Nexus hires certified secondary school teachers for real-time online classroom instruction. Nexus instructors are responsible for enabling students to keep pace with in-school classmates by planning efficient lessons, instructing students on general course content in online sessions, and pacing the students through an appropriate workload to guarantee content mastery. Please remember that these students receive approximately one-fifth the instructional time of students attending in-school classrooms. For more information on any of the topics below, click on the topic.

Certification

All instructors are required to be professionally certified. Applicants must provide a copy of their state certificate(s) and display an expertise in their content area. Instructors work only in those states in which they are certified or have reciprocal agreements with the state in which they are certified.

Skills

Instructors must possess a set of pedagogical skills specifically related to e-learning. The most important of these are:

  • The ability to manage and instruct in a synchronous virtual classroom
  • Knowledge of asynchronous courseware conventions

To teach online, an instructor must have facility with classroom software, and the ability to shift their teaching paradigm to the online environment. Teachers must be familiar with a set of visual cues and conventions entirely different from those of a physical classroom. Teachers must engage students with changing images and text within the shared workspace. Software commonly used for these purposes includes Microsoft’s NetMeeting, WebEx, ILinc, iConfer, Centra, and Interwise. Nexus currently uses Centra as its synchronous teaching tool.  

In addition, Instructors must have proficiency in the delivery of asynchronous course content. Assignments, quizzes, reference materials and grades must be well organized within online courses for all Nexus students. Common asynchronous learning software includes Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle, IntraLearn, and Mindflash. Nexus currently uses Moodle for asynchronous courseware.

Equipment

All instructors are required to have a computer and microphone and/or headset. The computer should have:

at least 128 MB of RAM,
at least Pentium III processor,
a Windows 98 operating system or a more recent version,
800 X 600, 256 color screen resolution,
100 megabytes of free hard drive space
IE 5.0 or later,
and at least a 16 bit sound card.

Broadband connections such as cable or DSL are mandatory. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the Internet browser that works best with the classroom software. The AOL browser is not compatible with the classroom software. Nexus Learning provides all software necessary for online instruction. The computer, Internet connection and microphone are to be provided and maintained by the instructor.

Hours and Terms

Nexus Learning teachers work as independent contractors and teach from their homes according to a schedule that they elect. Instructors commit to a series of classes which are typically 1-hour long and meet 2-3 times a week on a consistent basis. If no students attend during a confirmed scheduled class period, the instructor is paid for 20 minutes of "on-call" time, and may log out at the end of the 20 minute waiting period.

Compensation

Instructors are compensated for time spent providing direct instruction and does not include prep or grading time. Hourly compensation is on a sliding scale that varies depending upon the number of simultaneous students in the classroom. The sliding scale is meant to reflect the fact that increasing numbers of students in the class means an increase in the grading and prep time. For more information on current rates, please email .

Materials

All books, materials and learning modules will be provided when available. In some instances books/materials/modules may not be available. In those cases, we require experienced teachers to be able to create and design dynamic lessons from the expertise in their certification area. Online texts are available to use as the basis of instruction when necessary.

Hiring Process

If you would make an exceptional virtual instructor and you would like to work for Nexus from your home, please begin the hiring process by downloading an employment application. (This is a .pdf file that requires Adobe Acrobat to print. Download Acrobat by clicking here.) After completing the application, please send it with a resume and copy of your teaching certificate by e-mail attachment, fax or mail according to the directions below. 

Before applying, please:
1. Review the required software competencies.
1. Consider the recommended computer proficiencies that are needed. 
2. Review the requirements for effective online teaching. 
3. Download and view the movie of the sample Latin class.

If candidate qualifications are suitable, references are contacted. Once references have been established, candidates are contacted by phone for a brief interview. After a successful interview, candidates are scheduled to demonstrate competency in the online classroom. Instructors are then assigned students according to the schedule parameters they have indicated. 

Nexus
195 Nassau Street
Princeton, NJ 08542
Fax: 1-800-556-3781