Is Online Teacher Training The Better Way?If you are a teacher in primary or high school education then you have probably at some time thought about developing your career further by getting an advanced degree. Advanced teachers training is the key to better pay and job prospects, so you’ve heard… But then you thought about what getting an advanced qualification would do to your schedule. You picture yourself having to get up extremely early in the morning to prepare some aspects of your class work, and after teaching all day you’d find yourself jumping into your car and rushing off to the local university to attend evening class for a few hours. Then you’d rush back home, grab a bite to eat and fall into bed exhausted. And this scenario doesn’t allow time for assessing homework or doing assignments from graduate school. But what about online teachers training via the internet – does that hold the answer to stressed-out schedules? We are now in the Internet age, and everything seems to be moving online. Teacher training is no exception. By now, you must have seen many different ads for Universities offering teacher training via the internet. Web-based teachers training is not available for all post-graduate areas but the numbers of courses are continuously increasing. Today, you can find distance learning degree programs in many different forms called things like e-learning, blended learning, online instruction or web-based instruction. In this article, we will discuss some of the pros and cons of online teachers training that will help you decide the best way forward for you personally in your choice for web-based higher education. Of course, the principle appeal and advantage of online teacher’s training is being able to earn a Master or Doctorate Degree entirely at home while working as your convenience. However, the reality is not always exactly like that as we will reveal later in this article. That being said, online teacher instruction offers educational opportunities like never before, giving teachers the chance to gain advance degrees or meet renewal license requirements while juggling the responsibilities of full time jobs and family life. In order to successfully complete an online teacher’s training degree course, you do need to have some basic skills and some basic equipment in your home. For example, you must be familiar with a computer and using the Internet. You need to be able to comfortably send e-mails and receive e-mails with attachments. You need to be extremely comfortable navigating around the Internet and you need to be proficient in typing and using word processing software. In addition, for today’s courses, you will usually need to have some kind of audio or video capacity on your computer. Typically, you will need a reasonably modern computer that runs at one GHz or greater. You may need a printer, either ink-jet or laser. Of course, you will need to have your computer connected to the Internet and you will need a reasonably sized hard drive, for example 20 Gb. Before signing on for an online course, you need to be very clear about the time requirements that will be imposed on you. Some programs are completely off campus, which means that you can do 100% of the work online. Not all masters’ degrees are like this however, and maybe a period of time when you are required to be on campus. Even with purely online courses there can be time demands that you do not expect. For example, there are cases where online professors at short notice will require teachers to attend a discussion in an online forum, which need you to sit for an hour or more, reacting immediately to the conversation. Before choosing any course, you should ask yourself about the license or accreditation status of the course. What effect will this course actually have on your CV? Is the course material actually accredited by an important teacher standards body? This is crucial to know. It would be ideal if you could speak to another teacher who has taken a distance learning online teacher training course with this particular institution. |