Are you teaching online classes or plan to in the near future? Do you have a set of practices you follow to prepare yourself for teaching, to become highly effective?
Educators have discovered online teaching can be exciting, rewarding, frustrating, demanding, and challenging all at the same time. The opportunities for new online instructional positions are becoming fewer now because of the number of instructors who are interested in teaching and the process of acquiring an adjunct position has become very competitive. For example, it is not uncommon for someone who is highly experienced and educated to find it challenging to obtain new assignments.
What should you do while you wait for your first (or next) online teaching opportunity? The best answer is to become prepared for the role by learning about the essentials needed for teaching in a virtual environment. There are best practices that every online instructor needs, which will allow you to become prepared once you are familiar with and understand how to apply them.