Teaching online from foreign country?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by c130nav, Dec 4, 2005.

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  1. c130nav

    c130nav New Member

    Is it possible to teach online from a foreign address? Is there any rules applied by the schools that would forbid this? Also what would the logistical concerns be?
     
  2. Susanna

    Susanna New Member

    I provide students with a phone number and specific office hours in case they run into any hurdles and want to discuss them over the phone. I doubt students would want to call you if you are located overseas...a somewhat logistical as well as financial concern. I haven't heard about any specific policies on this issue. Interesting question!
     
  3. PatsFan

    PatsFan New Member

    Howard may have some input on this. I believe he is an advisor for for SATS and lives in the U.S.
     
  4. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    Yes - The example that I am familiar with is University of Maryland - University College. I know a poli sci professor that lives in London while teaching online classes.
     
  5. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    If the student is in the US, and the prof is in another (non-US) country; and if the prof can secure a high-speed (cable modem or DSL or fractional T1 or equivalent) Internet connection at his home (or can access one at an office where he works), then a VoIP service (like Vonage, for example, just to name one... there are several others that have popped-up now, since Vonage blazed the trail) could resolve that problem rather nicely... and cheaply.

    All the foreign prof would have to do is establish a Vonage account in the US with a phone number in the same area code (and, preferably, with the same exchange) as the US university at which he's a prof; but have the Vonage phone equipment shipped to the prof's home in the non-US country. Vonage may or may not frown on that, so it's possible the prof would have to get the help of someone who is physically located at (works at) the university to pretend that he's a tenant in a spare room in their home and have Vonage ship the equipment there, then the university employee ships said equipment to the prof.

    Once he's connected the Vonage phone equipment to his high-speed Internet connection, and has gone through the steps of getting the phone registered and fired-up, any calls made to the aforementioned US phone number will travel through the Internet straight to the prof's home... for free. Er... well... there's a $24.95(US)-per-month flat fee that one pays to Vonage; but there would be no overseas long-distance between the US number and the prof's home in the foreign (non-US) country. If the student was not local to the US number, the student would pay long-distance to the prof's US number, but it would stop there. The hop from the prof's US number, overseas, to the prof's home, would be the VoIP part... and would cost nothing (i.e., would be included in the $24.95/month price).

    And it would work in reverse, too... which, for the prof, might be the most attractive part of it. Whenever the prof, in the foreign (non-US) country picked-up the phone and heard dialtone, it would be the same as if he had picked-up the phone and were hearing dialtone in the city in which the US university is physically located. In other words, the prof in the foreign (non-US) country could pick-up his Vonage phone and dial, for free, any number that's normally a local call from the US university. And any number that's long-distance from the university would only be charged as if it were a long distance call not from overseas, but merely from the area code and exchange of the US university.

    For those having trouble getting their minds wrapped around what I'm saying, let's say we have this situation:
    • The university is in Chicago, in area code 312... in fact, the Chicago university's phone number is (312) 555-9846; and,
    • the foreign prof -- let's call him Nigel -- who teaches distance learning classes at the Chicago university actually lives in London; and,
    • Nigel's good buddy is Lenny; and Lenny lives in Chicago and works in the offices of the Chicago university; and,
    • the distance learning student -- we'll call him Bobby -- lives in Mooseballs, Montana; and his phone number is (406) 555-1243.
    Okay... so... all the prof (Nigel) has to do, first, is make sure he can get DSL or a cable modem connection (or some other really fast/high-speed Internet connection) at his home in London.

    Nigel then calls his buddy, Lenny, in Chicago; and Nigel tells Lenny that he's gonna' order a $24.95/mongh Vonage number; and that he's gonna' tell Vonage that when he's in the US, he rents a room from Lenny; and that he wants the Vonage number to use whenever he's in the US and living in Lenny's spare room.

    Lenny agrees because Nigel assured him that Vonage will require that Nigel pay the bill each month using his VISA or MasterCard, so Lenny will never be liable for anything.

