Online Educator - undergrad nursing or MSN

[NGYSUN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if those of us presently working as a online/virtual educator or anyone with exprience in such area can share their experienc. What are the most challenging experience yuo ahve had? Any Pros and cons of the job? What skills are beneficial? How do you handle your hours at 'work'? How do you negotiate pay/salary?

Thank you in advance

[LilyRN99]

good question, i'm interested in finding out as well

[NurseMaddy0127]

Interested as well!

[llg, PhD, RN]

I've been teaching online since 2006 (part time in addition to a full time job working for a hospital).

Because I am an adjunct, there is no salary negotiation. They offer a certain amount (a little above the national average) and I can take it or leave it.

Some of my biggest challenges are:

1. Lack of tech support. I am on my own to figure out tech issues. There is the general tech support over the phone offered by the university to students, but nothing special because I am faculty. People with offices on campus get much more tech support (such as coming to their offices).

2. I find it sometimes VERY challenging to explain complex topics in writing, such as when giving feedback on a draft of a paper. It would be so much easier if I could just talk to the student for 10 minutes -- but having to write it all out is challenging and time consuming. I try to set up phone conversations for the toughest situations, but sometimes, students are not amenable to that.

3. Full time, on-campus faculty often have much more control over course content and situational decision-making. I have been lucky sometimes to be given a lot of leeway into running my own course. But sometimes, I am teaching just one section of a larger course and have to go along with what a course coordinator located on campus whom I have never met decides to do about a situation. That can be challenging depending on the quality of that course coordinator.

4. The lack of interaction/relationships with other faculty. Yes, there have been exceptions ... but it is harder to make friends and become close colleagues of the other faculty members when we only interact online on a very occasional basis. Having colleagues to share thoughts/issues/etc. adds to the quality of work life. Not having them decreases the quality of work life. Online relationships with other faculty can develop, but it is harder and less common.

5. Less interaction with students -- far less casual conversation, in-depth conversation, etc. with most students. Each semester, there are 2 or 3 who interact with me a lot and I feel I get to know them a bit. But most online students are interested in a relationship. There is no "chatting on break" ... or "lingering a few minutes after class" ... etc. I feel I know the online students far less than students I have taught in a classroom. That makes teaching less personal and less emotionally satisfying.

But all that said, it's a relatively convenient way for me to make some extra money -- and it gets me university library privileges (which is a major motivation for me.)