MOOCs have drawn attention to the different requirements of online vs. traditional teaching jobs. I recently watched Dr. Dani Babb’s Udemy presentation titled How to Make Money Teaching as an Online Professor. She said something that I thought was interesting. She had worked as a traditional professor prior to becoming an online professor. When she discussed the job requirements of an online professor, she mentioned that online professors have to deal with students who expect a lot more interaction in the online environment than the traditional one. This is very true. This is also something that I do not think gets enough attention in the media.
There are plenty of articles about how wonderful traditional schools are compared to online schools. However, it has been my experience that online schools provide students with far more access to their professors. This has increased the amount of responsibilities required of online professors. Online professors must:
- Help students learn to think critically
- Guide students through a maze of information
- Help students learn critical information in a shorter amount of time
- Encourage students to form opinions and debate topics
- Provide tools for lifelong learning
While the demands placed on online professors have increased, they may feel like they are being under-valued by the press. Students expect more value. Students want skills that lead to immediate job improvements. This has put pressure on educators. However, this kind of pressure is good because it creates a dialogue for how to improve the online experience.
Related Articles:
I agree with the online professor in reference to the article, On Line VS Traditional Faculty Demands.
I went to a traditional school for my undergraduate degree. If I had to make a decision based on the short period of time that I have used the online educational service at GCU, to me there is no comparison, I have much more access and have had much better experience with the online instructors/Professors than I did in the traditional.
I feel that it was the best decision that I made, by going online. There is more interaction, more communication, and more help from the Instructors/Professors. This is a wonderful experience for me!
Thank You!
Tammy Wilson
MGT 605
GCU