The Role of The Instructor in Online Courses
My younger sister, who is nine years old, is currently taking an online course in public speaking. I accompanied her for two classes, and noticed something really different about her instructor. Instead of teaching, the instructor seems to be more like a facilitator, who assigns roles to all students, provides scripts to them, and let the students lead the discussion. My sister has ADHD and can be easily distracted, especially during an online course as I have observed during COVID. However, she has been performing exceptionally in this course.
Source: Comparing Facilitating, Coaching, Mentoring, and Teaching
This leads me to think about the role of an online course instructor: An instructor’s instruction style should adapt to different situations and audiences. My sister’s instructor adopts the facilitation style because young children taking an online course tend to have a shorter attention span. This means that the instructor adopting this style can foster an environment of stronger engagement and collaboration, rather than teaching, which may cause the younger children to be disinterested and bored.
But what about a digital space for older students? Other than being adaptive, what universal qualities does an online course instructor have?
Some Universal Qualities
One of the most essential qualities of an online instructor is communication clarity. In my sister’s example, the instructor took the chance to clarify at every point when students have questions. She has been quick in responding to any issues before moving to the next point so that every student is on the same page.
Another key quality is adaptibility. Online learinign environments come with unique challenges, including varied student engagement levels and technical issues. It may also be difficult to manage students when you cannot grab their attention in person. Therefore, an instructor needs to be flexible. In my sister’s example, the instructor uses Canva’s discussion board and Zoom’s whiteboard to gather feedback and adapt her style.
Lastly, empathy is also critical. In my sister’s course, younger children tend to be carried away in their discussion. The instructor, instead of stopping students from doing so, creates a supportive learning environment where she gives positive feedback to every child’s comments.
My Food for Thought
From my own experience with onlien courses, I’ve seen both successful and unsuccessful approaches. One instructor focused on engagement by initiating frequent check-ins using polls or Kahoot quizzes to ensure that students were always on task. Another instructor only cared about going through course materials and staying on time. He did not have time to listen to questions or providing personalized support. There is already a lack of real-time interaction in an online course; if an instructor does not take the extra effort to foster some kind of interaction, students will easily lose focus.
Therefore, I believe that the role of an online instructor is fundamentally provide an environment for students to learn effectively. If an instructor does not engage actively, take actions to adapt to different situations, or communicate clearly, students can feel disconnected, misunderstood, or unmotivated. Therefore, instructors should invest in digital tools to engage learners, adapt their instruction styles for different students, and empathize with students to create personalized learning experiences.
As you can see from the blog, you want to make your online courses interesting. Below is video about some effective technological tools you can use to make your course more interesting: