Teaching online isn’t just about recording videos and hitting upload. It’s a skill set that evolves fast-and if you’re not growing with it, you’re falling behind. Thousands of educators switched to online teaching during the pandemic, but only a fraction kept improving after the rush died down. The ones who thrived? They didn’t wait for their school to hand them a training module. They built their own path.
Start with What’s Working-and Fix What Isn’t
Before you chase new tools or certifications, look at your own data. How many students finish your course? Where do they drop off? What feedback do you get in surveys? One teacher in Glasgow noticed her students were dropping out right after the third module. She rewrote the intro, added a short video of herself explaining why the content mattered, and completion rates jumped 40%. That’s not luck. That’s listening.
Track your metrics. Use your LMS analytics. Watch which videos get paused, rewound, or skipped. Talk to your students. A simple email asking, “What part of this course felt confusing?” gives you more insight than any workshop.
Master Digital Pedagogy, Not Just Tools
It’s easy to think being good at Zoom or Canva makes you a great online teacher. It doesn’t. Digital pedagogy is about designing learning experiences that work in a screen-based world. That means breaking content into 8-12 minute chunks. That means building in active recall-quizzes, reflections, quick prompts-not just passive watching.
Studies from the University of Edinburgh show students retain 70% more when they’re asked to summarize a concept in their own words within 24 hours of learning it. That’s not a trick. It’s how the brain works. Start using weekly reflection prompts. Ask students to record a 60-second voice note explaining one idea from the week. You’ll see deeper understanding-and fewer confused emails.
Build a Personal Learning Network
You don’t need to go back to university to level up. Join communities. Follow educators on Mastodon or LinkedIn who are doing work you admire. Comment on their posts. Ask questions. Attend free webinars hosted by institutions like MIT Open Learning or the Open University. Don’t just consume-participate.
One teacher in Belfast started a monthly Twitter Spaces chat for online educators. Within six months, she was invited to co-present at a global EdTech conference. Connections like these don’t come from buying a course. They come from showing up, sharing honestly, and helping others.
Get Certified-But Choose Wisely
Certifications can open doors, but not all are worth your time. Skip the $500 “Master Online Teaching!” packages from random platforms. Look for credentials backed by universities or respected organizations.
- ISTE Certification for Educators - Focuses on tech integration, student engagement, and ethical digital use.
- Coursera’s Teaching Online Specialization - Offered by the University of Illinois. Practical, peer-reviewed, and free to audit.
- EdX MicroMasters in Online Education - From MIT and other top schools. More rigorous, takes 6-9 months, but looks great on a CV.
Don’t collect certificates. Collect skills. If a course doesn’t make you better at designing assignments, giving feedback, or keeping students motivated, skip it.
Specialize to Stand Out
Generalist online teachers are everywhere. Specialists get hired first. Are you great at teaching math to teens via video? Build a reputation there. Do you help adult learners with digital literacy? Create a niche. One educator in Manchester started offering weekly live Q&As for adults returning to education after 20 years out of school. She now has a waiting list.
Specialization doesn’t mean narrowing your audience too much. It means becoming the go-to person for a specific group with a specific need. That’s how you command higher rates, attract better clients, and feel more engaged in your work.
Teach Others to Grow Your Own Skills
The best way to solidify your knowledge? Teach it. Start small: host a free 30-minute workshop for other online teachers. Write a short guide on “How I Handle Disengaged Students.” Offer to mentor someone new to online teaching.
When you explain your process to someone else, you spot gaps in your own thinking. You also build credibility. A teacher in Glasgow began publishing monthly tips on Substack. Within a year, she was hired as a consultant by a national curriculum body. Her writing didn’t make her famous-it made her trusted.
Track Your Progress Like a Business
Keep a simple log: every three months, ask yourself:
- What new skill did I learn this quarter?
- What feedback did I get that changed how I teach?
- What’s one thing I stopped doing because it wasn’t working?
- What’s my next goal?
That’s it. No fancy software. Just reflection. One educator in Dundee kept this log for two years. At the end, she had a clear record of growth-enough to negotiate a promotion at her college. She didn’t wait for someone to notice her. She showed them.
Don’t Wait for Permission
The biggest myth? That you need your employer to approve your development. You don’t. You can learn on your own time. You can build a portfolio. You can start a blog. You can join a peer group. You can redesign your course structure on weekends.
Professional growth isn’t a box to check. It’s a habit. The most successful online educators don’t have perfect setups. They have consistent routines. They show up. They tweak. They ask for help. They keep going-even when no one’s watching.
Do I need a degree to advance as an online educator?
