Many teachers venture into teaching ESL online by using tools as SKYPE, MSN or Yahoo Messenger. Although these programs are quite popular and work wonderfully for chatting with friends and relatives, they're not the best choice if you're serious about teaching English online.

The main problem with using these programs is that they're not reliable and consistent enough to maintain voice conversations and streaming video. I often find that my students (and I'm not exempt either) get confused with the bell and whistles of the programs. Its frustrating to know which buttons to push to execute a simple action - especially if you're in the middle of your online class. Secondly, if you've ever experienced drop calls, poor video feed, garbled or robotic voices you'll know that half of the problem is not with your Internet provider, but with the number of users that loggin to these networks at any given time.

For example, I've learnt that even SKYPE, though a great VOIP program, has its limitations. For one, I don't like using the web cam feature. Video is bandwidth intensive and the technology is not fast enough to keep up with human moments. Because these network slow down due to the high number of online users, I try to teach when traffic on the internet is low in order to avoid the crowd. I teach in the mornings till early in the afternoon, than the sound quality starts to drop. At that point I usually sign-off, get some coffee or just play with our baby. I stop teaching completely because I don't want to give my students second rate service.

A new set of communication tools is emerging on the market in the form of VOIP and web conferencing ( http://www.tobyscafe.com/eslandtechnology/index.htm ) which promises to take online teaching to new heights. If you're still using MSN or Yahoo Messenger as a teaching tool, you should seriously look into the newer VOIP and web conferencing tools. VOIP and web conferencing is rapidly becoming the new communication tool not only on the internet, but for mobile users.

These programs are so popular and reliable that even businesses adopt them for personal meetings or group conferences. What makes these VOIP software unique is that they're not proprietary type software that will operate on only one network. This means that you can call other users using other VOIP software or platform. Another big advantage is that both VOIP and web conferencing software uses very low bandwidth. This simply means that you'll experience faster video streaming and little to no drop out calls.

Here are some simple approaches and tips for trying out this new technology:

When selecting a new VOIP or web conferencing software, make sure that you choose a program that is as simple and as flexible as possible to use. Concentrate on the end-user - your students - and not on the technology. If you find it difficult to use the technology yourself, you students are guaranteed to find it even more difficult.

Don't just go for the most popular tool, unless if the program offers voice and bandwidth speed that is up to par. I particularly like programs with only one or two functions, especially with web conferencing programs. That way I can concentrate teaching the subject rather than explaining to my students how to use the technology.

Finally before you start using a new program, make sure that you do a few test runs with the free trial versions for 1-2 weeks. This will usually give you ample time to evaluate if the software is suited to your needs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Toby Ung is the author of a site dedicated to helping teachers teach English online. The site contains 200+ articles and ready-to-use online lesson plans for private online tutors, technology reviews and much more. Visit http://www.tobyscafe.com for more information about teaching online English.