FAQs
Click on the FAQ categories or scroll down to review answers to frequently asked questions.
SERVICES
How do I get started?
Pick-a-plan that’s right for you and then look for an email within one business day of your paid subscription with instructions. Complete and return the form then we’ll get your classroom space reserved. It’s that simple.
What is the minimum length of service contract?
Service plans are monthly so you can do as little or as much as you want.
Where will my courses be located?
All Silver and Gold level classrooms are located at our EnteractivElearning™ web site. Platinum level sites are located at a unique web site address of your choosing.
If I sign up for one classroom, does that mean I can teach only one class?
You get one classroom in which you can, at any one time, teach one class or one “package of courses” marketed as one class. If you want to teach more than one course concurrently, consider additional Silver level classrooms or the Platinum service.
Can I upgrade or downgrade my service plan?
Yes. We realize that your needs may change over time. Plans are monthly so we will pro-rate your service if you change service plans mid-month.
If I start with Silver or Gold service, can I move my classes to a Platinum site later?
Yes. As your online course business grows so do your needs. We’ll gladly move your courses from the main learning portal to a Platinum site keeping all of your content intact.
Can I have a custom URL redirected to my Silver or Gold classroom?
Yes. You can purchase a URL or web address and have your registrar forward your URL to your Silver or Gold level classroom located at our EnteractivElearning™ web site. If you need a URL, you can purchase one at many registrars or click here to visit TeacherEtools.com to buy URLs for about $10/year.
Can I see a demo classroom?
Yes. Click here to visit the What’s an Online Classroom page to learn more about the online classrooms or click here to visit a demo classroom.
COURSE SALES & REVENUE
How do I make money from my course?
You keep 100% of the money you charge for your course with Silver, Gold and Platinum standard subscriptions.
How much should I charge?
Silver, Gold and Platinum standard subscribers: You decide. Really. That’s it. No tricks. No gimmicks. Interested learners contact you directly, pay you and you keep all the money. It’s that simple.
PLUS subscribers: Charge at least $10/student in your classes and we’ll process your payments for you.
Can I have You Can Teach Online™ collect payments for me?
Yes, if you do not want to handle payment processing, choose the PLUS service from You Can Teach Online™ and we will process payments for you. The PLUS payment processing and enrollment service (25% of your course fee) is available at both Silver and Gold levels.
Do I need a PayPal account?
No. You can arrange to receive payment from your students any way you wish. If you sign up for the PLUS service and would like to receive payments via PayPal instead of by check, we will gladly facilitate payment to your PayPal account.
MARKETING
How does my course get marketed?
You’ll want to include links to the course on your web site, in your email signature, direct mailings and the other methods you currently use to market your services. Your course(s) will also be listed in the Online Learning Catalog at the classroom site.
Can I advertise my course before I sign up for your service?
Yes. How and when you choose to advertise your course is totally up to you. You absolutely can start advertising your course before you sign-up with us on your web site, in email and print marketing, at speaking engagements and other venues in which you currently market your products and services. Assuming you have all of your content ready to go already, we recommend leaving at least a month to build your course just to ensure you have time to get acquainted with the system, enter all of the content and review before going live.
COURSE DEVELOPMENT
Do you offer help for me to build and teach my class online?
Yes. In addition to a classroom template, Silver subscribers have access to online reference materials and a community room to interact with fellow subscribers. We also offer Gold and Platinum subscribers access to our professional team of You Can Teach Online™ instructional design and teaching coaches. And, if you prefer, our instructional designers can even build your course(s).
What computer and technical skills do I need to teach online with You Can Teach Online™?
You don’t need extensive technical skills to build a course and teach online. You’ll want to have some familiarity with Internet browsing, searching, word processing, cut and paste, email, and switching between windows and applications.
As long as you are connected to the Internet, any computer should work and we find that the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers work the most smoothly.
Can I offer live and recorded classes?
Yes. You can offer both synchronous (live) and asynchronous learning activities. And if you want to embed or include recordings of you rlive sessions, e.g. webinars or teleconferences, you can put these in your classroom too! While the learning management system itself doesn’t have this feature, our expert coaches can connect you with free services that enable you to include these type of learning materials in your class.
Do you have a way to videotape my lessons or would I have to get a video camera myself?
You decide how you want to deliver the lesson content and video is one option.It is our experience that video is neither expected or necessarily a one-size-fits-all option. A You Can Teach Online™ learning coach can help you determine the best approach based on your content and audience’s learning styles. If you decide to include video, you can do so using footage from a video camera or even a web cam (very popular and inexpensive).
How will I communicate with my students (clients)?
Your course may have both synchronous (events and activities occurring in real-time, e.g. chat sessions) and asynchronous (events and activities that take place at different times, e.g. discussion forum) components.
How much effort is involved in building a course online?
Effort and time to develop a course varies from person to person and is dependent upon several factors including:
- Level of previous experience teaching online.
- Quantity of content (e.g. readings, lectures, activities, presentations) already developed.
- Course format. In general, SELF-STUDY courses require more up-front work to create the course than FACILITATED courses. Once built, SELF-STUDY courses require less hands-on (if any) work as students study on their own while FACILITATED courses need the instructor to actively engage with students requiring active and ongoing efforts.
Gold level subscribers have access to our team of coaches for assistance. We also offer course building services where our experienced designers will put your content into your course for you.
Assuming you have all of your content ready to go already, we recommend leaving at least a month to build your course just to ensure you have time to get acquainted with the system, enter all of the content and review before going live.
TEACHING ONLINE
What are the benefits of teaching online?
There are many! Here are a few key ones
- Reach a much larger audience than face-to-face trainings and seminars.
