familiar with the concepts and can ask him for details from the student point of view. He's in high school and has actually been a great sounding board for me when planning lessons and discussing classroom management issues.

 

I haven't taught online but currently an interested onlooker, trying to explore the idea, how much beneficial it could be to me. Some of my friends took to freelance teaching and teach students from different countries through Skype, this is good, if you gain good reputation and get continuous work.

 

I'm a special education teacher in need of extra income since my other half has lost all of his. I was considering applying to online programs teaching kiddos in China ESL in the wee morning hours. I don't have ESL credential but I do have a clear sped credential.

Has anyone done this? If I can supplement family income by 1-2 thousand a month in addition to my salary, I can breathe again. The pay scale looks low but if the associated stress and responsibilities are low, I'm glad to try.

Would be very glad to hear of your experiences.

 

I know several teachers here have supplemented their income using VIPKids as a platform. Information on it is on a separate thread on the forum.

 

Any K12 (the company) online educators want to offer pros/cons about what you do?

 

I think online education this is future.

 

I hope this is not true. I love the traditional classroom.

 

As an online student and a former online teacher, I would like to think there are seats at the table for both.

 

Lets hope! Although I like teaching online and taking online courses that model is not for everyone.

 

The kind of thread i've been looking for!

 

Hello All!

I am new to this forum, so thank you ALL for the valuable info you provide! This question is about CAVA and Inspire Charter School; I know you aren't "supposed" to have a second job while working at these places as a virtual teacher. Has anyone been successful in being able to do it anyway being organized and juggling duties of two jobs? How many online classes per day are required, and are those live, or are you checking online student work, etc.? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

From my personal experience (I never worked at K12 or Connections Academy), you cannot teach full-time at two schools at the same time, BUT you can tutor on your own time outside of your school hours. A lot of teachers here work a second shift virtually teaching English to children and teens in Asia. The most important thing you can do is be transparent about your additional work. Teaching online is just as demanding as teaching in person, just in a different way.

 

Thank you for the info. Yes, i currently work with VIPKID, have been for about two and a half years...but the money is nowhere near what i would make with CAVA/Inspire. I see a lot of people saying they run errands, go to appointments, etc. during the contract hours, and speak about how flexible their schedules are, so my thought was if i'm not running errands and instead using down time i have to work virtually. How does it work, exactly, i.e., number of lessons required per day, and how many face to face versus checking student's completed lesson? Any information you can provide or know of is helpful. Thank you again!

 

That depends on the individual school's protocol. I used to take time during my school hours to go for a run or do other things, but that was because I would go back online after 6 to call parents. Other schools require their teachers to work from a home office, at least for a probationary period (Connections Academy does this). That is something to ask about during an interview. Your experience with VIPKIDS is a total asset in your favor!

 

Thank you again for your time and responses, i appreciate it!