Become an Online Instructor

June 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Hands collaborating in co-writing or co-editin...

Image via Wikipedia

If you have a degree and want to share your background and knowledge with others, you may want to consider becoming an online educator or teacher. Not only will you be able to teach others, but you will also be able to gain online technical skills, not to mention adding to your resume. And, best of all, you will be able to do this from home.

How do you go about becoming an online instructor? Here are a few helpful tips.

Examine your professional and academic background. Create a list of your degrees, work experience, as well as additional professional certifications. Some online institutions may only require a bachelor’s degree while others may require a Master’s or even a PhD. You can check out sites such as curriculumweb.org for more information.

Now that you have your qualifications listed, you can now search for online opportunities that match your education and skills. There are many free job search sites that can help you with this endeavor. You should also consider broad Internet searches for institutions that are hiring.

Once you have identified institutions that may suit your background, forward your resume via email. In addition, many schools have formal, online applications that you will need to complete.

Now that you have applied for open positions, you should be prepared to be patient. It can take several weeks before you receive a reply. It generally takes between three to four weeks to receive a reply. You will most likely receive a call or email requesting more information or to schedule an interview.

Filed Under: Online Education, Teachers · Tagged With: , ,

What is ‘collaborative learning’?

March 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

One of the best things about learning ‘online’ is you can study anytime at any pace! You can literally go as fast or slow as you like.

Most of us are pressed for time and can only squeeze a few minutes in during the day, maybe as much as an hour, but not much more!

Then there’s the style of learning. Experts say that there are a number of learning styles. Some of us learn by simply reading a book about the subject. Others of us have to take the thing apart to learn how it works. Still others learn by discussing the subject. But how do I know what will work for me?

Well, at curriculumweb.org they have a variety of teaching methods and work with the students to find out the best way that the student learns. it’s a very collaborative approach to learning where the Teacher isn’t the one stood at the front of a classroom dictating what the students have to do.

Instead they try to take a more indirect approach, direceting the discussion and allowing the students to work the issues out in their own way.

Imagine sitting around your computer with a problem, feeling totally stumped by the problem, then you get an email or a posting on your site by a someone in another state working on the problem and they are confused by another part of the problem, you take one look and can’t believe your eyes, it’s so easy. you shoot off a reply and both of you working together have sorted the problem! How awesome would it feel? That’s collaborative learning.

That’s what it’s all about. ,people  learning how to get the best out of each other.

Filed Under: Education · Tagged With: , ,

Personal White Boards

January 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Personal white boards are an inexpensive resource that students can use during the school day for a number of activities. This is best for times that are question and answer moments with either a teacher, or with in a group for assigned group work activities. A child can have their simple little board, a dry erase marker, and with this a teacher can have games, such as popcorn or four corners, and also to have math drills. These games are simple for students to understand, and because of the versatility of use with white boards, they make for an invaluable resource in the classroom.

White boards, or dry erase boards, can be found in all shapes and sizes, and are usually very inexpensive. Many teachers list this particular items as an item to get as part of school supplies. The reason is that student can then be responsible for their own items. For a teacher, however, this means that a classroom has a new found versatility. Everything from games to pop quizzes can be completed using white boards. The other aspect to white boards, is that they tend to be magnetic. This means that you can enhance the learning creativity by accessorizing white boards. This means that the games can be more energizing and interactive than just with the use of a marker. This could also mean that the classroom activities could be more engaging for those students that do not want to write, or have a hard time writing.

For ELL/ESL students, this is a great tool for English language development, becuase the teacher can take an informal assessment of the class and see right away who needs help, and who is understanding the current concept. By expediting this reveal time, with a show of answers on the boards, a teacher can re-adjust the lesson plan accordingly within seconds and not wait for a formal test to be completed.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Education · Tagged With:

Standarized Testing – Utilizing Teacher to Teacher Forums

December 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment
"Teacher Appreciation" featured phot...
Image via Wikipedia

Standardized testing can be stressful for everyone; students, parents, and teachers can all end up feeling frustrated when testing time comes around. This is especially true when you can’t even justify or stand behind the need for these exams based on the controversial way they claim to assess the quality of knowledge of students. But the fact remains that you will have to deal with them sooner or later. And as a teacher you know that preparation is the key to success.

Whether you are a first year teacher or have been in the field for quite some time, it is never a bad idea to brush up on some motivational skills for your students. The Internet is a great place to start researching when looking for new and improved ideas to help students excel in standardized testing.

Start by searching online forums for teachers. Who better to discuss the issue with than other teachers who are going through or who have gone through the same situations? This is a convenient way for you to talk to other teachers to see what tactics that may have worked or have failed for them while trying to help their students succeed.

Different forums and web resources are even broken down into grade, subject areas, and age groups, and because the difficulties with standardized testing can vary by age (such as attention span issues or test anxiety), this can help you pinpoint the best solutions for the problems of your students dependent on how old they are or what subject they struggle with.

