2010 « Money In Your Jeans

Archive for 2010

Teaching Teachers How To Create Online Material

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

I deal with teachers who are quite happy to teach ‘old school’ – doing the same old, same old – and if that works I am happy for them. Most of those teachers wouldn’t even dream of attempting to sell their educational materials online. This post is not for them!

This post is for those of you who have made the decision to at least explore the idea of creating online material. It is for those who see the potential of the world wide web and education 2.0.

So, where do you start?

First of all you need a topic or subject that you think will generate interest (and in turn generate sales). This does not necessarily have to be related to traditional topics found in the typical school. Yes, if you have a unique approach to math, science, language arts, social studies, etc. you should be able to find a market for your lessons or courses. But, think outside of the classroom, so to speak. Is there a subject that you are an expert in that you could turn into an option course for students? (Put your business thinking cap on: schools are cutting back available on subject options…do you see where I’m going?). Is there a subject that you could design for interested adults. Don’t just limit your ideas from the classroom…THINK BIG!
Now you have to brainstorm all the possible lessons that you could generate from your chosen topic. Write the topic in the middle of a sheet of paper, then write anything that comes to mind. Once you have exhausted all possibilities, prioritize them.
The next step is to do a wee bit of market research.”But I’m a teacher, I know nothing about marketing ,” you say, “Relax it isn’t as difficult as You make it out to be.” Start out by listing all the words related to your chosen topic. Then go to Google Keyword Tool and enter your list of words (follow the instructions). This will give you a good idea of how many people have searched for those words in the last month or so.
You have now narrowed down your topic. It is now time to create learning objectives for the course.
Start creating your course – I prefer to write things out on paper first; it tends to get the creative juices flowing, but pick whatever works for you.
Finally, you have to put the course online, that is the topic that I will be tackling next time. Stay tuned…

This article is the third in a series of articles geared toward educators who want to learn how to make dough from what they know. To subscribe to Money In Your Jeans click here.

Tags: online course creation
Posted in How Teachers Can Make Money Online | 5 Comments »

Teachers Are You Getting Paid What You Are Worth?

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Let’s face it, teachers are grossly underpaid for what they do. Most teachers wear several hats in the classroom – social worker, nutritionist, police officer, and psychologist; sometimes they get to teach.

There is something definitely wrong with a society that pays athletes obscene amounts of money; yet it is unwillingly to reward teachers for the valuable work that they do. I wonder if society will eventually see the value that teachers provide in the traditional classroom.

Times They Are A Changin’

Technology makes it possible for teachers to finally be paid what they are worth. As mentioned in my previous article, technology allows you to reach a much wider audience than you can in traditional settings. You are not limited by the number of seats in a classroom. Rather anyone with an internet connection can readily access what you have to offer.

The internet is the world’s biggest library – any topic that you can think of is stored somewhere in the ether world and is available at the simple click of a mouse. However; this library is run by the world’s most incompetent librarian – the search engine. Enter a term in a search engine, and it will spit out thousands, if not millions of links to the search query; it may or may not be what you are looking for. People simply don’t have the time nor the patience to sift through such information.

What does that have to do with teachers being underpaid? Teachers can offer their services online for a fee. I can just imagine what some of you are saying: “I’m a classroom teacher. I know nothing about teaching on the internet.” If you believe that, then you will continue to be grossly underpaid. Those of you that understand that knowledge is the new gold – people will actually pay for your expertise (math, science, social studies, languages, knitting, beer making, etc) – will understand that technology can help you to do what you love and get paid what you are worth.

Useful Websites

Now that I’ve whet your appetite, you’re probably asking yourself how to go about getting your services online. If you don’t know where to turn to you’ll find yourself spinning your wheels and getting nowhere.

If you are interested in putting your own stuff online, I’d suggest that you check out WiZiQ – it’s a good starting point for those that have an idea of what they want to teach online.

For those of you that have no clue as to how to market your services online, I strongly recommend checking out Third Tribe Marketing (affiliate link). I have been a member of Third Tribe since February 2010; it is the best education that I have received about internet marketing.

Stay Tuned

Hopefully, I have provided you with some food for thought. There is more to come…stay tuned.

This article is the second in a series of articles geared toward educators who want to learn how to make dough from what they know. To subscribe to Money In Your Jeans click here.

Tags: Teachers make money online
Posted in How Teachers Can Make Money Online, Online Teaching | No Comments »

Thinking Outside of the Classroom

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

The internet and its related technologies are changing the way in which education is delivered. Gone are the days of sitting in neat little rows of desks, and hanging on to every word the teacher spoke. Technology allows students to learn anywhere at any time. What does that mean to teachers that have the slightest entrepreneurial inclination? Plain and simple, there are countless opportunities for teachers to make dough from what they know.

Reaching a Worldwide Audience

The internet allows you to reach a worldwide audience. Think of it this way; there are more people on the internet than in your classroom. Suddenly your audience grows from 30 students in your classroom to hundreds, even thousands of potential students in your virtual classroom. These students are willing to pay for what you have to offer.

Think outside of the classroom for a brief second. Imagine if you charged each student a fee for your online educational services. Let your imagine run wild…

How much would you charge per student?
How many students would take your course?
How much could you earn?
Could you supplement or replace your income?

The Possibilities Are Endless

Technology allows you to teach what you want, when you want, and how you want. These are a few examples of how you can use technology to make money from what you know.

Some teachers post their lessons plans online and sell them to other teachers for a fee. If you’ve spent any time in the classroom you’ll understand how much time and effort is put into good quality lessons plans. Now, imagine selling your best lesson plan online. There are teachers who are willing to pay for this. One of my colleagues, paid $25 for a unit plan of a novel study last year. The unit plan was 70 pages (PDF). It included worksheets and other learning activities. Personally, I would have charged a lot more than $25, but imagine if 100 teachers buy your lesson plan – you’ve made $2500 (Think back to all the times that you have given lesson plans to fellow teachers. Imagine how much money you would have if you would have sold those lessons).
Some teachers tutor online. Imagine tutoring students from around the world. Tools such as Skype make it possible for you to tutor from the comfort of your own home. Internet technologies, such as PayPal, make it possible for you to collect fees from your students.
Some teachers offer specialized courses online. If you teach in a specialized field this might just be for you.
Some teachers design online courses and sell them to various vendors. A word of caution: not all vendors pay top dollar, but there are some that pay very well.

Technology will change the way in which teachers will make a living. Yes, the traditional classroom will continue to exist, but those teachers that want to reach a larger audience are beginning to use the power of the internet to earn money. The possibilities for teachers to make money online are endless.

This article is the first in a series of articles geared toward educators who want to learn how to make dough from what they know. To subscribe to Money In Your Jeans click here.

Tags: online tutoring, sell lesson plans, Teachers make money online
Posted in How Teachers Can Make Money Online | 6 Comments »