How to Become an Online Teacher in Nigeria

Every teacher will find online tutoring to be not only profitable but an easier business to deal with than the traditional way of teaching. Online teaching is becoming fast popular and developing rapidly with technological innovations and the use of the internet. Also, many Nigerian parents are becoming more comfortable with online tutoring than physical lessons. Just like becoming a teacher in a more traditional setting, an online teacher must have at least a bachelor’s degree in the course he or she wants to teach or preferably in education. For example, a chemistry teacher must have a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. This is a general rule although different states, organizations and schools have varying requirements. Having a teaching license increases your chances of obtaining an online tutoring job. Some online teachers do well at their job because they have gained experience in the classroom and have developed teaching techniques before starting online teaching positions.

Responsibilities of an Online Teachers

Depending on the organization you work for and a teacher’s specialty, the primary responsibility of an online teacher is to work with students on a subject or different subjects. An online teacher develops a lesson plan to be engaging for his or her students, administers tests, class works and assignments, and also grades these works.

What level of Students can be tutored online

Many parents now hire online private tutors for their kindergarten kids. However, in Nigeria, the larger part of online tutoring students are those in Junior and Senior Secondary schools. Many of these students are preparing for final examinations such as WAEC, NECO, or JAMB. Online tutorials are usually needed in the Sciences, Technology, Mathematics and English.

Requirements to Become an Online Tutor

Generally, an online tutor is expected to be a professional teacher or expert in a certain subject area. Below are credentials an online teacher should have:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Teaching certification or teaching experience.
• Master’s degree or Ph.D.
• Subject-specific certification.

Having any of these qualifications will give you an edge over other applicants and make you trusted by an organization or parent who wants to hire you.

How to Become an Online Teacher in Nigeria

Below is a guideline on how to set yourself up as an Online Teacher in Nigeria.

Take an Online Course Yourself

Before you start out as an online teacher, it will be beneficial for you to take a few classes online. You will find many websites with courses from experienced online teachers who will teach you how to go about online tutorials and be effective at it.

Be Professional

Even though online tutorials take place from the comfort of your home, you must not forget that it still is your job and must be professionally done. An online teaching job requires that you be at your best professional behavior. You will find that many online teachers dress up in professional wear even when teaching online, your dressing will have an impression on your clients (parents and teachers) and will also set the tone as a professional setting.

Register with an online tutoring company or website

There are tutoring companies where you register and work for them as a teacher. These ones provide the clients and all you have to do is teach. Usually, there will be an online form where you have to provide your credentials, basic bio information, profile photo, tutoring preferences, Identity card and other vital information.

Verification and approval of profile

The organization or website you are registering with will verify your details and approve your profile. This is to ensure the information you have provided is true. After verification, your profile will be made public to the students.

Get familiar with the online collaboration tools

Every online tutoring platform has tools to make the teaching experience seamless. Get familiar with the operations of these tools as they are vital to helping your students understand what you are teaching them. Online teachers taking subjects like mathematics that require calculations should have a digital writing pen and pad. Every good online teacher must be familiar with the software used for teaching so as to be able to use it effectively and avoid any technical issues that can interrupt the lesson.

Start tutoring

You can now start tutoring students online and making money

Make It Personal and Interactive

It is crucial that your online classes are interactive and the curriculum designed to meet the specific needs of each student. Bear in mind that each student has the best learning method so if you are teaching students individually, study them to ensure you are imparting knowledge the best way they can understand. If your teaching is irrelevant, you will lose clients and jobs.

Freelance Online Teaching

If you are a freelance online teacher who has to seek out clients by him or herself, there are things you have to do to retain as well as attract more clients. Read on below:

Update your profile

Regularly update your profile so that old and new clients can feel like they are onto something current. For example, include a video message to your old and potential clients in your profile. This will help mark you out from other basic content profiles.

Ask your students to give you ratings and reviews

Ratings and reviews from your previous clients should be on your tutoring profile. This helps to build trust and have more clients wanting to work with you.

Ensure your timing is favorable

Take into mind the time zones of your clients. If your available timings are inconvenient for the students, they will not book sessions with you.

Customer relations

As a freelance online teacher, you must respond to inquiries from your students on time and be responsive. This will make them refer you to other prospective clients.

Online teaching is an option every teacher or prospective teacher should explore due to its comfort and ease. If you take your job of teaching seriously, you will be successful at online teaching.