Teaching+Online

Some fine folks at [|Edupreneurs Club] got together today (see video below) to discuss teaching online. Although I was planning on making the session, I was not able to attend unfortunately. I would like to share my opinion however on some of the things being discussed but must admit I do not teach online as a business person. And although I do have separate business and educational backgrounds, my online teaching is limited to providing blended learning environments for students who I teach face to face.

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I will divide my perspective into three sections: (a) How to go about getting students, (b) what to do once you have paying students, and (c) how to go about cooperating and collaborating as edupreneurs.

There was a lot of discussion about platforms but I didn’t hear much talk about the notion of having an online presence or online identity. I believe if students are looking for an online teacher, they want to get to know the person first. Any web tool a teacher decides to use (i.e., facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.), should set out to help students get to know you. For this reason, criticizing facebook seems a bit short-sided. I’ll be the first to admit, as a platform, I hate facebook. But it – along with many other social media tools – can be a way for others to get to know you. It really has little to do about conversion rates or whether you like the platform(s) or not. It’s more about how students choose to interact with others, and what they learn about you as a potential teacher.
 * How to go about getting students**

Getting students, I feel, has little to do with a “collaborative marketing” campaign. It’s about personal branding: personal mission statements, vision statements, goals, and values. Each teacher needs to find their personal niche or value they feel they add, then market it by developing a digital “footprint”, identity, whatever that extends throughout the Internet. Getting students depends on one’s [|pedagogical content knowledge] and personal disposition, so personal branding should showcase these two elements.

Discussing platforms is more relevant once you have paying students. And the platform(s) used – if any – will depend a lot on the kind of course you are teaching and the kinds of students you have. Certainly a MOOC-style approach is possible, but I agree with some of the discussions made that students perhaps will not use open content a teacher provides if they feel they are already getting the value-added service they feel they deserve.
 * What to do once you have paying students**

Teaching and learning is highly complex and emergent. Trying to “join forces” can be counterproductive since each educational context is quite different. The best educators can do (whether for or non-profit) is to share situational-based, informal discussions about teaching and learning. Also, consider sharing experiences, opinions, beliefs, etc. around teaching and learning that is based on current research. The goal to cooperating and collaborating as educators is so to become the best that you can be. This same approach applies to sharing business practices to the extent that each teacher feels such sharing will not compromise their personal brand. As edupreneurs, think of forming a //network// as opposed to forming a //group//.
 * How to go about cooperating/collaborating as edupreneurs**

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