So, today I am going to talk to you about my job. I am a teacher, but a different kind of teacher. Huh? You may now ask, ” How many types of teachers are there?” Well, in today’s day and age there is something called an online teacher as well. So, that’s what I am. Half of my lessons ( I teach English as a foreign language) are online, hence an online teacher. Now you may ask, ” So, what on earth do you do Joanna? How do you teach?” When I teach online, I use the Internet of course. My virtual classroom is in Adobe connect (it’s a platform). There is a white board which is also the area where I can upload files and share the lesson material, a chat box section and an area for the web cam. I send a link to my student and s/he presses the link and comes to my ‘classroom’. Sometimes I  also use a land line or Skype when Adobe is acting out and the sound is all over the place.
So, after this brief but succinct description of my morning job, let’s move on to why I like my job. What are the perks of teaching online?  So, here goes!
Perk No.1
I have students from all over the world which is probably the thing I like most about online teaching! One minute I am in Stuttgart, the next Paris. I see how my students view things and how their educational background blends into my teaching practice and choice of techniques. The classroom is not my limit, my internet connection is!

Perk No.2
To all you weather freaks, at last a chance to talk about the weather with not one, but ALL my students. When teaching online, you get real life weather descriptions from all over the world. I often ask….. “So, how is the weather over there?” I always smile after asking this question, cause of course, my weather , here in Crete, is much better than theirs : P.

Perk No.3
It is green teaching (kinda…). Paper free to the core. I use no books, no handouts, nada. Just my computer screen.

Perk No.4
I save money on transportation, snacks and coffee. I am at home. I make everything myself. On the plus side, it literally takes me one minute to get to work : D.

Perk No.5
When my students are late, I do not have to sit around doing nothing. I go to my kitchen make some coffee,  tidy up my room….the lots!I can do whatever I want whilst waiting for the late comer.

Perk No.6
I get to wear my pyjama bottom. What else can a teacher ask for, people?

Perk No. 7
I am hip, a tech savvy teacher and it looks great on the CV. The kids love me cause I am a ‘cool’ teacher who uses technology.

Perk No. 8
You sound cool when you describe your job to other people. No one can get their head around using a computer to teach and everyone asks, ” So, what about a board?” ” Does you learner see you?”

Perk No. 9
Your time zone is NOT your limit. If you want to teach at 12 o’clock at night, you can. It is day time somewhere else in the world!

So, that’s my morning job. In the afternoon I teach face to face. This post was originally posted in my edu blog www.myeltrambles.com but has been adapted here.

Remember to follow my blog if you like what you read (check sidebar for info on how to follow). Feel free to leave a comment below. I mean would you consider having lessons online? Give this a thumbs up (aka like) if you enjoyed reading it ( you help me get a sense of what you guys like reading cause I am still trying to find me voice). Thanks for stopping by lovelies!

Talk soon.

xxx