Are you looking for remote tutoring or virtual teaching jobs? Great news, online teaching jobs continue to be at an all-time high. Work-from-home teaching jobs are a great way for you to make extra money and to enjoy the benefits of remote work.
More students than ever are taking classes online with teachers who are working from home. As a result, the demand for remote tutors has exploded.
During the pandemic, many public school systems and colleges instituted virtual learning to protect students and teachers from infection. Now, many school systems are seeking certified teachers with remote teaching experience on their resumes.
You'll find teaching positions available for both remote tutors and certified teachers. Keep reading for our complete guide to virtual teaching with tips on what you will need, what kind of jobs you may find, and the most trusted places to find online teaching jobs.
If you are currently a certified teacher you will have the best opportunity to land remote teaching jobs. Some jobs require a teaching certificate—especially when teaching virtually in a public school system. With that being said, there are some in-demand positions for which a school system would help you to get you certified.
One of the biggest negatives of virtual teaching is the need for office hours. If you are virtual teaching for a public school system, you will need office hours in the evening and on the weekend to be more accessible to students and parents. This may feel like too much if you are used to being a traditional in-person teacher.
On the other hand, picking up online teaching jobs is a great way for teachers to make extra income. Many teachers will schedule their remote teaching jobs directly after school. This allows for an uninterrupted workday and access to all of your school equipment.
The other benefits of remote teaching jobs are similar to any work-from-home job. You avoid the expense of commuting, you experience less stress, and you have more flexibility with your schedule.
If you aren't currently a full-time teacher, you will enjoy the freedom of working from home.
Best of all, many online teaching jobs, particularly tutor-based positions, provide you with lesson plans to follow.
This makes it a no-brainer. Besides your patience and a positive attitude, you will likely only need the occasional prop.
When it comes to online teaching jobs, you will need to create a dedicated workspace. Home-based online teaching jobs will require you to have some equipment and software access that will allow you to connect and interact with your students.
Using video tools is a must for virtual tutoring. But it's equally important to provide students with easy access to course work, research materials, tests, and whatever else might add value to your service.
Here's what you’ll need to set up a remote teaching center at home.
Remote teaching jobs will require a desk or table space, a comfortable chair, and room for a whiteboard. Ensure that the space around you is well lit with an uncluttered background. You may include minimal personal touches, such as a potted plant or painting to project a friendly image.
For you moms that want to work from home with little ones, check out our tips on how to work from home with kids.
You will need a desktop computer or laptop, and a high-speed internet connection that permits video streaming and large file downloads.
For video, you may use the built-in camera on your computer, but many remote teachers also use a high-resolution webcam. Placed on a tripod, a webcam can give you more flexibility to move around in your teaching space, or use it as a second camera. You can also use your smartphone or tablet as a second camera.
Consider these options or a projector mirror attachment if you will need to do flat table demonstrations—especially for virtual art teacher jobs.
If you are working in a room without strong natural light, you may also need to buy a soft-box LED light or ring light so your presentations look as professional as possible.
You will also need to use a headset mic or table mic for the best sound quality.
Finally, you may also want to consider an external hard drive to store any large files, such as videos you may create for your teaching.
If you're going to handle online teaching jobs with an extensive syllabus and a large number of students, you will need a Learning Management System (LMS). An LMS is a software program that facilitates the administration and delivery of online courses and training programs. With an LMS you can post assignments, quizzes, videos, and discussion topics.
Other modules handle grade tracking and data reporting, as well as communications with students and parents.
Pro-tip: In many cases, the school system or tutoring company you’re working for will decide which LMS system to use, or they may even have a custom platform they use. In other cases, it will be up to you to select an LMS.
You should be familiar with how these systems work and the features they provide.
There are well over a dozen systems to choose from, some open-source, others cloud-based. Since you'll be setting up a home-based system for the first time, focus on an LMS with functionality that matches your teaching style. Here are some of the more popular options:
All are easy to use, but each has particular strengths and weaknesses. Study their features, or better still, get feedback from teachers and students before you decide which one to use.
Distance education requires you to make study materials available to your students. The easiest way to share materials is through a cloud-based file storage platform, like iDrive. Using one of these systems will enable you to back up and share large files by sending a link.
We recommend iDrive because it's easy to use and provides more storage at a lower cost.
Storage Options:
Some offer limited free storage. All of these cloud-based information systems are easy to use and offer enough capacity for text, images, and video content.
Whether it's live footage or graphical presentations, videos (visual aids) bring clarity and excitement to distance learning. Some of the best video creation tools include:
Review the features of each software/service, then choose one that suits your particular needs.
Videos are a wonderful tool, but you will often be expected to have face-to-face interactions in real time with your students.
Here is a selection of six popular livestream apps/platforms (in no particular order) to consider:
Zoom is a cloud-based communication platform that raises the virtual classroom to a new level. As it offers high-definition video and audio, you can use it to conduct a live classroom session, cover a conference, engage in Q&A sessions, and broadcast webinars. A big plus for students is that they can record classroom sessions to study at their own pace and convenience.
