Posted: Aug 22, 08 9:19am
My goal, halfway through earning my Master's degree, was to teach online.
Any ideas how I can get into that?
I am disabled, but can work from my home computer.
Thank you, SeaRain
COMMENT

You might want to look into faculty that work in the distance learning areas. I know most are regular faculty at their respective universities and colleges, but they may have an opening that was strictly distance learning. Check the online ones first and then go to the ones in your area, incase they do have a day or two that students have to be on the campus for testing or whatever.
The University of Phoenix does a lot of online stuff, but I am pretty sure they require a master's degree.
Community colleges are always looking for last minute adjunct instructors.
Experience with online learning management systems (LMS, or CMS for "course management systems") is a big plus - many institutions will offer training for those new to online instruction.
If you lack experience in CMS systems (like Blackboard, for instance) check into some online resources to help you get started. Atomic Learning has some great short tutorials from both the instructor's and the student's perspective (Atomic Learning does charge an annual subscription, but its a tremendous resource nevertheless).
The Illinois Online Network has a good overview of pedagogical approaches to online learning: http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/instructionalstrategies.asp
If you want to play around with a free CMS, you might want to take a look at Moodle (moodle.org). Instructors who have worked with Moodle find this a good alternative to other big dollar systems - Moodle is 100% free! You can download and begin building your own course just to play around with and get familiar with online learning environments. Then, you can tell 'em that you have some experience with the development of an online course!
Please add some additional details if you would like further thoughts, for what they're worth!
Best of luck!
