Q:

Online/Distance Math Teaching

I am a math instructor at local community college. I am in mid 60's and in good health except for a minor mobility issue. Teaching is mentally very rewarding. Beside teaching, I am also tutoring students on Calculus by Skype in my spare times. In fact, I have a corner my home converted to a mini studio complete with big whiteboard, HD camera, special lighting, etc. Although I have only a few students right now but they all express great satisfaction with my distance tutoring for its convenience and flexibility.
In my thought of thoughts, I used to muse that, wouldn't it be great if I am able to work as adjunct online math instructor, such that I may still have a rewarding activity in my retirement years when my mobility issue become a major issue? I would like to make small baby-steps one at a time. But I do not have any distance teaching experience. I have been trying to gain a foothold in this online craft by applying to small part-time online teaching position but without success. Here are my two questions:
(1) Is there any prep that I can do right now to improve chance of getting hired in the future? Certification perhaps, but what certification? Maybe volunteering at a non-profit institution, but where?
(2) My understanding is that almost all online classes are either on BlackBoard or Moodle platform. Does this mean that my experience with Skype distance teaching is irrelevant when applying online position?
I would appreciate any help or suggestion from you. Thank you very much for you time.

A:

There is very little regulation with regards to online teachers, so you probably wouldn't need to get a certification. 
False! Not all online classes are on BlackBoard or Moodle. There's Khan Academy, Lynda, and a bunch of other spots online that are similar. Your skype teaching experience is also not irrelevant at all. A lot of these courses do "workshop" style classes, which are essentially group skyping. 

A few things about teaching online:

don't expect to be paid a whole lot
if you're looking for something lucrative, it can be way easier to join some sort of tutoring program than to teach traditional classes in an online setting with multiple students
most online teaching is now happening in a pre-recorded video format. Production values seem to keep getting better and better. Have you checked out MinutePhysics?
there are so many ways to teach online. If you're looking for a more standard university experience, plenty of universities have online programs. Occasionally these programs get outsourced, so I would look into the companies that they outsource to. The ones that don't outsource, of course, tend to hire in-house, but I feel like they would be open to a new application. Perhaps that's something to consider?

Anyway, I know this is maybe a less clear answer, but hopefully it will give you some ideas with regards to what your options may be.