- Stay at home more (travel less!).
- Attract new clients.
- Increase interaction with current clients.
- Add value to consulting services.
- Enhance your skill-set and communication skills.
- Earn more money.
From our experience, one of the major strengths and benefits of online learning is itsasynchronous nature. While webinars, teleconferences and live chat sessions have their place, not everyone can attend a synchronous event at a scheduled date and time or may get pulled away at the last minute and not attend. Teaching online is convenient for learners and teachers.
Plus, you could include recordings of live events (e.g. teleconferences) in the online classroom for students to listen to if they missed the session or review if they wish to go back over the content. Online asynchronous learning allows people to, as we say, Review. Reflect. Remember™ in ways that cannot be done in a live session.
What makes an effective online teacher?
Experience has shown that the most successful online course experiences for students and instructors depend on the expertise and dedication of a well-prepared online instructor. When a course is organized and you’re comfortable navigating the online learning environment as well as interested in each learner’s success, the overall online learning experience is highly successful for all. In fact, many people say that online learning is a richer learning experience than face-to-face seminars, workshops and classes.
How is teaching online different from teaching in a traditional classroom setting?
A traditional training environment relies upon face-to-face time with participants. In today’s world people are increasingly busy and not only appreciate the opportunity to learn online, they commit more time and energy to doing so. This means that you get real mind-share, one-to-one and directly with each of your learners.
You’ll find that many of the activities that you use in a traditional classroom can even be transformed into online formats.
What credentials do I need to teach online?
None. You’re already an expert. Ask yourself these questions: “What do I love to do?” “What am I really good at?” What is it that people have told me, “You know so much about that!” or “You should go into business with that!”
Maybe you already have a book, do trainings, speak at conferences, conduct seminars, write a blog, etc… Teaching online is merely a new means of sharing the knowledge that you have with others.
What if I’ve never taught before?
We realize that while you’re an expert, this online teaching-thing can be new. You may have never taught or even shared your expertise with others. If this describes you, don’t worry! Tap and engage our talented education and technology team… they listen, guide and help you weave together the best online components for ensuring convenience and learning. We can develop entire courses or a whole school for you too!
If you are new to teaching online and have decided to teach a facilitated course, you may wish to limit enrollment to 10 – 15 students (you can have up to 50 at one time!) until you get comfortable teaching online and then gradually increase the number based on your comfort level and availability.
How much time should I allocate once my course is built?
This will depend upon the type of course you decide to build:
- Facilitated Courses are a great way to interact with students (your clients). Once you start teaching your course, you should log on a minimum of four times per week to participate in your classroom discussions and interact with your students. Plan to spend up to twelve hours per week teaching your online course, depending on the assignments and topics. Even though the course exists in a virtual space, the additional time commitment to build a successful learning environment is real.
- Self-study courses, on the other hand, are not collaborative in nature. In other words, students (your clients) do not generally interact with one another and may even have limited or no direct interaction with the you. They interact mostly with the content you’ve provided. While this type of course requires more work initially, once it is developed you can essentially make money while you sleep.
Will I have opportunities to connect with other online teachers?
The online Lounge is available for networking and the exchange of ideas with fellow online instructors. This is a place to share teaching tips, discuss successes or chat about online experiences. You’re able to visit, contribute to this online space and learn from others here as much as you’d like.
GENERAL
I already have a website. How is this different?
In general, without knowing the capabilities of your current web site, the You Can Teach Online™ service is an online learning management system designed to facilitate learning activities. This includes hosting of various forms of content; online textbooks, video, audio and documents in various formats, discussion forums, online chat, plus multiple learning activities including but not limited to testing/quizzing with automatic grading option, assignments, gradebook, automatic certificate of completion generation and many more functions. Click here to learn more about the classrooms and see a demo classroom.
Who retains the rights to my courses?
You do! You Can Teach Online™ does not claim any intellectual property rights or copyright ownership for any of your courses or the materials within them.
What can I teach?
You Can Teach Online™ is committed to providing a safe and professional environment for both instructors and learners. You may teach most any topic in which you have expertise. Please see the Terms of Use.
Can anyone take my classes?
Students under the age of 18 may NOT be learners in your online course. The online classroom site is for adult learners only. Please see the Terms of Use.
How many students will be taking my course?
As with most of the decisions regarding your online course, this is completely up to you. You may choose to format your course with on-going enrollment or specific start/end dates. You decide how many actively enrolled students can be in your course at any time. If you are new to teaching online and have decided to teach a facilitated course, you may wish to limit enrollment to 10 – 15 students (you can have up to 50 at one time!) until you get comfortable teaching online and then gradually increase the number based on your comfort level and availability.
Isn’t a book deal better than online classes?
Getting a book deal is a big deal. And, if you are a really big name in your industry you can command top dollar deals. For most of us, once you get a publisher to publish your work, expect to earn about 10% on a book sale. For most people, that’s $1-$3 a book.
An online class however, especially if you create self-study ones where people learn on their own timeline without much interaction with you, are another deal (make money while you sleep!). For example:
Book:
Retail price: $25 (We had to pick a price and this seemed reasonable)
Less Publisher’s fee: $22.50 (90%)
Amount you earn on each book: $2.50 — Get 10%!
Online Self Study Course:
Your course price: $50 (just a sample, charge more or less if you like)
Amount you earn on each course: $50 — Keep 100%! (w/a Silver or Gold Standard subscription)
What technical assistance is available?
The You Can Teach Online™ team provides technical assistance to you and your customers (students) through email, phone and live chat.
What kind of information is collected?
Please see our Privacy Policy to learn more.
