Online teaching has become the new norm in education. Gone are the days of sitting in a lecture hall and taking notes from a professor; now, students can listen to lectures independently and at their own pace. Online teaching is also an opportunity for teachers – both experienced and novice – to create content that will be used around the world.
This post will teach you everything you need to know about online teaching: how it works, what equipment you’ll need, tips for creating your course, and more.
What Is Online Teaching, And Why Would You Want To Do It?
Online teaching is a new way to teach students, and it’s becoming more popular as technology continues to advance. As the name implies, online teachers can deliver content in many different formats that the teacher has created – either with or without video. The most important thing about this type of teaching is that you don’t need access to anything other than an internet connection (possibly some microphones).
You’re free from having your classroom space tied up for any set amount of time and instead have complete control over what happens during each lesson. Online teaching also allows you to reach people worldwide who might not be able to come into class due to work constraints or family obligations.
And because technology has advanced so much, there are tons of ways to teach online, whether you’re conducting a video chat or sending an email.
Regardless of how you choose to do it, teaching online is one-way. Teachers can continue to be as effective in their profession with less stress and more flexibility. For most digital teachers, choosing between kajabi or teachable helps you get started with your digital classes. These two platforms offer a ton of features to help you build your course.
Individuals who want the whole experience may enjoy courses where they have hands-on activities and exercises that allow them to learn through doing rather than just reading about topics on paper. However, this type of class will not work for everyone. So while many people think these types of courses are better because they get more out of them by participating actively, not everyone can physically complete these activities.
What Are The Best Ways To Get Started With Online Teaching?
Those who are new to online teaching may have a variety of questions. What type, of course, should I offer? How do I get started? And how much money does it cost to create and maintain an online class?
These are all important considerations when deciding what service you would like to use for your digital classes. If you want a lot of control over the features, content style, and look and feel, creating courses from scratch might suit you. However, if you don’t know how long or complex this will take for you, using one of these platforms is likely more efficient in time (and less work).
Once you have decided on the type of course you would like to offer; you will need to look at some of your priorities. For example:
- How much money do I want to make? This is usually directly proportional to how many students are enrolled in the class and the lowest price point that platform offers.
- Do you care about reaching as many people as possible or looking for niche audiences? Platforms such as Udemy have larger audiences and charge more per student; Skillshare has smaller classes with lower charges (but less exposure).
- Which features are most important for me? Are they available on all platforms or only one? One thing worth noting is that different platforms may offer other “perks“.
How To Find Students For Your Courses?
Once you have set up your online program, the next and most important thing is to let people know about your digital course. But how do you get students to enroll in your class?
Do you have a student’s email list? If so, send them an email. Provide details about your course and invite them to enroll. You can also promote yourself through social media posts or by contacting bloggers who cover the topic of online teaching to ask if they will do a post for you in exchange for promoting their site with links back to yours.
You can search for students via social media. Share your course link on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to get the word out about it. Additionally, you can make your courses available through MOOC (massive open online course) platforms.
Another way of attracting more students is through guest blogging for other blogs related to the topic area of your course material. This will allow you to promote yourself by providing valuable content for others while simultaneously increasing visibility among potential student prospects who might not have known about what you offer before reading it.
Posting blog posts regularly will help develop a following, which will lead to higher views on your articles which will, in turn, lead to more student enrollment.
You can also give a course for free as an introductory offer before asking the students if they would like it or not – this is called an “open access” model. This will allow you to provide content without requiring any payment upfront and then gain revenue from those interested enough to enroll.
Final Words
Teaching online is one way teachers can continue to be as effective in their profession with less stress and more flexibility. For most digital teachers, choosing the right platform and solutions helps you get started with your digital classes. This way, you can reach your target audience or visual learners fast and effectively.