by Amy Hinz Horn
Teachers who spend the majority of their days in classrooms teaching have also spent many nights in classrooms learning. In recent years, however, more and more educators have been able to return to school from the comfort of their own homes to fulfill continuing education requirements or add a master’s degree to their curriculum vitae. In fact, education was recently cited as one of the top three best-performing fields of online study by Eduventures, a research and consulting company specializing in education.
When it comes to the flexibility such cyber-programs provide, teachers of all ages, at every level, and with high degrees of success, are handing out A+ accolades.
Just ask Wayne Blake, who has taught middle-school students for the past 28 years. Because of the time constraints common to all educators, the Chicago-area language arts and reading teacher had never pursued a master’s degree. And without that credential, Blake had maxed out his earning potential. That fact, along with the need to complete a number of professional development units each year, prompted him to pursue higher education online.
“I wanted to take classes that wouldn’t take a lot of time away from my family and wouldn’t involve traveling,” he says. “Other than occasional [scheduled] group/classroom chats, I do all lessons and work at my convenience.”
Blake, who is less than a year away from earning his master’s degree in middle-level education from Walden University, admits to having had initial reservations about the quality of online programs for educators. But his fears of subpar instruction and curriculum were assuaged early on by his peers and professors.
“I’ve been amazed by the quality of interactions with other classmates, and my instructors have been helpful and available via e-mail and phone,” he explains. In fact, Blake is already planning to take additional middle-level education courses online once he earns his degree.
Like Blake, veteran teacher Lori Wain was concerned about the quality of education she would receive online, since she’d always learned and taught in a traditional classroom setting. Early on in the master of science education program at the University of Phoenix, however, she discovered that distance education provided her with a better learning experience than her prior brick-and-mortar instruction.
“I enjoyed the camaraderie among students and found they were more willing to share experiences,” she explains. Wain was also impressed with the accessibility of her instructors, all of whom provided meaningful feedback on assignments as well as timely grades.
She now finds that connecting her online courses to her own classroom is helpful as both a student and teacher. “I think that in order to get the most out of an online program, you need to work with a mentor in your workplace and look for opportunities that can link coursework with outside experiences.”
When issues in the assigned reading are debated or topics are posted to the discussion board, for example, Wain is able to immediately apply those ideas to her own studies and her own teaching. Through her cyber class discussion boards, she is able to bounce ideas off veteran teachers and then implement them in her classroom.
Jim Vidmar, who earned his master’s degree online and currently teaches distance learning classes for the University of Oklahoma, emphasizes the self-motivation needed for eLearning success.
“While the delivery format provides a lot of flexibility, students are on their own,” he warns. “They have to be very organized, accountable, and disciplined in regard to scheduling regular time to study and write.”
But after participating in an online program, Vidmar feels he can make eLearning a positive experience for his students by maintaining the same self-motivation they possess.
Blake agrees that your determination is what will ultimately drive your success, and most teachers already have what it takes to make the grade in a virtual learning format. “The organization habits, collaborative efforts, and communication skills we use in the classroom can be easily applied to the online environment.”
And for many teachers, online education experience may prove useful in the workplace in light of technology’s ever-expanding role in the classroom, present and future.
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