Ready to start teaching English online?
Teach with VIPKidEven the ones who aren’t too computer savvy? Or the ones who only teach fine art? How about the ones who were born before the internet? Just what are the requirements to snagging one of those online teaching jobs?
If you’re worried that you may not be cut-out for online teaching, you’re probably wrong. Teaching online is one of the most inclusive and easy-to-access methods of sharing your expertise with knowledge-hungry students all over the world. The learning curve is more of a “learning hill”, the tools at your disposal are, while digital, almost infinite, and you don’t need much more than a laptop to get started.
It’s simple and straightforward
When you think of online teaching you may envision enough buttons to get Apollo 11 into orbit, or a textbook of jargon made up almost entirely of acronyms, or your computer starting to smoke with you merely looking at it. But truth be told, online teachers don’t need to know much about any of that stuff.
Online teaching jobs (in most cases) is as straightforward as accessing your favorite website. At least from the technology side. In fact, if you have a social media account you’re probably overqualified for the dealing with the simplicity of the online classroom. Online teaching companies – at least the ones that we know – are invested heavily in the experience of teachers. We go to great lengths to ensure the experience and accessibility of the online classroom is as simple as possible so that you only have to focus on the important bits – teaching.
As long as you have fast, stable internet and a laptop that turns on, you’re probably good to go. Admittedly that was an exaggeration. Your laptop will need a webcam, and you’ll probably need a headset and mic too. Anything else? Nope, that’s really it this time. It’s literally less than the number of ingredients needed to make a cake! (and honestly, getting set up is a fair bit easier than making a cake too).
Every online school or platform will have their own requirements and processes, and every curriculum will differ too, but rest assured physically getting into the online classroom isn’t nearly as daunting as you might imagine.
Digital tools mean you’re never at a loss
No matter the subject matter you teach, digital tools such as flashcards, reward systems, tutorial videos, and diagrams exist in their millions to help you in your classroom. Even subjects that are fundamentally physical, such as painting, English or chemistry, have vast arrays of digital aides that change the way you interact with your students in an online environment. The best part about having digital tools is that they take up no physical space! You may have to delete a few photos of grandma to clear up room on your laptop (hopefully not), but generally speaking, most tools are either online or take up very little space anyways.
Imagine the possibilities when a teaching library of literally millions of resources is at your fingertips in every class. You will never have to scramble around your room looking for something green to show your students, but instead can pull up an image of a tree, a frog, or Shrek – right on your screen, and within seconds.
But teaching tools go way beyond just images and flashcards. Students too can interact with you on their screens. Sending assignments in real-time, or exercises where incorrect answers are flagged the moment a student submits them. Students can draw, write, sing or even dance, while you encourage, correct, evaluate and praise, all while recording their progress. The online nature of these digital assistants also means that information can be kept, saved, shared or fed back to students, ensuring their learning progress occurs in a consistent and well-managed way. No more rifling through an old notebook for that one really important comment you made seventeen weeks ago.
So what does all this mean? Come one come all, the online classroom is waiting for you (as are a few million students).
