You think you can teach? Then make use of your skills and start teaching online. This is a relatively new area where the boundaries are not set yet, and exciting work is being done. However while the field is relatively new, there are a few habits that are common among all effective online tutors, these are as follows:
1. They Understand the Difference in Medium
Effective online tutors understand the difference in teaching online vs. teaching face to face. They know how to give online tasks, realize the difference between synchronous and asynchronous platforms and design good activities to teach the subject. The most effective tutors have also taken online courses themselves to experience firsthand the difficulties faced by students and to mould the course according to the student’s needs.
2. They understand their role
Online tutoring is of various types, the three most common types an online teacher provides services is as an assessor, a coach subject or an expert. An online tutor may provide all these services or he could focus and develop a specialty in any one area. It is important to make this distinction clear before you start.
3. They communicate
Effective online tutors effectively communicate with their students and encourage open dialogue. They make the form of communication clear, experiment with different forms of online communication and use various online communication tools such as Skype, discussion forums, emails, internet messaging, recorded lectures and pod casts to see which one works best.
4. They are experts in their niche
This one is self evident. Even if you are an expert at technology but are not good at your own subject you will not succeed. Online tutors put in the time where it will pay them the most; in constantly learning and upgrading their knowledge in their own field.
5. They build up their pedagogical knowledge
We all know of people who are experts in their field, but are hopeless at teaching it to others. Online tutors need to not only know their subject, but also how to plan out lessons and use strategies to keep the students involved and interested.They are also aware of different stages learners go through to meet the challenges of online communication and understand the concept of scaffolding.
6. They do not try to reinvent the wheel
They do not try to do everything from scratch or everything on their own, even though online tutoring is a relatively new field, a lot of the things have already been done and there are many set structures and techniques that tutors can employ to enhance productivity and function effectively.
7. They make the effort to network
Online tutoring can be a lonely business; the best tutors make the effort to network, to connect with other online tutors and share tips, tricks and strategies to get better at their game.
This is an exciting new field that has great room for growth and for experimentation. If you have the necessary expertise in a certain area you should consider online tutoring to promote your activities.