    Nigel then calls Vonage and orders the phone line. He tells Vonage his little lie that he and Lenny have agreed to; and tells Vonage to ship the phone equipment to Lenny's house. When Vonage asks Nigel what area code and exchange he'd like his new Vonage number to be in, Nigel specifies a 312-area-code number, and, if it's available, the same exchange that the Chicago university uses for its phone numbers. So let's say Vonage then gives Nigel the Chicago number (312) 555-6731.

    A few days later, Lenny gets the phone equipment from Vonage. Lenny then takes it to the UPS store and ships it to Nigel in London.

    Nigel receives the Vonage phone equipment from Lenny, and connects it to his DSL line or cable modem connection in London; then goes through the quick steps of registering it and getting it all fired up. Nigel knows it's working when he can pick-up the receiver and hear a dialtone.

    So then Nigel, from London, starts teaching his very first distance learning course at the Chicago university. The first student who has a problem and needs to speak with Nigel on the phone is young Bobby, from Mooseballs, Montana... which is an affordable long-distance call to Chicago... but is a prohibitively expensive call to London.

    But Nigel has told all his students that if they ever have a problem and need to speak with him on the phone, they should call Nigel (only during certain hours, of course) at his Chicago number (312) 555-6731.

    So young Bobby watches the clock until the appointed hour and picks-up his phone in his mom's kitchen in Mooseballs and dials the Chicago number 1-312-555-6731... and pays a reasonable US long-distance fee from Mooseballs to Chicago.

    Suddenly Nigel's Vonage phone in London starts ringing. He answers, and Nigel and Bobby have a good long chat. Said chat costs Bobby only the long-distance from Mooseballs to Chicago; and the cost of the call traveling as data packets through the Internet from Chicago to London is included in the $24.95 that Nigel pays Vonage each month.

    They talk for nearly an hour, but by golly young Bobby got his problem resolved... er... well... almost. There's just one thing that Nigel's got to check on -- with Lenny -- and then he'll call Bobby back and tell him what he found out. They hang up.

    Lenny, in the meantime, has slept through all of this since none of it is happening in his house (Vonage only thinks it is); and because in order for young Bobby to reach Nigel during morning business hours in London, young Bobby had to get up at 3:00 AM... but Bobby's young and resilient and life's-a-bitch-and-then-you-die.

    Nigel then waits a few hours for Lenny to get get up and get to work; and then he (Nigel) picks-up his Vonage phone and listens for a dialtone so he can call Lenny in Chicago. Since Nigel's dialtone in London is, technically, as if he had just picked-up the phone in Chicago, he dials Lenny as a local, seven-digit call 555-9846... as if Nigel were in Chicago. Lenny answers, Nigel gets from Lenny the information he promised to get for young Bobby, and they hang-up. No overseas long-distance from London to Chicago.

    Nigel then picks-up his Vonage phone in London so he can call young Bobby in Mooseballs, which is a long-distance call from Chicago, so Nigel must dial 1-406-555-1243. Were Nigel not on an unlimited long-distance Vonage plan, all he'd pay is normal US long-distance from Chicago to Mooseballs. But he is, so it costs nothing more.

    Young Bobby answers the phone in his mom's kitchen; Nigel gives him the information he promised. Young Bobby is pleased and thanks Nigel for the help... and tells him, while he's at it, that this is the best distance learning course he's ever taken! They hang-up.

    Nigel cannot believe how freakin' cool this is.

    But wait... it gets cooler. Turns out Nigel's brother, Heathcliff, lives in the states... in Atlanta; and they (Nigel and Heathcliff) love to talk on the phone... but don't often do so because long-distance between Atlanta and London is just too expensive.

    Now that Nigel has a Vonage number, however, there's a flat $5/month solution to that problem. All Nigel does is contact Vonage and tell them that he wants to add another local phone number to his Vonage account... one in Atlanta. Vonage says, "Okay... that'll be $5 more per month... for a total of $29.95 per month." Nigel agrees, and Vonage then assigns him the additional number in Atlanta (404) 555-9128. This means that Nigel can now tell people in the US that they may call him in London by dialing either the Chicago number or the Atlanta number.

