Working in a traditional brick and mortar classroom setting, teachers are typically given numerous opportunities to collaborate with each other regarding curriculum, students, etc. Within the online classroom, making these connections with other instructors can be much more difficult. Often, online instructors feel alone – out on their own little island of one – trying to pull together resources and materials to enhance their courses and working through various quirks in the online classroom on their own.
Many online schools have set up a type of message board for part-time, adjunct faculty to utilize to interact and engage with each other. Often, these are underutilized because instructors are teaching online as a second, or perhaps even third, job. Instructors find that they need to spend all the time they have within the online classroom. That said, when instructors do have a few free minutes, utilizing these boards (remembering that they are most likely monitored by the college or university) can be very beneficial as a way to share ideas, collaborate, and commiserate regarding the online classroom.
Other ways that individuals can connect with others in the online education field include seeking out those within their institution, searching for instructors on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, subscribing to various listservs related to online education, etc. Online networking is the key to establishing these types of relationships.
This type of collaboration among those who are teaching in a similar online classroom is vital and personally, I’ve learned a great deal regarding teaching and learning through not only these type of message boards but also through establishing other connections and emailing or even calling fellow instructors to discuss concepts, ideas, and materials.
Fellow instructors can be a great resource! They have materials they can share, might have a new idea for how to engage students within the discussion board, or perhaps they tried out the latest technology fad and can explain if it is worth implementing within the classroom. A colleague can also help with various class management issues – perhaps they have figured out an efficient way to grade discussion question responses that you could benefit from. If nothing else, it is liberating to talk to others who understand the challenges of the online classroom.
It’s also important to remember that within the field of education both research and scholarship are vital. Working with colleagues to complete research, present at conferences, and publish in journals can make the process much more enjoyable an rewarding as well as fulfill many of the necessary requirements for higher education instructors. Perhaps you’re not great with statistics, but if you can find someone who is they can do that part of the paper while you complete the literature review or the analysis. Having a laundry list of collaborated research can be very beneficial and help to boost one’s career.
About the Author
Jamie Weitl is a WAHM teaching for several online universities and raising three precocious little ones. In her spare time she enjoys writing, baking, and running. For more info, see my Google Plus Profile.
