Thinking of Teaching Online? Me Too!

I have two Bachelor degrees.  Those were the ones that I actually went to a campus to get, because well, I didn't have a choice.  There was no online learning when I went to university the first two times.  The "online" was limited to the library research and accessing the occasional email.  But now… we live in an interconnected wireless online world!

So to advance my education and move toward 21st century ways of learning, I took my Master of Education online.  Yes, I was apprehensive.  This was very new to me.  But in the end, the experience was awesome.  Intense, yes.  But so worth it.  It's been a couple of years since then, and now I'm thinking about expanding my horizons to teaching online.

With every life change, what do we do?  We weigh the perks and potential challenges of the new life event, so I've been doing some reading about it, and here are my thoughts.  I've even been participating in a course about teaching online.  I have to see if it's for me, don't I?

So here is what I've come up with so far.

Perks of Online Teaching:

1. This is my wheelhouse.  I've been a teacher for 11 years, and worked in education for 15 years.  Seems like a logical fit.  Education at all levels is the foundation of a strong society.
2. I still get to teach! It's new avenue for me, but teaching is teaching.  I'm ready for the change!
3. I get to participate in the creation and facilitation of online communities! That is really amazing.  This is a new level of teacher pride.  Just because the learners are adults, does not mean there isn't teacher pride when conversations are fostered in the content you deliver.
4. I can create my own schedule!  Yes, deadlines are always looming, but let's be real about this.  I don't have to be tied to a set daily schedule.  Wiggle room in my schedule can exist!
5. I play a role in somewhere achieving academic goals, such as completing a degree program.  That's incredible.
6. I love the student-centered approach to teaching, because I believe it's how students learn best - students of any age.  There are so many fun and engaging ways to build and deliver content AND tons of exciting activities for students to participate in!
7. Because I am very organized and sometimes overly internet-connected, I know that I would effectively manage communicating with students by returning emails and providing feedback for assignments.
8. I could facilitate a- or synchronously, or a mixture of both.  People have busy lives and it's hard to always be able to connect at the same time in an online meeting or chat, so… why not provide both options.  Flexibility is beautiful!
9. Building the content on different platforms will be a fun challenge.
10. I can facilitate from anywhere.

Image credit: www.theenglishteacheronline.com

Potential Challenges of Online Teaching:

1. There will be a lot of reading, responding to emails and grading.  Grading is not new.  The emails, well, some will be fine and some - meh.  This, I know, will be overwhelming until I get into the groove.
2. Once in a while there may be that belligerent student that will argue about the grade and the feedback.  Good thing I'm a peacemaker and know how rubrics work :)
3. I might spend too much time monitoring my online community… I get obsessive and meticulous about things …
4. Building quality content is time consuming and a lot of work.   But see number 9 above.
5. I can facilitate from anywhere.  Will I eventually become less motivated because of distractions?  Knowing me, probably not, but it's a possibility!  Number 3 above is more likely!

Image credit: leftyconcarne.wordpress.com

Hmmmm…. I think the perk list wins! This seems like a journey I should take.

Are you in?

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References:
Hanover Research Council. Best Practices in Online Teaching Strategies,  July 2009.
Hrastinski, Stefan. Educause Quarterly, Number 4.  July 2008.  Asynchronous & Synchronous E-Learning: A study of asynchronous and synchronous e-learning methods discovered that each supports different purposes.