The state of digital education

Here's a fascinating graphic depicting the state of digital education that shows that elearning saves money compared to instructor-led training. That's a sad and misleading statistic. Just having completed an e-learning course, I think that those two types of instruction are very different, requiring different learner skills and providing different learning opportunities. One of the findings of the past years in education is that one size does not fit all. Any educator worth his or her salt will use digital technology very judiciously to empower learners and allow them to access materials and social learning contacts they wouldn't otherwise have.

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Become an online teacher

I hadn't looked at the classifieds on the www.melta.de website for a long time, but just noticed that there was a job offer for an online teacher a few months ago - the first I'd seen there. Well, if you're not getting enough face to face classes you may really want to consider becoming an online English teacher. There are many services to choose from. Read this blogpost in German by Ibrahim Evsan, the founder of the video platform Sevenload.de, who summarizes many of the services. Then have a look at them in detail. It's quite interesting to check them out to get a better sense of how language services in general are becoming globalized.

Tech basics: You need to have a video camera installed on your computer to give real-time lessons and you'll be using a service like Skype, with video and text messaging. Other tools such as Twitter can be very good for students tasks. But have a look at the sites first and try applying for a job - you'll be far wiser after that!

Shelly Terrell recommended Myngle, Edufire and italki. These are social networking sites that allow people who are looking for a teacher to find you, based on the information you post. The sites take a service charge out of your fee, but really it's up to you to state your conditions. So there is no middle man here. Schools providing blended learning, such as the ones advertizing on the MELTA website, will of course have to take a larger chunk out of the fee they charge the customer. Follow Shelly on Twitter and read her blog Teacher Bootcamp to find out more about how she teaches online.

Also have a look at The English Teacher and read Aniya's post on The Art of Teaching Online. You can also follow Aniya, who currently teaches online through Myngle on Twitter.