Reading Article: Leading the Band - The Role of the Instructor In Online Learning For Educators

Online learning is often highly regarded as a practical medium for adult learning because it offers anywhere, anytime instruction. Since the advent of the Internet and other ICTs, learning through such medium has been given a lot of attention and this has also spruced up much research in the assessment of online learning. This form of learning has also changed the traditional learning environment which we usually refer to traditional face-to face situations.

This article makes one reflect on the role played by the instructor in an online learning environment, because this role is multi-faceted and the teacher takes on the following roles:

1) Planner - the teacher organises the content materials and states clear expectations from the beginning (just like what a teacher does in a traditional classroom!)
2) Model - participants stressed the importance of shared learning and equal footing of student and instructor online, but they would also like the instructor to set a good example and adhere to formal protocol, such as replying to posts and comments on time and giving useful feedback.
3) Coach - the teacher is also expected to challenge, engage and question students in the virtual community, while giving students moral support too.
4) Facilitator - it was widely agreed upon that the teacher will take a long time to establish a climate of cooperation and understanding among respondents. It is very student-centered, and as a facilitator, most students felt that instructors must be well-trained in this mode, to faciliate online discussion, displaying good mastery of content knowledge, directs discussions well and gives equal opportunities to everyone to voice their comments.
5) Communicator - the teacher must have the ability to foster communication and collaboration with students, and be sensitive to signals/ cues which are not easily assessed due to a lack of face-to-face interaction

General Discussions And Verdict On Online Learning:
The online instructor's role is multi-faceted and he is no different from a typical classroom teacher. In fact, it takes a lot of mastery and skills to be an effective online instructor because of the many roles that he takes. One important aspect that I have to bear in mind is that if I want to embark on online teaching, I must make sure that discsussions, once launched, must be kept alive and going, in order to stimulate learning and discourse. Also, for an effective online environment to take place, one must bear in mind that it shares many parrallels to a traditional classroom setting - that people still value a safe, inclusive and comfortable environment where their views are valued and respected, despite the lack of face-to-face interactions, where peoples' actions are more easily scrutinised, and also, online learning offers a new channel for people with different levels of self-direction.