Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Make the jump to an Instructional Design Career!

Adjuncts, add more skills to your resume.

Visit the Instructional Design 

Career Center

Developed for UW-Stout Students Open to all!

Friday, March 29, 2019

Teaching Online - How To Get There


Get Paid To Learn


Teaching is the best job in the world. You help people. You spend your work life energy participating in an endlessly fascinating process.

Online teaching adds geographical independence and a big dose of entrepreneurship to the life of a teacher.  I've found that to be a very good thing.

As an instructor and program advisor for the University of Wisconsin-Stout's Online Teaching Graduate Certificate Program I teach online classes every semester.  Another very important part of my job is helping people find work.

I try to keep our students informed of new jobs as I find them. However,  every time I search I find thousands of online teaching jobs.  I can't republish them all but I do have an archive of online teaching  e-Jobs on my Scoop.it E-Learning page.


Empower Yourself


The best think you can do is learn to search for the e-Job you want.  Let me show you where you can find those job leads for yourself.

I'm convinced, that at this very moment, the perfect online teaching job is waiting for any talented teacher with the right combination of subject matter skills, e-learning training and professional networking.

The E-Learning Employment Triangle

e-learning employment triangle e-learning opportunities come from your subject matter expertise, 21st century networking skills and e-learning and teaching experience
The E-Learning Employment Triangle

The Power of Networks


With the proper qualifications most work will come through your professional network. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't search directly for work and put together the necessary paperwork to land the online teaching jobs you seek.

Here are two job search engines that produce results.  Take the time to set up accounts and upload fresh resumes or CVs.  Be sure your online e-portfolios are polished and ready for a critical eye.  Then start searching!

HigherEd Jobs




Indeed.com




SimplyHired.com










One final hint:  These snapshots represent searches for specific advertised jobs. Even if the job you are looking for isn't advertised at the school you are interested in, dig into their application process and file a resume.  Go fishing. Don't under estimate the power of getting your application into the Adjunct hiring pool.

Finally, take the initiative. Learn the job search systems. Fine tune your keywords and check the results regularly.



Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Making a living as an adjunct instructor

The best time to look for work is when you already have a job. This is when you make your plans.  Planning to leave the face to face classroom for virtual work takes preparation as well.

Finding a job is so much more than shooting resumes out via email.  Certainly  a good resume is part of the picture, but it's just one tool of many you need to sharpen as you work toward a career change. 

Be prepared!

I went back to school and got a certificate in online teaching and learning as well as a Masters Degree in Education with an emphasis on distance learning. I could see the future coming and I loved the work. I taught part time for Connected University and held on to my classroom job.  I chased grants and learned to both design and teach online. I believed hard work, dedication, and setting goals would change my world.  Eventually I took the leap to full time online employment. Despite my preparations,  it took me several years to learn the ropes.

I wish I knew then, what I know now.

I recall attending a conference just after I left the 'security' of the classroom and a traditional job.  I was at the conference to learn and to network, but I really didn't know what I was doing.  An educational sales rep took pity on me and briefly schooled me. 
  • Get a business card.
  • Establish a web presence.
  • Connect with decision makers via social networks.
  • Join and participate in professional groups.
  • Establish your subject matter expertise with a masters degree.
I did all that and more. Over the first few years of my career, working with dial up modems from a small mountain town, I learned to project my work and experience across the country using the Internet.

The first year as a consultant and online teacher involved a lot of trial and error.  I remember sending out hundreds of reasonably crafted and targeted emails with my resume.  The silence was deafening.  The offers were few, far between, and underpaid.  It was very discouraging. That's what it took for me to realize I needed to reach out to the people I knew and truly network. My Eureka Moment came when I reconnected with some great teachers I'd met via ISTE.  After that door open to more opportunities than I could have imagined.

To prepare for an academic online teaching career I recommend reading Make Money Teaching Online.

The book helps you get organized and set goals. When I read this book I didn't learn anything new. I did see  much of what I'd learned by trial and error and hard knocks laid out chapter by chapter.  If you are just getting started, or if you are stalled and wondering how to grow your academic career, read the book.  It's filled with solid advice.  Follow the advice and you'll be better prepared when opportunity comes your way.

