Book Review: 'Make Money Teaching Online'
October 16, 2009
Since 1996, The Bear's Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Education has been my definitive resource for all things related to online learning.
When I first read it, I became so enthralled with the concept that I ended up earning three degrees online, including an advanced diploma from Oxford University. I also wrote a dissertation while at Capella University about online education.
I still love that book, but now that I am the dean of online education for 12 campuses at Stevens-Henager College, I wanted more of the online story.
The book I consider to be that next step is, Make Money Teaching Online: How to Land Your First Academic Job, Build Credibility, and Earn a Six-Figure Salary by Dr. Danielle Babb and Dr. Jim Mirabella, published by Wiley Press (2007).
The authors open the book by discussing the challenges of teaching online. I took a deep breath and thought, "Good. This will be grounded in reality and won't be hype."
The book has real meat. For example, in a chapter about how to break into teaching if you have never taught before, Babb and Mirabella suggest listing any training that you have done at work or in the community under your teaching and training experience.
Another chapter goes through how to land a teaching position: don't go through the HR department, go right to the dean. They even give examples of cover letters you can send to the dean based on the different personal situations an aspiring teacher might have.
Another chapter goes into exquisite detail of all the electronic equipment that the authors are using to teach online, including exact brands and models of their computers, fax machines, printers, web connectivity equipment, and some stuff I had never heard of. The average online teacher won't need this much detail, but it is nice to know how to scale up.
Finally, I appreciated that the authors are a very unusual breed. They are "educational entrepreneurs" and really show the reader how to make teaching online a viable business.
The book's only real limitation is the lack of consulting from the authors. I emailed Mirabella, whom I had chatted with previously, to ask if this had changed since the book's printing. He responded that his co-author is now doing seminars and consulting on the book.
About the Author
Mark Welch, PhD, is dean of online education for Stevens-Henager College.
