What are the attributes of a successful online instructor?
As in the case of the criteria for success in online instructors, the personal and professional attributes of good teachers are also substantially consistent as between the online and traditional teaching environments. Specifically, the most successful teachers tend to be those who are the most passionate about their profession, the achievements of their students, and of their subject matter. Successful teachers make the necessary effort to ensure that their course work is interesting to students. This can be more challenging online, simply because teachers do not have the benefit of as much data, such as in the form of real-time student responses that they can observe. Similarly, the ability and willingness to make themselves as accessible as possible to students is crucial to success as any kind of teacher.
Successful online teachers must...
They must be able to visualize how substantive lessons translate into the virtual medium and make the necessary adjustments to teaching practices to maximize learning. The online environment also requires teachers to be good at humanizing the course by interjecting personal elements, by responding promptly to students, and by providing feedback and guidance that is genuine and meaningful. Ultimately, there are more similarities than differences between what attributes are most important for good teachers in traditional and online environments; the latter just requires the application of certain different skill sets and practices to ensure the highest possible benefit to learners.
