Instructor Presence

It is important to communicate the answer to that question to your students in some way. In the age of information it is your voice, humor, experience, and unique perspective that is most valuable to students. Instructor (teaching) presence is essential to an online learning environment. Online courses, by definition, physically separate students and instructors. Without substantial planning and dedication from the instructor to establish their online voice, that physical separation can lead to lower learning achievement and participation. To decrease attrition and increase engagement, it is important for instructors to communicate with their students and support a sense of community.

Know Your Audience

Online students can be quite diverse in terms of age, background, location, and motivation for learning, so instructors must consider the diverse needs of all students to properly craft instructional guidance. Surveying students at the beginning and during the course is a good way to know your learners. Additionally, student data available through the department and registrar may be helpful for course planning.

New Students, New Transactional Distance

Instructors who have taught the same course in a face-to-face format may find it tempting to reuse lecture content recorded in the classroom via lecture-capture technology and upload this to the online course for the new online audience. That is a practice to be avoided as it treats online students as an afterthought and alienates them. The online course content needs to be tailored specifically for the online students with direct communication and a personalized learning format.

Learn How

Visit the Content and Tools page for instructor presence tips and ideas to implement in your course.