The bottom line is that you are the teacher and although it may not always be easy, you need to find the best way to help your students succeed, not so that you can have the best test scores, but so that your students can fulfill their highest potential and gain a quality education.

Filed Under: Education, Teachers · Tagged With: , ,

Educational Resources for Teachers

December 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment
School teacher is using sidewalk chalk
Image via Wikipedia
A teacher writing on a blackboard.
Image via Wikipedia

Currently, one of the most popular and well used resources for the classroom is the interactive whiteboard. This clever devise is a display apparatus that connects to a projector and the computer.It can be controlled by students or the teacher with a stylus or pen. the whiteboard is normally mounted on the classroom wall to make viewing easier for all.

Teachers of all grades are using whiteboards in their classrooms. Regardless of the age of the students, this teacher’s resource has made a plain chalk board and chalk a thing of the past. Using a whiteboard enables the teacher to make lessons much more interesting. Because the students can all see and hear the same lesson at the same time, it encourages equal participation between the students.

Because the whiteboard runs directly from the computer, all lessons can be stored. This aides the teacher in helping any students that may be having a hard time grasping the lesson on the first try. Many teachers have stated that teaching the younger students to read seems much easier when using the whiteboard.

Using the computerized whiteboard allows teachers to correspond with each other, which can be a great resource to have in the classroom. It can be set up so the teacher can interact with fellow teachers in the same school, or even those abroad. Getting new and unusual lesson examples from a teacher in another country can be great fun for both the teachers and the students. There are also many sites that offer software for a whiteboard. New courses are developed all the time, which keeps the lessons different and more exciting, instead of having to use the same material over and over.

Finding a reputable software site to download new material for the whiteboard is important. Many of the programs are engineered by large companies or organizations. Teachers have gotten together as groups and developed programs and individual teachers can also make their own programs.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Education · Tagged With: , ,

There’s More to Success Than a Good Breakfast

December 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment
A Student of the University of British Columbi...
Image via Wikipedia

It’s been drilled into students brains for years and years: The key to being prepared for a test is getting a good night’s sleep and eating a full, healthy breakfast. Both are definitely essential to ensure students are ready on the day of the test, but a student can get nine hours of sleep and fill up on bacon and eggs and still perform poorly when they sit down to perform. Preparation for tests, especially standardized tests, is a yearlong project. It begins with the taught material and is aided by encouragement and useful, yet challenging enrichments. The following examples are a few ways teachers can establish readiness by the time test day rolls around.

1. Promote studying throughout the year. Many students have the tendency to cram information a couple weeks or even a couple days before the big test. Ultimately, this will not suit the student well. Cramming doesn’t generate understanding; it promotes arbitrary memorization. Teachers should help students structure and guide their studying so there’s no need to cram before a test. With good studying techniques practiced all year, students will be prepared to share their knowledge on paper.
2. Review and practice. In order for students to know what to study, it’s important for them to understand key concepts and have applications for those concepts. Since questions on standardized tests won’t be the same questions a teacher gives throughout the year, students need to become familiar with the broader ideas the question addresses.
3. Go over test-taking skills. Not everyone is good at taking tests. Test-taking is a skill that can be learned, just like solving mathematics problems and shooting a basketball. It takes practice and patience to learn a skill, and students should be taught the significance of learning the best ways to approach a test. With the right mindset and the proper tools, all students can be prepared.

Filed Under: Education, Students · Tagged With: , ,

How Teachers Plan to Prepare Students for Standardized Tests

December 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Teacher in primary school in northern Laos
Image via Wikipedia

Teachers need to prep students for taking the yearly standardized tests. It’s said that American students are the most tested students in the world, having over 100 million standardized tests each year, nation-wide. And the results aren’t taken lightly, as the scores are valuable to just about everyone involved; not just the student.

The scores tell on the teacher, in that it’s a peek into how well the teacher has taught the student, as well as how well the student learned the lessons. Principals benefit from good scores because the school will be highly ranked for government programs, and it means the principal is doing a good job.

Teachers Plan on Prepping Students for Standardized Tests

As such, it behooves a teacher to prepare the students well by teaching them for the test-taking from the first day, with frequent refreshers up until the actual test. That way the students are prepared, knowing well the information they’re about to be tested on. It can help to tell the students that they already know the stuff on the test.

Teachers can create a positive atmosphere in the class by shifting the focus from taking an important test to the rewards for finishing the tests. And it also helps for easing the anxiety by telling the students that the test is not a measure of how smart they are, but more a measure of how well they’ve learned their homework. It doesn’t judge them as a person.

Telling more confident students that it’s like a contest to see who remembers the most makes a game of it and may take away the stress of taking a big test.
Parents should be involved. Studies show that when students have a good breakfast they do better in school, behave better and do better on tests. Sleep is also something parents should make sure the kids get enough of.

Give them the best chance they can have.

Filed Under: Education, Teachers · Tagged With: , ,