Why teach online?
Online teaching is both an art and a science. Some people are born instructors and others learn through study, hard work, and experience. Online teaching requires specialized skills in communication, organization, and technology. I would not go so far as to say that anyone can teach online, but I do believe that anyone who has the desire and motivation to be an effective online instructor can learn everything needed to fulfill that dream.
People want to teach online for a lot of different reasons. Some are simply enamored with the technology. Some prefer teaching online because there are more opportunities to interact with students. Some cannot teach in a traditional classroom because of various health, medical, or disability issues. Others want to work at home so they can take care of children or elderly parents.
Only a very few are naïve enough to want to teach online for the money or because they think the work is easier, but most will admit to wanting to teach online for the convenience.
There are also plenty of people who do not want to teach online but are required by their schools to develop and teach online classes in addition to their traditional on-campus classes.
Of all these reasons and more, I like teaching online because of the various opportunities for better interaction and communication with, and among, the students. Rather than seeing students for 3-4 hours a week with the possible addition of time during office hours, instructors can communicate with students in the discussions and by email anytime during the day, all week long.