The rise in Zoom popularity makes this a great choice since many students will be familiar with the platform.
One of the most popular streaming applications, Vimeo Livestream delivers high-quality live video across a variety of platforms and devices, including YouTube, Periscope, Linked In, and Twitch. The application comes with competent graphics, video-management tools, and reliable customer support. The free version of this tool is recommended for first-time remote teachers.
Facebook Live is free and easy to use. The app is great for broadcasting a lesson, a live demonstration, an event, a conversation, or a Q&A session, all of which can be viewed on Apple and Android devices.
For a live broadcast on Facebook's Live Producer, you will need encoding software and a camera. If you schedule your broadcast, an announcement post and a live broadcast post will be created on your page to keep your audience in the loop.
Panopto platform permits video creation, live steaming, and integrates well with any LMS. Used by many top universities, Panopto enriches the learning experience by allowing interactive course videos, recordings of demonstrations, access to third-party content, and a lot more.
A key feature of Dacast is that it offers online password protection, so you can ensure that content is seen only by your students. Video is high definition with adequate bandwidth, and adaptive streaming ensures that viewers will get the best possible quality. Another big plus of Dacast is that it allows you to apply your logo to the content you've created.
Its landing page describes BrainCert as "the world's first WebRTC based HTML5 virtual classroom." It comes with 50 languages and offers seamless integration with any LMS, high-definition video and audio, enlarged video conferencing (up to 6 video streams), and an interactive whiteboard. Among other things, BrainCert allows you to schedule classes, build an online content library for your students, record and download classroom sessions, upload materials related to teaching sessions in advance, and organize group chat sessions.
There are many more options to choose from. Don't blindly settle for a service merely because it's popular or feature-rich. Instead, go with what is budget-friendly, easy to use, relevant to your teaching modules, and offers a service upgrade option should your training requirements increase in the future.
At the least, a calendar app helps you keep on track with your teaching schedule and prepped for important events like examinations. A good calendar app is easy to use, has seamless connectivity with an LMS, and runs on various devices or platforms (in case you need to share it with your students). Here are some options:
There are various virtual teaching positions available at any given time, but you will find a few common in-demand online teaching jobs. The following will help describe some of these exciting online education jobs, how much they pay, and requirements.
There is an increasing demand for U.S.-based remote tutors to teach English as a second language to children around the world, but especially in China and South Korea. Companies like Pearson, Sylvan Learning, and VipKid are among the largest employers of K-12 in-home teachers and remote tutors.
A bachelor's degree is required by most reputable tutoring companies, but it can usually be in any field. Some freelance online teaching jobs sites only require a high school degree, while other tutoring positions may require a teaching degree and an active certification.
It is best to read the virtual teaching posting fully to understand the requirements before applying. Some interview processes are multilevel and time-consuming.
The average pay is $14-$22 an hour.
Freelance sites allow you to work as little or as much as you wish while high-profile companies require a minimum of at least 4 hours a week.
Again, there is a wide range of job opportunities. Online math teaching jobs may range from a tutor with a high school degree (an associate's is a bonus) to full-time certified teaching positions. There may be less global demand for math teachers, but the online teaching jobs are many.
The average pay can range from $18-$40 an hour and goes up even higher from there.
These positions often require a year of teaching or tutoring experience.
Once again there is a range of positions available for virtual art teacher jobs. You will need to have teaching experience. Due to the nature of visual art teaching the age range and needs of each position will vary.
You may find several positions that add in an element of English as a Second Language (ESL). The average pay will range from $15-$40 an hour, but there are many salaried full-time positions.
Although these are some of the most common online teaching jobs available you may also find virtual teaching positions in online computer science, online special education, online science teaching, online ESL, online foreign language teaching, and various remote tutoring positions.
Now that you have thought about which online teaching jobs may be right for you, you're probably wondering how to find them. The biggest worry with looking for legit work from home jobs is avoiding the numerous work-from-home scams that are lurking on the internet.
We recommend using a reputable remote work search engine like MotherWorks.com. You can find a wide range of remote teaching and tutoring jobs on MotherWorks.
The following are some of the most popular virtual English teacher companies to look for:
You will also find many listings from public schools and universities.
Be prepared with an updated resume that highlights any teaching/tutoring experience you may have, a cover letter, and the proper technology to do video interviews and interview practice lessons.
According to the World Economic Forum, the market for online education is projected to reach $350 billion by 2025, so now is a great time to consider a career as an online educator.
Virtual teaching is a great choice for teachers looking to make extra money, or for college grads that are looking for work in an area with a depressed job market. Remote tutoring is also wonderful for mothers that are looking for part-time work that is convenient, so go for it momma.
We hope these tips help you find your next career move. For more great tips and to explore more work-from-home careers check out our blog.