What’s being an online teacher like? That’s a very common question I get asked whenever I say I teach online classes. To be fair, I always answer the same thing: “It’s pretty good,” because it is. However, not everything is that “pretty good,” and today I will tell you what I think are some of the most complicated things about being an online teacher.
Places
The beach, the mountains, the comfort of my own house, I can teach anywhere I want…can I? well, no. Many people think this is like being a Marketing Agent or a Software Developer who can work from anywhere. But we, as teachers, can’t do that because we need to keep our background free of distractions and our sound quality has to be great, meaning no weird background noises.
Yes, you can set up a virtual background, and you can use the noise-cancellation feature of some platforms like Zoom, but still, it’s better to work from an environment that is suited to providing a well-paced and structured class.
This is my point of view, and I consider that classes where the teacher is at the beach are disrespectful to the students. I understand that some students may take the class from the beach, but hey, they’re paying for the class and they can take it from wherever they want. Of course, they can be sitting at home in a specific area so they can focus on the class more than what’s around them, but you, as a teacher, can tell them that.
So, I prefer to be in a spot where I can look professional for my classes and where I have no interruptions because the students are paying for a high-quality service, not a random meeting to guess where the teacher is.
With this, I am not saying that we cannot go out and teach from anywhere. Remember that everything in excess is dangerous, so maybe from time to time you can have a class from a different place just to change the routine and use the environment to your benefit and do some activities with your students.
Background noise and distractions
Sometimes we cannot control background noises like dogs barking, sirens, family, or people yelling. This is very common in El Salvador, where the houses are like small apartments but instead of being in a building, are located in places called “Residenciales” or “Colonias,” and you can basically hear what your neighbor is doing, if you pay a lot of attention and if the neighbor is loud.
I have a way to deal with all of that: using a headset that has noise canceling on the microphone and also the Noise Canceling feature from Zoom or Google Meet. Both combined block background noises like dogs barking and loud neighbors very well.
To be honest, I always check my recordings to see if my video looks good and to check the audio. If I had a moment where the audio cuts off or I hear a noise coming from the other end, I try to make sure that the next class has those issues solved.
Internet issues
Working from home is nice until you get an internet disconnection, especially for all of us who work online. I have had many. I even got FTTH (fiber to the home) internet to reduce the number of issues. It did reduce them a lot, but the router is so bad that it doesn’t handle the bandwidth properly when several devices are connected and creates a bottleneck that makes the devices have a low connection or slow speeds.
I have several devices connected to the Wi-Fi, and that’s why I decided to upgrade my router to the Xiaomi AX3000T, and I don’t regret it. This router makes everything smoother, especially when I am streaming games from Nvidia GeForce Now.
What does it mean for an online class? Smoother connection, and you will avoid students telling you: “You’re breaking up,” “Can you repeat, please, because your video is pixelated and you sound like a robot.” Now, if they can’t hear me, it may be because of their connection and not mine.
Slow speeds, not being able to browse, and intermittent disconnections are issues that affect us on a daily basis. That’s why having a stable internet connection is key to giving a very good class and avoiding frustrating your students by disconnecting all the time.
Slow PC performance
Our main tool for working is a laptop, a desktop, a tablet, or a combination. I use a laptop and a tablet because I like to use the tablet as a whiteboard to write. I think classes are more dynamic like that than only using a presentation. Again, this is what I do, and it doesn’t mean that what other teachers do is wrong; I am just saying what I feel more comfortable with.
When I began, I had a Dell OptiPlex desktop that I bought several years before starting to teach online, and it had Windows 10 on it. Later, I changed to Linux Mint and finally ended up using ChromeOS Flex because the 16GB of RAM and the Intel i5 (4th generation) were not able to run many apps without a lot of waiting, even with the SSD.
In 2023, I jumped from the PC to a Redmi Pad Pro with a 12.1-inch screen, and until now I still use it. The tablet was more than enough for me to teach classes; it helped me a lot. But recently, I needed a more comfortable and a bit more desktop-like experience, and that’s why I was so happy when Apple announced the MacBook Neo, because I could get a MacBook without spending thousands of dollars.
What I am saying is that investing in a really good PC or laptop is a game changer for your teaching performance because you feel better about it and you feel motivated to use it every day with the intention of getting the best out of it in every single class.
Conclusion
No matter where or how you teach your classes, you have your own style that makes you unique, and there’s always something new that we can learn to improve our classes. All the things I mentioned affect my everyday lessons. Sometimes I want to teach from a café; some days I just don’t want to go out. My days are different, and I hope yours are too. Remember that the most important thing is that you feel great teaching your classes.
If you are the type of teacher who teaches from a different place all the time, it’s fine because that’s the way you are, just let your students know ahead of time so they don’t feel uncomfortable. And if you are more like me, and prefer to stay at home, well, make sure you have a good internet connection.
Whatever your style, you can always improve it and take your classes to a higher level so more students come to you. Try to minimize the things that may affect your performance in class.
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