The world is entering into a new decade of the Information Age. The past ten years have redefined almost everything we do. Working, speaking, leisure time, playing, learning – the internet, mobile phone, smart devices, and wireless connectivity have done what may have been unthinkable just two decades back.
The millennials have widely embraced digital life, far ahead of the others. This new generation of students, willing to learn digitally, presents an opportunity for online teaching. Teaching is one area that holds great potential for spreading knowledge and earning a livelihood. Let’s understand why teaching online is a boon for the teacher and the students.
- Flexibility
Teachers have freedom of teaching at a time of their choice. They may get started with as little as two hours per week. Teachers have the freedom of what they want to teach, which time of the day, what day of the week, and class duration. That’s incredible, isn’t it?
The classes are scheduled as per the calendar availability set by teachers. The timetable becomes digital, and you may have your student and yourself receiving a reminder in advance. Digital reminders reduce the chances of missed classes.
Do you wish to take a class at short notice? The chances are that your students may be able to attend the class. The same applies to the students too. You may be able to find the time and teach students about your area of expertise or something you’re passionate about.
- Global Reach
With the internet, there are no boundaries and no constraints due to a lack of local demand. School holidays in one region of the world may have some students on vacation. With online tuition, you can utilize your time to schedule classes with students in other parts of the world.
Online teaching is oblivious to time zones. There are no odd hours and no restrictions on demand. There’s no limit on how much you want to teach.
The one crucial factor to make your online teaching effective is to have a planned ecosystem that facilitates effective communication and collaboration.
- Convenience
Apart from all other benefits of teaching online, convenience is something you get in plenty. Online teaching eliminates the need to plan the logistics for your class.
There is no need for vehicles, commute, classroom infrastructure, papers, and other study material. Laptops these days are well equipped to take notes and save as much study material as the student or teacher wants.
By digitizing the reference material and worksheets, you may use them several times without any effort. A cloud-based online class platform is all you need to remain connected with your students.
By going online, you contribute to the environment too. You save paper, fuel, whiteboards, and markers. Compare this to a traditional setup – there’s the commute, a physical classroom, vehicles, fuel, and lots of paper in the form of notebooks and photocopies.
- Cost Advantage
By now, it may be evident that online teaching has a significant cost advantage. Students and teachers not only save money in terms of logistics and infrastructure but also save time that may be used for other productive purposes. There’s no need for a commute to facilitate online teaching, and it’s a significant time-saver.
There’s a chance that a majority of your students would already have access to a laptop and the internet. Even if they don’t, the cost of commute would surely exceed the price of a computer in the longer run.
- Earning Potential
Lower costs directly translate to a higher earning potential. You might start with a fee lower than physical classroom classes. However, you may increase your income as your reputation, content, and teaching methods get refined over time.
You already understand the time savings that can be achieved using online teaching methods. The saved time may be utilized to take additional classes. So, instead of burning fuel, time, and energy in commuting, you can earn better with lesser tiredness and stress.
If you are an expert at a niche that’s in high demand, you may charge a premium. You boost your earnings, yet the total cost for the students remains lesser compared to a traditional tutoring setup thanks to the minimal infrastructure and logistical requirement in an online setup. That’s a big win-win situation.
Conclusion
If you have a passionate teacher inside you, this new decade of the Information Age presents a huge opportunity to teach students online. You may enjoy having students spread across geographies and belonging to different cultures.
Online teaching is a highly personalized and student-focused teaching method where the teacher may create a personalized tutoring plan depending on students’ requirements. Materials and quizzes prepared are re-usable and add to the library of materials that the teacher may use for future students with little or no change.
Minimal infrastructure and real-estate requirements reduce cost and boost earning potential by way of lesser expenditure and more time to spare. If you want to try online teaching in your expert field, signup here.