Teacher, Vocation & Technical
Comprehensive Sites
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Teachers—Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and SecondaryAn overview of teachers at most levels is presented at this page, provided by the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as information on career preparation, job pay, and sources of further information on related careers. Work environment, education, and training required are outlined, with links available to projected employment, according to teacher type and additional to links to the latest local earnings data. Go specifically to “Vocational Education Teachers” to find information on occupational employment and wages for different types of vocational teachers.
Education WorldThis site is a comprehensive vocational education center, including feature articles on becoming a vocational teacher, a guide to vo-tech high schools, and links to organizations that support the development of vocational education and training. Information on many vocations, from automotive tech to fashion, can be found.
TeachNet: Contextual TeachingA collaboration of the U.S. Department of Education and the Center of Education from the University of Wisconsin, this site discusses “contextual teaching,” which is a main strategy used by teachers who bring together the student knowledge with real-life situations. Teaching resources and organizations can be accessed, as well as study and research organizations that are focused on vocational and technical training.
Vocational Information CenterThis is a large collection of links related to vocational education and includes connections to associations, organizations, history of vocational education, components of the career, workforce preparation, and legislation regarding vocational education. You will also find state vocational resources, technical schools, teaching and curriculum resources, and professional and career certification programs at this single site.
Occupational Titles
Teacher
Career Educator
Technical Teacher
Vocational-technical Teacher
Vocational Technology Teacher
Accredited Academic Programs
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher EducationThis organization collects information on standards for public institutions and also has program reviews and state-by-state information on accredited institutions. There are many ways to become a teacher, and this site will inform you, not just about the traditional certification processes, but also the non-traditional routes. State protocols, job vacancies, and plenty of teacher education links are available.
Princeton Review: Teacher, College MajorsA variety of college majors would be good choices if you want to become a teacher, and this list provides you with a lengthy list of them. Click on your selection to be brought to a list of colleges and universities across the U.S. that offer your selected major. Access these schools individual websites for more program information directly from this site.
Salary Levels
Indeed.com: Teacher SalariesThe average salary of a teacher across the nation is displayed at the graph at this site, with additional graphs on the average salary of jobs with related titles.
PayScale: Teacher SalariesThis site offers a salary report for all teachers the U.S., as well as further information on salary according to years of teaching experience or employer type. You can also access links to information on salary by gender, certification, or the state you might be employed in.
Professional Organizations
American Federation of TeachersThis is a professional teachers’ union and offers economic, social, and professional advantages to teacher members. Hot topics in the field are discussed, and a legislative action center includes an online activists’ network. You can find useful tools, such as a salary survey.
Association for Career and Technical EducationGuiding principles of this organization include lifelong learning, competitiveness, and continual improvement of curriculum design in career and technical education. Visitors can view a “career cluster index,” which features breakdowns of different types of vocational training and the separate divisions of the association. The professional development link offers help for new professionals, including teacher tips for vocational teachers and a webcast series designed to show the latest in career and technical education.
Association for Skilled and Technical SciencesThis is a new organization for instructors interested in teaching skilled trades. You can find student assessment material here, other curriculum and instruction guides, a listserv, and current news.
Commission on Adult Basic EducationThis organization offers leadership resources for basic adult education, including conference details, a professional journal, and other sites to help educators become better at bridging the gap to literacy and promoting education in adults.
National Education AssociationThe National Education Association includes sub-sites for both teachers and students aspiring to become teachers. Go to the link for college students and find information on relevant news in the field, book discounts, and articles on teacher salary, studying to become a teacher, and toolkit discounts for student members. A map at the site offers instant beginning salary information for each state.
Licensing & Certification
Certification Requirements for 50 StatesThis site provides direct links to teacher certification requirements for all 50 states. Choose your state and be taken directly to the home page of licensing and credentialing requirements. These sites will also offer details on the steps to certification, types of certificates, alternative routes, and provisional teaching, where applicable.
Teacher Certification PublicationsYou can find teacher certification information for all 50 states at this comprehensive site, including requirements-at-a-glance for free as a reference guide to common facts about each state’s application requirements. Late-breaking changes are also offered.
The Praxis SeriesAt this site, you can find out about the rigorous and carefully prepared teacher assessments. The Praxis measures basic academic skills and is an important part of the public school teacher certification process. Here, you can sign in to an online registration and access a ticket for the test, order score reports, and, of course, find out all about the test. A free webinar is available to help prepare for the test, too.
U.S. Department of Education: Teacher Certification Resources by StateThis governmental website directs you to links, arranged by category and date, on the various state teacher certification programs that exist.
Job Opportunity Sources
Indeed.com: Teacher JobsSearching hundreds of databases, this site collects more than 30,000 teaching positions across the U.S. in one location. Here, you can browse positions by relevance or date posted, and narrow your search by keyword related to vocational or technical education.
Publications
Education WeekEducation Week contains an enormous amount of information for the would-be educator, including national news, online videos, topics in health, special education, and curriculum, blogs, chats, and transcripts, and plenty of free web learning conferences.
Journal of Career and Technical EducationOnline issues of this professional journal can be accessed here, the home page of a journal dedicated to teachers who specialize in vocational and technical career training. Each issue offers articles on the competencies and traits of successful educators, discussions of career aspirations, and curriculum assessment.
Teacher MagazineTeacher Magazine contains plenty of opinions on what it’s like to be a teacher, including information for you on the best practices of successful teachers and articles from all kinds of teachers.
Tech Directions MagazineThis is an online resource for vocational-technical teaching and includes information on career resources for automotive, IT, electronics, engineering, manufacturing, woodworking, construction, and much more. Information on current industry practice and products that will help you if you choose this career path are provided.
U.S. Department of Education: Academic SubjectsThis set of links, compiled by the U.S. Department of Education, connects you to publications and organization related to teaching across a variety of specialty areas, including arts, foreign language, health, science, history, geography, economics, and physical education.
U.S. Department of Education: EdPubsThis collection of publications helps you identify and order free or low cost publications in the field of education. More than 6,000 titles are available, including brochures, CD-ROMs, newsletters, and research reports. You can locate publications by audience type, education level, language, or subject, or view the list of the top 10 publications. This is a great resource for new teachers or students about to enter the field.
Online Forums & Blogs
Association for Skilled and Technical SciencesAt this site, you can go to a listserve, to connect with others who are interested in teaching in skilled trades. Simply subscribe by entering your e-mail address.
Education Week: BlogsBlogs at this site are combined from Teacher Magazine and Edweek.org and include the impact of politics on education, exploration of learning innovations and starting out as a teacher. If you go to BlogBoard, you’ll find “new and noteworthy” blogs that are really up-to-date.
Career Videos
Association for Career and Technical Education: Webcast SeriesMany of the webcasts at this page are free and are designed to present the latest developments in the field of career and technical education. Titles include coverage of planning and curriculum, school profile examples, a look into the law and how it impacts career education, tours of state-of-the-art facilities, and exemplary career and technical training districts.
TeacherTubeLesson plans, student video lessons, and teacher videos are available at TeacherTube, a large online collection of videos just for teaching. The most popular videos can be accessed, as well as most discussed and top-rated. Teacher Tube blogs, groups, and channels on different aspects of teaching are available. On the video search, type in the keywords for the type of career information you are interested in.
