They say if you want an easier teaching load, teach online. Let me say this as kindly as I can: that is not true.
Yes, you may be enjoying teaching in your PJs on a Monday morning. But being an effective online teacher requires tons of prep — and nobody hands you the manual.
§2013: Moodle, a textbook, and an inbox on fire
I started teaching online in 2013 at Barstow Community College — part-time, while teaching full-time at Barstow High School. And like most teachers, I thought it was going to be easy. I don't even need to go to a classroom to teach!
It was not easy.
This was the Moodle era, and there wasn't much tech yet. "Teaching online" for me basically meant: tell students to read the textbook, assign the problem sets, and grade everything with a questionable multiple-choice assessment tool. Done.
I had no idea how my students were learning. I had no idea if I was any good. It was horrible. What I did have was email — tons of it, all day. "How do I access the homework?" "Where is the assignment?" Every possible question about the mechanics of the class, over and over. It was overwhelming.
§The turn: build it yourself
But that was 2013, and I decided to make a change. Three moves, in order:
1. I created my own videos. Not curated links to someone else's lectures — my own voice, teaching my own course. That library became the backbone of everything Numberbender is today.
2. I tailored my assessments to the units I was actually teaching. When your assessment comes straight from your own lessons, no student can ever say "you didn't even cover this" or "that's not in the video." The excuses disappear — and so do half the emails.
3. I moved to project-based assessment to combat online cheating. You can copy an answer key. You can't copy a project that asks you to show your own thinking.
That last one produced my favorite proof that the system works. When expectations are clear and the class has a real ecosystem, students don't just survive it — they start making content of their own. Here's a video one of my students made on how to get an A:
How to get an A — a guide to my online class, made by one of my students.
When the ecosystem is clear enough that students can make a video explaining how to succeed in it, you know the prep paid off.
§What actually works
The unglamorous answer: front-load the work — especially in your first semester.
When you put in the extra effort of covering the possible issues students will have before they have them, you get a manageable online classroom where students actually learn — and where the teacher doesn't spend all day answering "Where do I find the discussion task?", "Why did I get this 5-point deduction?", and "Why is my grade an F?"
Every hour of prep before the semester saves you ten hours of email during it. That's the real difference between online and in person — the work moves to the front.
§Online or in person, the job is the job
Teaching — traditional or online — requires hard work. It is never easy. And if you think it is, reality will slap you later. Come prepared.
The more you prep, the better you become as an online educator. It comes with experience, so enjoy the journey — and keep tabs on what is working for you and what is not, so you're a better online teacher every single semester.
There's no how-to book for this. But if you have the passion to serve, your heart will find a way to execute what your brain is envisioning for your class — no matter the teaching modality you're in.