Online Teaching Blog

The Babb Group sponsors a free Facebook group for people interested in online teaching. A frequent question comes from someone who wants to break into online teaching, and they want to know what they should study in grad school to be able to teach online. An even more question comes from the person who already has a graduate degree and wants to know about teaching opportunities in their area of study. Generally, I answer these questions based on my twenty-years of experience in online teaching. In this article, I am going to provide a more comprehensive and data-based answer to these questions, drawing from the IPEDS data from the Department of Education.

How do I get an online teaching job?

As with all hiring, there are two options for getting hired. First, you can apply for a posted position. Second, you network and get hired into a position that Is either never posted or if posted not advertised.

With the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is undoubtedly turbulent times for many people. If you happen to be one of those persons who lost a contract, a speaking engagement, training session, a class canceled, and out of work, take some time to lament, and lick your wounds, but not for too long.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are required to social distance ourselves, which is nothing new for those teaching online. We are accustomed to working alone and communicating through a computer screen. However, our ability to work from a coffee shop, for example, has temporarily been suspended. An increased feeling of isolation may occur and in a time like this one, it is more important than ever to socialize. As we are all aware, technology can aid with this task.

As a result of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many faculties find themselves thrust into conducting their typical face to face class in the online environment without any preparation or know-how. This experience can be overwhelming, scary, or a welcomed experience for others.

Here are some quick tips to help those that are new to online teaching to help you get started as you transition your class to online teaching. If you need more support, you can consider our mentors to help you navigate these turbulent times.

I have been teaching online since 2000. In my career, I have taught for seven institutions and have been an online student at four others. At many of these schools, the faculty teaching a course do not have the ability to make changes to the course materials. The assignments, course content, discussion questions, and virtually every other element of the course comes pre-built and unchangeable. In this model, the professor is regarded as a facilitator who answers student questions, participates in discussion boards, and provides grades and feedbacks on assignments. While these are important and valuable tasks, they also limit the ability of a faculty member to inject the course with their expertise and subject matter knowledge. They also prevent the instructor from personalizing the course to reflect their personality and the needs of the students.

I have been a faculty member and administrator for over twenty years in multiple colleges and universities. One of the misunderstandings I see people who are applying for faculty positions is not understanding when faculty are always hired. It seems like people expect there to be openings when they are ready to start teaching, but the industry does not work that way.

Few things are as confusing and frustrating as understanding what you are qualified to teach in higher education. I have been teaching for over 20 years and been administrator in five different colleges and universities. For fifteen years I was a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, where often I had conversations with schools on this very topic.

Discussions of sustainability in business and personal conduct are becoming more common as concerns over climate change increase. Makes us wonder how our own decisions impact the world in which we live? Should our choices in careers consider what environmental effects they possess? Lets take a closer look at the relationship between online teaching and sustainability.

In many creative fields, the term "indie artist" conveys a musician or a film maker who creates art outside of the traditional, corporate structures of music labels and studios. I think the same concept should apply to teachers. In this sense, independent teachers practice teaching outside of the traditional walls of universities and publishers.