If it's your passion to educate and inspire future generations, an online teaching degree can help you excel in a purposeful and rewarding field of education. Whether you are new to education or a veteran teacher looking to hone your skills in a specific area, an online degree in teaching would be a good option for you to start.
The teaching field is evolving rapidly with the continuous changes in the technology. Online teaching programs help today's educators to keep pace and develop groundbreaking pathways to make a real difference in their students' lives.
Teachers do more than just educate students. They manage classrooms, create lesson plans, assess students' work and inspire creativity, while instilling discipline. They act as counselors, coaches and companions to students of all ages.
Online teaching degrees have an advantage over more traditionally structured education opportunities because they allow you to work at your own pace and on your own schedule, giving you the flexibility to study when it’s most convenient for you. This allows you to work around your current job and responsibilities.
Experienced professors, principals and current and former teachers provide instruction in these courses, giving you a healthy mix between theory and practical insights. This shows you exactly how education really works in a classroom setting.
Although it is vital to know your subject well as a teacher, there are other aspects to it that are just as important. You must know how to manage your classroom, create effective lesson plans that leave time for discussion and questions and understand how different types of students learn. This allows you to tailor lesson plans that work for everyone.
You will also learn how to create a positive learning environment, set practical goals for students, motive your students, and effectively impart discipline and good manners.
There are also technical skills to learn. The classroom is becoming increasingly technology driven, which can help teachers better connect with students. Online teaching degree programs give you the knowledge to best leverage new classroom technology.
You will also need the social and interpersonal skills to deal with administrators, parents and, most of all, students. These skills include communicating information, asking the right questions and effectively de-escalating conflicts.
Most online teaching degree programs offer supervised student teaching for 1 semester, allowing you to gain hands-on, in-classroom experience. This is also required in order to be licensed by the state in which you are planning to teach.
There are many different options for teachers; depending on specialization in the subject area, the complexity of the subject matter and age of students you're interested in teaching. You may find yourself teaching grade-school children or high school students in either public or private schools.
But before you start your career as teacher, you have to get a license/certification from your state. Each state has different requirements, so do some researches before you decide to make teaching as your career.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates steady growth rates over the next 10 years for some of the teaching professions that you can choose:
Although the jobs can differ significantly, average salary expectations for those in the teaching field are fairly steady. Pay is generally good for teachers, as would be expected for those who make it their job to educate future generations. As with most other professions, a master's or doctorate degree offers you better salary in teaching too. The following are 2010 BLS salary estimates:
The world is changing rapidly. Educating future generations will require teaching professionals who can change just as quickly and keep up with the latest trends and technology that impact how we work and live. Those who possess that flexibility and an interest in teaching will likely find their skills in high demand in the future.
Education is a truly exciting field and influential educators who can prepare students for the 21st century are in great demand. An online teaching degree gives you the skills and resources you need to make an impact on the world. eDegreeSteps can help you find the top online teaching programs.