Have you got questions or advice? If so, share them.  Sharing what you know is part of learning and growing in the 21st Century.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Finding E-Learning Jobs


Online teaching was the perfect part-time job for me.
E-learning and online teaching replaced coaching and after school clubs as a way to supplement my income. I loved it! I was working with great teachers from around the world and learning new things everyday. I also realized I was opening a door to a new career. Eventually, after 25 years in a traditional classroom, I decided to take early retirement, and pursue my passion for online teaching and learning full time.

Now I make my living online and enjoy a freedom and flexibility that once seemed like an impossible dream. Working online is everything I'd hoped for, and more. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen. I made the change one step at a time. It took me awhile to figure out how to find work.

I've found that the key to an online career is a power triangle of essential elements:
  • Subject Matter Expertise
  • 21st Century Networking
  • E-learning and Teaching Experience

Power Triangle for E-Learning Success
power triangle

Subject Matter Expertise

Your expertise is rooted with your life, academic, and work experiences. If you are a teacher, your expertise is established by the courses you've taught and the degrees you hold. If you are a military, corporate or medical trainer your expertise is established by your subject specialization and the variety of training positions you've held.

An Graduate Certificate in E-Learning and Online Teacher documents a new area of subject matter expertise!




Building Your Network

Roughly 80% of your e-learning work will come from networking face to face and online.

Decision makers want to hire people they know. When they can't find someone they know personally they reach out to an extended network of trusted advisors. Many jobs go unadvertised or are created when a person with the right skills is discovered.

Building your networks will open the door to a new future.

5 Ways to Build Your Professional Network

1. Start where you work right now.
  • Let your professional circle know you are pursuing an e-learning certificate or a degree online.
  • Many participants in UW-Stout's E-Learning and Online Teaching program are offered new e-learning jobs where they are currently working..
2. Find Professional organizations and conferences.
  • Go to conferences and get to know others who share your professional interests.
  • Attend both face to face and online conferences (Webinars).
  • Have business cards printed and hand them out!
3. Become an online student.
  • Successful online students become successful online teachers.
  • Get to know your classmates.
  • Some of your strongest professional bonds will be with colleagues you meet in your online classes.
4. Be active in professional networks.
  • Join an online network dedicated to your specific professional interests.
  • Join job search oriented social networks.
5. Build your professional credibility with a website or e-portfolio*.
  • A professional presence on the Internet is important.
  • Build a classroom website.
  • Write a blog about an area of interest.
  • Create a wiki for collaborative projects
  • Show what you know with an e-portfolio.
*Those enrolled in the E-Learning and Online Teaching Certificate Program will build these components and moreduring their training.

E-Learning and Online Teaching Experience

The University of Wisconsin-Stout E-Learning and Online Teaching Graduate Certificate Program provides experience as both an online student and an online teacher.

You have a developed a skill set as a classroom teacher or trainer. However, teaching or training experience does not fully prepare you for the unique challenges of e-learning and online teaching.
  • Jumping into online teaching job without training can be a painful and frustrating experience.
  • You need experience as an onlne teacher and specialized training in facilitation techniques to develop the craft of effective online instruction.
As an online student:
  • You will experience the best practices of online learning.
  • You will learn how to develop a community of learners through intense collaboration and discussion.
  • You will build strong professional bonds with your colleagues.
  • You will work with highly trained master teachers who are dedicated to helping you grow and learn.
As an online teacher in training:
  • You create curriculum and assessments using Web 2.0 tools.
  • You facilitate small group discussions.
  • You practice the teaching skills in a supportive environment rich in timely feedback.
  • Each of the five classes is a model of the best practices of teaching and learning online.
The Certificate Practicum: Real World Experience
  • If you've never taught an online class, you'll teach with a mentor teacher in one of our online professional development classes.
  • If you are currently teaching or training online, we craft a program that offers you the course design or teaching skill feedback you most need.
  • Customized internships with K-12 Virtual Schools are also possible.
Build a future as a teacher and learner in the 21st Century! Join us and open the door to a new career! 
UW-Stout's five-course E-Learning and Online Teaching Graduate Certificate focuses on the strategies and techniques of teaching online. The courses model best practices in e-learning with interactive discussions and hands-on experiences creating and using blogs, wikis, podcasts, and Moodle in K-12 education. The courses will benefit educators and trainers interested in designing online and blended courses or using Web-based components to enhance face-to-face instruction.

Courses are offered each semester (three times each year). All courses earn three graduate credits.