The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has reported that for the last decade, there has been a steady increase of online schools particularly in K-12 programs. Furthermore, with the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for online teaching methods has also increased significantly. Armed with this knowledge, you should consider being an online teacher if you have the willingness and the skills.

The most common type of online teaching job is ESL (English Second Language). By being on this job, you will most likely teach English to Asian countries like China, Japan, and Korea.

Here are some companies you can apply to if you’re considering online teaching as a profession.

ESL For Chinese Students

Magic Ears - Based on reviews, this company has very thorough details in expectations and explanation of the salary breakdown and interview process. Their ways of explaining their methods to their clients and employees are among the most detailed and comprehensive you can see on the web.

Qkids Teacher -  Using a narrative game-based learning platform, this web-teaching platform connects North American English teachers with over 800,000 Chinese students from ages within the 4 to 12 years old age bracket. It has become a global leader in cross-cultural online learning as it established its reputation online.

VIPKID - This company claims to have to take pride in finding educators who are knowledgeable, passionate, and ready to make an impact. They also emphasize an innovative online platform that enables an unprecedented exchange of knowledge. 

Gogo Kid - Their aim is to empower students by strategically facilitating the online learning experience through rigorous analysis of their skills and learning patterns. They claim to be good at integrating technology and education to revolutionize language learning.

Let’s talk about more companies to apply to later, and how to apply to them successfully...

What are the most creative online teaching strategies?

To solidify your teaching craft even more, you have to make sure that you involve the following in your online classes:

Conducting physical activities

Who says you can’t get physical in an online class? Is there ever a rule that prohibits a virtual teacher to urge their students to engage in bodily activities?

To make your internet session more engaging and more interactive, learn a few dance moves and mimic some action songs from famous kiddie TV shows. Integrate them into your teaching strategies and you will surely be a memorable character for your students even when they become full-grown adults!

Invoking intellectual challenges

Here’s an interesting quote about education:

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” - Socrates

I’m sure you wouldn’t dare question the wisdom of Socrates, one of the big 3 along with Plato and Aristotle in the realm of Philosophy. If we are to take those words of his with great seriousness, then we have to consider the technique of giving mental challenges to your students online.

At every beginning or end of a class, cite a riddle or any thought-provoking question to your students. It will surely be an element of the best online sessions ever.

Providing related trivia

In online teaching, the mindsets and cultural upbringing of your students could come in great varieties. Such a reality could establish gaps and barriers that could become big problems eventually.

As a remedy, you have to provide some trivia or tiny bits of information that they could relate to, in accordance with their culture and way of life. No matter how far away you get from talking about other things, you can always find ways to reconnect them to your main topic.

If your student is a resident of a certain country, you need to do some additional research about what the kids of that country are into at present.

This is an additional burden on your part. But since it is your aim to be great at this job prospect, then condition your mind into doing it too.

Next is the most important question.

How much can you possibly earn as an online teacher?

Your possible earnings really just depend on how many classes you can conduct for each day. So far, the lowest known rate is $10 per hour. The highest rates are known to be around $40. With online teaching, you can pick your schedule and the number of hours that you want to render, so you can just calculate your possible earnings based on your own projections.

What are the usual steps that an online teacher applicant must undergo?

Now, let’s talk about the application process. It still contains the typical drill which always goes like this: resume submission > initial interview > final interview.

Interviews could be done first by phone, then later via a video call, or it could just be both video calls. Whatever the methods that are to be used, you need to be ready for either.

During the interview process, you don’t need to worry about a lot of stuff. You don’t even need to do a lot of research. All you need to be ready for is yourself, and that mixture of communication skills and confidence that we talked about earlier.

Common questions include: “Tell me about yourself” and “Of all the online teaching companies that you’ve heard of, why did you choose (name of the company)?” With a little exception to the second question, you don’t really need to do much research, do you?

In addition to interviews, there will be an equipment test in which some technical staff will unleash a kind of software within your computer so that its specifications and capabilities can be checked. Such a check will create a report about your computer’s RAM size, CPU speed, and internet speed. Once the system requirements are met, you will have a higher chance of getting hired, although your communication skills and attitude are really what they’re after.

Here's my list of companies that hire online teachers and how you can get hired easily.