Job Discussion Forums

[Hadit]

I was researching countries where one could pursue an online MA in, and was wondering if some people who are doing a program now or have completed one could state which country they did one from, what job they had at the time, and how many hours it entailed.

I was considering moving to China and taking a university position to complete one, due to the low working hours (12-20) and easier workload. My concern is possibly unstable internet there, and am wondering if anyone could recommend a good country and job position to get into while doing so. Thanks.

[naturegirl321]

I got mine from a uni in Spain. BIG mistake. Many employers won't accept degrees from non. English speaking cuontries. So after 2 years of course work, a year of a thesis, which I failed twice , I found out that I have to do another one. I'm looking at OZ, good rep for schools and decent prices.

China has decent internet, some sites are blocked. Ask about access to materials though. I had none and had to find everything online.

I was in Peru while doing so, worked at a uni and a school. It's just a matter of organising your time. Put your MA first and you'll be fine.

You can basiclaly persue an MA anywhere.

[spiral78]

I did mine while working in Canada, about 20 contact hours per week. No weekends (or many evenings) off for me! However, I had the luxury of writing my dissertation over a long summer in the Czech Rep, no work demands.

[Hadit]

I am very sorry to hear that naturegirl, as it sounds like it was a good program. I do not think that is a fair policy, but realize it is there to stop fraud.

It took me quite a while to know what OZ stood for! Although, I imagine OZ would be a pretty trippy place for language learning!

I saw on these boards that Smedini says he checked with the ME employer HCT and University of Southern Queensland is well respected, where he did his as a native Canadian. I've also heard that Leicester U wasn't too hard.

[naturegirl321]

eh, well, you live and learn. I'm now looking for an MA in APplied Lingustics, Curriculum design, etc. But not TEFL. Simply because I already have a degree in it, recognised or not. Also looking for one without a thesis. Will check out the uni of Leicester. And my first MA, don't know if I would call it "good"

[Sadebugo]

[jgmodlin]

[naturegirl321]

[Sadebugo]

[Chris_Crossley]

During my time in the People's Republic of China, I have gained an M.Ed. degree in Applied Linguistics and an additional MA in Education, both from the Open University (UK), both achieved via online and distance learning.

The master's degree programme in education (http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/qualification/f01.htm) is available worldwide, so those students resident outside the European Union will have to pay "worldwide" fees, although fees have yet to be set for modules (three of which must be completed for the degree) commencing in October 2010.

For me, it was a worthwhile investment in terms of both time and money, even though gaining the degrees has not led to any change in my professional circumstances given that, in my neck of the woods, I already have what I consider to be one of the highest-paying classroom teaching jobs that has nothing extra in terms of administrative duties or other responsibilities and the organizational hierarchy of the company I work for can be likened to a witch's hat - the academic principal is at the apex and everyone else is more or less on the brim of the hat.

Each module of the Open University master's degree programme entails between 14 and 16 hours per week of study, and the full degree entails a nominal 1,800 hours of study. There are, happily, no conventional written examinations to sit, but there are assignments submitted online for each module (usually three or four) plus either a project (which may or may not involve contact with students) or an end-of-course assessment (which does not necessarily involve such contact).

My M.Ed. degree even included two half-modules in e-learning that involved online collaboration with fellow students, so it was interesting for me to collaborate with students living in England, Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands on one project to produce an online "poster" about a particular style of online learning designed to appeal to hypothetical potential students considering studying at a hypothetical vocational college. It was great fun and I would thoroughly recommend the degree programme!

There is also an MA in Online and Distance Education (or MAODE in the university parlance), to which the aforecited two half-modules can also contribute, although the fees for these particular modules, which are applicable worldwide (including for students resident even in the UK), can be higher than those of other MA/M.Ed. modules.

[jdl]

Try Athabasca University. Link attached.
http://www.athabascau.ca/

Check out the accreditation tab

[Hadit]

That's great Athabasca is accredited by the U.S., but their course offerings don't appeal to me much:

http://www.athabascau.ca/calendar/grad/distance.html

The programs seem to be geared toward jobs in North America: they are all concerned with the distance learning process and the technology involved, rather than teaching English per say. Getting an online Masters in "distance education" reminds me of a fractal feedback loop, where there's no actual subject being taught lol: one will be distance teaching distance education (far out!). I suppose it is taken for granted one already knows how to teach the given subject with these programs.

What kind of jobs can one land from these programs? They seem divorced from subject matter too much as far as ESL goes.

[jdl]

Korea has a big distance ed market in ESL with many universities offering the distance ed/on-line alternative/complement in their ESL programming. Seems to be a demand at least in Korea for distance ed skills. Hope you find what you are looking for.

[cangel]

I did mine at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, way back in 1999-2000. At that time their online MSEd TESOL was in its infancy so taking it on campus was the only real option. The program has since blossomed and is available, I believe in its entirety, online.

http://www.su.edu/education/A11ABEE8BC9D4FD2B57D0D52D1E8415D.asp