No. Many top online educators don’t hold advanced degrees. What matters is proof of skill-student outcomes, teaching portfolios, certifications from recognized programs, and feedback from learners. Employers and clients care more about what you can do than what’s on a diploma.
How much time should I spend on professional development each week?
One to two hours is enough to make real progress. That’s one podcast during your commute, 30 minutes reading an article, and 30 minutes trying out a new tool. Consistency beats intensity. Five hours in one weekend won’t stick. Thirty minutes every Tuesday will.
Is it worth paying for online teaching courses?
Only if they’re focused on pedagogy, not tools. Avoid courses that promise “quick mastery” or sell you software. Look for programs that teach you how to design learning, assess understanding, and build community. Free options from universities like MIT, Stanford, or the Open University often outperform paid ones.
Can I move from teaching part-time to full-time online?
Yes. Many educators transition by building a personal brand-offering private tutoring, selling mini-courses, or consulting for schools. Start small: create one paid course on Gumroad or Teachable. If it sells, scale it. Keep your day job until your online income covers your bills. Then make the leap.
What’s the most overlooked skill in online teaching?
Feedback design. Most teachers give feedback after assignments. The best ones build feedback into the learning process-through peer reviews, self-assessments, and quick voice notes. This keeps students engaged and reduces burnout for both sides.
What Comes Next?
Don’t think of professional development as a checklist. Think of it as a rhythm. Learn something small. Try it. Reflect. Adjust. Repeat. The path isn’t linear-it’s a loop. And the more you loop, the stronger you get.
If you’re feeling stuck, start today: open your last course. Find one module that feels flat. Rewrite the intro. Add a question. Record a 90-second video explaining why it matters. Send it to five students. Ask what they thought.
That’s not a big change. But it’s a real one. And real changes-small, consistent, and student-centered-are what turn good online teachers into great ones.
Comments (13)
Mbuyiselwa Cindi November 20 2025
Love this breakdown. I started tracking drop-off points in my course last month and found students were bailing after the quiz section. Turned out the questions were too abstract-so I added real-life examples from my students’ own fields. Completion rate went up 35%. Small tweak, huge difference.
Also, the voice note reflection idea? Genius. I’ve been doing that for my adult learners and their engagement has skyrocketed. No more ‘I don’t get it’ emails-just honest, messy, human explanations.
Krzysztof Lasocki November 21 2025
Oh wow, another ‘just record videos and you’re done’ guru finally admits online teaching is HARD. Took you long enough. But seriously-this is the most useful thing I’ve read all month. No fluff, no ‘buy my course’ spam. Just real talk.
Also, the part about not waiting for permission? That’s my life story. I redesigned my entire curriculum during lunch breaks while my kid napped. Now I make more teaching online than I did at the community college. Fuck permission.
Henry Kelley November 23 2025
Yessss. I was just telling my buddy yesterday how I stopped caring about Zoom backgrounds and started caring about how long people stayed in the chat. One guy kept rewinding my 8-min explainer on quadratic equations like it was a TikTok. Turns out he was a single dad learning math to help his 14yo with homework.
So now I add a quick ‘why this matters’ at the start of every module. Like, ‘This isn’t just for your test-it’s for helping your kid not hate math.’ Game changer.
Also, I spell ‘pedagogy’ wrong all the time. But I know what it means. So there.
Victoria Kingsbury November 24 2025
As someone who’s been in EdTech since the LMS was still called WebCT, I’m thrilled to see someone finally calling out the tool-worship cult. It’s not about Canva templates or breakout rooms-it’s about cognitive load management, scaffolding, and metacognitive prompts.
And yes, the Edinburgh study on active recall? Valid. But you’re missing the meta-analysis from UCL on spaced repetition’s effect size (d=0.87). Also, voice notes? Great, but consider adding a transcription layer for accessibility. Otherwise you’re excluding neurodivergent learners. Just saying.
Also, Mastodon? Cute. Try joining the #edtech Twitter space on Thursdays. That’s where the real action is.
Tonya Trottman November 25 2025
Okay but who wrote this? It’s like someone took a TED Talk and gave it to a 16-year-old with a thesaurus. ‘Build your own path’? Wow. Groundbreaking. You didn’t mention the 2019 meta-study by Chen et al. on self-directed PD efficacy. Or the fact that 73% of ‘certifications’ in the article are either expired or from predatory institutions.
Also, ‘record a 60-second voice note’? That’s not pedagogy-that’s performative teaching. And why are you recommending Mastodon? That platform has 0.0003% of the user base of LinkedIn. Are you trying to make educators look like they’re stuck in 2014?