    Nigel then picks-up the Vonage phone in London and calls his brother, Heathcliff, in Atlanta. Because it's a long-distance call from Chicago, Nigel dials 1-404-[whatever Heathcliff's home number is]; but because Nigel's got the unlimited long-distance plan, there's no actual long-distance that's added to his Vonage bill. If he didn't have that, then only the normal US long-distance from Chicago to Atlanta (not London to Atlanta) would apply.

    Nigel then tells Heathcliff that any time he (Heathcliff) would like to call Nigel in London, he (Heathcliff) need simply dial the local Atlanta number (404) 555-9128. Heathcliff doesn't understand, but it works so he just shuts up and enjoys the ride.

    And so our story ends with young Bobby passing his course; all of Nigel's students in the US can reach him relatively cheaply (and at little cost to Nigel); Heathcliff and Nigel can talk anytime they want for comparatively nothing; and Lenny's sleepin' like a baby.

    Ain't technology sumpin'!
     
  6. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    ADDENDUM:

    I should add that Vonage used to prohibit, as a matter of policy, doing what I've described, above; but Vonage didn't actually use the technology available to it to enforce the prohibition. It may now be doing so; or it may no longer have the prohibition. I haven't looked at the site in a while to check. And, that gives me occasion to also add that if any of my prices are wrong, it's only 'cause I haven't looked at the Vonage site in a really long time and no longer know exactly what they're offering or precisely what they're charging. I'm just quoting/explaining from memory.

    But my larger point is: If Vonage has a prohibition against doing what I've described, don't do it. It's not ethical. Other VoIP providers are copying Vonage's pricing scheme (or bettering it) and are hungry for the business -- and are more creative and open-minded -- and may, therefore, allow a situation such as I've described above, where Vonage might not.

    I only described the hypothetical situation as I did, above, because I wanted everyone to understand how it worked. If Vonage, because of its policies, is not the right vendor because you'd have to be unethical in order to use it, then find another VoIP vendor that will allow it. Don't be unethical.
     
  7. Tim D

    Tim D Member

    I am going to touch on two subjects, the economics of hiring foreign adjuncts and VOIP.

    I think the possibility of foreign adjuncts in DL is becoming more and more real. In the "Global economy" it would benefit especially the for-profits like Apollo and Laureate to hire "foreign" Adjuncts and I'm not talking "Nigel" in London either. It could be very possible to hire Mahatma over in India and pay him far less then the average US adjunct. There is nothing saying they have to reside in their home country. It would increase profit although there may be some (limited) communications and cultural issues the savings and a bit of understanding on the students, school and teachers. This of course would cause adjuncts (due to increased supply) to make even less then they do currently.

    Now as far as VOIP, I would like to add to what Gregg was saying. I remember back in 1995?-2000? When everything on the internet was free there was a free service(although I no longer remember the name of the service) that allowed free Long Distance (inside the States) I knew a tremendous amount of Aussies using the service to ring places in the US(it sure beat the international LD charges). I suppose the point of this story is That what Gregg is saying is VERY feasible! Now remember, Vonage is not the only VOIP provider and it they have certain restrictions there most likely will be one that will not. For the record VOIP technology has improved tremendously since that time and it's not the quality of the VOIP services we used in 1997?.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 4, 2005
  8. Susanna

    Susanna New Member

    Now that's being creative... :D

    but...

    hold on...