Also, ‘don’t wait for permission’? No shit, Sherlock. My 8-year-old knows that.
Rocky Wyatt November 26 2025
Look, I’ve been doing this for 18 years. I’ve seen it all. You think your ‘voice notes’ and ‘reflection prompts’ are magic? Nah. The real reason people succeed? They had connections. They knew someone. They got hired because they went to the same grad school as the dean.
None of this ‘track your metrics’ crap matters if your school doesn’t like your vibe. I had a teacher who did everything right-data, feedback, micro-credentials-and still got passed over because she didn’t laugh at the chair’s jokes.
This whole post is just toxic positivity for people who don’t know how the system actually works.
Santhosh Santhosh November 27 2025
I come from a small town in Kerala where internet is slow and students often learn on mobile data. I tried recording long videos and realized 90% of them never finished. So I started breaking everything into 3-minute chunks, with a single question at the end-like, ‘What’s one thing you’ll try today?’
And you know what? Even if they only watch 2 minutes, they remember it. Because it’s not about the content length-it’s about the moment of connection. One student wrote to me: ‘I watched your 3-minute video while waiting for the bus. I finally understood fractions. Thank you.’
I don’t need a certification. I need to keep showing up. And I do. Every day. Even when I’m tired. Even when the Wi-Fi drops. Even when I’m not paid. Because someone, somewhere, is waiting for that 3 minutes.
Veera Mavalwala November 28 2025
Oh honey, you’re talking about ‘specialization’ like it’s a yoga retreat. Let me tell you what real specialization looks like: I teach single moms in rural Tamil Nadu how to use Excel to track their home-based stitching business income. I don’t give them ‘reflection prompts’-I give them templates they can screenshot and send to their husbands.
And guess what? They don’t care about MIT. They care about whether their kid can eat tomorrow.
So stop talking about ‘pedagogy’ like it’s a TED Talk. Some of us are out here turning education into survival. And yes, I’ve got a waiting list. And no, I didn’t need a certificate. I needed grit, a WhatsApp group, and a damn good Wi-Fi signal.
Natasha Madison November 29 2025
Who funded this? Big EdTech? The same people who sold us ‘learning management systems’ that track every keystroke? Now they want us to ‘build our own path’ while their algorithms harvest our data?
And you recommend Mastodon? That’s owned by a guy who hates women. And you’re telling educators to ‘show up’? What if they’re survivors of abuse? What if their students are being monitored by the state?
This isn’t empowerment. It’s exploitation dressed up as inspiration.
Sheila Alston December 1 2025
I appreciate the sentiment, but this whole piece feels like a corporate wellness seminar. You talk about ‘not waiting for permission’-but what about the educators who are contract workers with no sick days, no benefits, and no time? You think they can ‘rewrite their intro module’ after working three jobs?
Real talk: the system is rigged. The people who wrote this probably have tenure. Meanwhile, I’m teaching 120 students a semester on a $3k contract. My ‘PD’ is reading your article while my toddler screams in the background.
Stop glorifying hustle. Start demanding fair pay.
sampa Karjee December 2 2025
It’s amusing how Western educators romanticize ‘self-directed learning’ as if it’s a universal virtue. In India, most online teachers are hired as gig workers with zero institutional support. Your ‘monthly Twitter Spaces’? Most of us don’t have Twitter. We have WhatsApp groups and 2G networks.
And your ‘MIT MicroMasters’? That costs $2,000. My salary is $150/month. So forgive me if I don’t ‘collect skills’-I’m just trying to collect rent.
This article is not for us. It’s for the privileged few who can afford to ‘tweak their course on weekends.’
Patrick Sieber December 4 2025
Love this. Real, no-BS advice. I’ve been teaching online since 2016 and the one thing that changed everything? Asking students: ‘What’s one thing you wish I’d explain differently?’
One kid said: ‘You talk too fast. I need you to pause like you’re waiting for me to catch up.’ So now I do. I pause. I wait. I let the silence breathe.
That’s not a pedagogical theory. That’s just being human.
Also-MIT’s free stuff is gold. I used their ‘Designing Online Learning’ course to redesign my entire program. No certificate. Just better teaching.
Krzysztof Lasocki December 6 2025
Wait, you said you’re using voice notes? I just tried that and my students started sending me voice memos of their cats meowing. One kid sent me a 2-minute recording of his dog barking at a squirrel. I thought he was being lazy. Turned out he was practicing tone modulation for his audition. I didn’t even know he wanted to be a voice actor.
So now I ask: ‘What’s something you’re learning outside of class?’
Turns out, the best teachers aren’t the ones with the fanciest LMS. They’re the ones who listen to the weird stuff.