    ...Nigel didn't tell young Bobby that he was actually living in London instead of Chicago so young Bobby wonders why it is that he can only reach Nigel during the night. So, young Bobby asks Nigel during their next phone conversation at which time Nigel tells him that he is a night owl and despises working during the day. Bobby grows more and more frustrated with Nigel's strange hours and consequently stops calling him. Bobby eventually passes the class but he feels gypped and decides to complain to the administration. Lo and behold the administration has had many other complaints about Nigel's late office hours. A class action lawsuit is filed against the university because students did not have "reasonable" access to the instructor as was promised. The end. :p
     
  9. Tim D

    Tim D Member

    Alternate ending....Nigel readily admits he is from the UK. Bobby passes the class but is not happy and complains to the administration. The administration saving so much money using Nigel and others around the world drop the requirement that faculty has to be available via telephone. Instructors now only have to be available via Email and possible (not required chat session). When Bobby tries to file suit no one will take the case because there is no basis considering the change in policy of the administration. Bobby so frustrated with this moves to Idaho and opens his own mill and grants himself a PhD.
     
  10. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Some American DL schools restrict the faculty hiring to US residents or citizens but you can actually be located anywhere in the planet. Some american schools are open to Canadian citizens and residents as some american DL schools have campuses in Canada and some are open to anyone in the globe.

    UoP and Devry are only open to US citizens or residents while schools like Jones International are open to anyone in the globe.

    As for the logistics, I personally use Webphone.com to have an American area code phone number that could be reached anywhere in the planet by a student when I travel. The student dials up a number that can have an area code of your original place of residence but you actually will be answering from a computer with an internet connection.

    Some schools require you to have a US address to receive books and mail, this could be easily achieved by getting yourself a mail forwarding service with a US address. The main issue is that some schools require you to have an american Social Insurance Number while others don't.

    In short, if you have an American SIN, you could easily teach at any school in the US even with a foreign address thanks to the help of the internet and mail forwarding services.
     
  11. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    Laureate already hires people in India. As indian universities start to get global recognition, it would be more common to see faculty holding indian PhDs and teaching online from their home country. At the end of the day, the student only cares that his or her professor is an expert in the field. I must say that indian professors tend to be very strong in some areas like Information Technology and Engineering.

    Although Laureate already hires indian professors, the salary rates haven't decreased as they also want to keep faculty from other countries. At the end of the day, they just want to attract the best regardless of their nationality or place of residence.
     
  12. Guest

    Guest Guest

    I'm in Western Canada. University I'm doing my thesis for is in an EU country. My advisor is in France/Greece (depending on the day of the week -- in any given city). One external examiner is in South America. The other is in Melbourne.

    So far -- it hasn't been a problem. What's going to be a real pain is organizing a coherent viva voce that doesn't leave someone half-asleep due to timezone differences. And I'm not looking forward to the cost-of-communications this will incur -- since the mininum length is 1 hour -- and the bill will be on my head.
     
  13. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    Re: ADDENDUM:

    This what the 'softphone' option that vonage offers is for. Pay an extra $10 a month and you can make calls from anywhere in the world from your PC. Packet 8 includes softphone for free I think.

    Either way, when I got to Tokyo this month, I'm going to bring my Vonage box just to see if it works. Don't really need to since I have the softphone, I'm just curious if it will work.
     
  14. dlkereluk

    dlkereluk New Member

    As far as I know, our MBA programme has mentors from the US, and if memory serves me correctly, from overseas as well. According to a blurb on their website, the AU MBA programme "...is able to employ faculty from virtually anywhere. Our current teaching faculty consists of approximately 70 academics who reside in, and work from, locations around the world. Academic teaching faculty (known as 'coaches' to our students) provide a 24 hour response time to students enrolled in their courses."

    (Source: http://www.mba.athabascau.ca/Titan/aucimwebsite.nsf/AllDoc/7C0E4119E187121987256BF900681C78?OpenDocument)
     
  15. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Socialist Insecurity Number

    Agreed. My observation is that Keiser College's eCampus requires faculty members to be authorized to work in the U.S., but doesn't require them to be in the U.S. so long as they have U.S. based addresses and phone numbers.

    -=Steve=-
     
  16. joi

    joi New Member


    Hi QuinnTylerJackson:


    The viva voce examinations can be conducted over the phone????

    JOI
     

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