Competencies for the Online Instructor
There are several training courses out there to develop competencies for online teaching. Because I'm developing one such workshop, I started looking for research identifying competencies for online instructors. Here's what I've found so far. If any of you know of other resources, let me know.
Freely Available Resources on Instructor Competencies
I've bookmarked some of the following in Del.icio.us:
- IBSTPI General Instructor Competencies (PDF)
- Kathryn Ley's review of the book (IBSTPI) Instructor Competencies: Standards for FacetoFace,Online & Blended Settings by Klein, Spector & de la Teja:
- Southern University's Center for Effective E-Teaching and E-Learning has a little orientation for online instructors that includes competencies. Not clear what they're based on.
- Virgil Varvel of Illinois Online Network has this nice article in OJDLA, titled: Master Online Teacher Competencies.
- Competencies for Teaching Online, by Michael Spector and Ileana de la Teja, 2001. ERIC:
- Online Learning.net self assessment of readiness for online teaching
- I'm still sorting through the TenCompetence website to find instructor competencies from a European perspective There's so much good stuff here that I'm easily distracted.
- Competence Models in Technology-enhanced Competence-based Learning has some general competence definitions but I don't see any focus on the role of online instructor. Still, some good info here.
- An announcement from the Open University of Catalonia of a seminar called The University to hold an international seminar on e-learning competencies.
Books:
- Instructor Competencies: Standards for FacetoFace,Online & Blended Settings. (2000) Written by James D. Klein, J. Michael Spector, Barbara Grabowski, & Ileana de la Teja. Info at Information Age Publishing
- Instructor Excellence: Mastering the Delivery of Training (2007) by Bob Powers, William J. Rothwell. Info at Amazon
- Engaging the Online Learner: Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction (Online Teaching and Learning Series) by Rita-Marie Conrad, J. Ana Donaldson, Info at Amazon
- Teaching Online: A Practical Guide, 2d Edition by Susan Ko and Steve Rossen, Info at Amazon
- Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom (Jossey Bass Higher and Adult Education Series) by Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt, Info at Amazon
- The Online Learning Idea Book: 95 Proven Ways to Enhance Technology-Based and Blended Learning by Patti Shank (Editory), Info at Amazon.
- Murphrey, T.P. & Dooley, K.E. (2006). Determining eLearning competencies using Centra™ to collect focus group data, The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 7(1), 78-82
- Dooley, K. E., Lindner, J. R. & Richards, L. J. (2003). A comparison of distance education competencies delivered synchronously and asynchronously, Journal of Agricultural Education, 44(1), 84-94.
- Bossu, C., Smyth, R.,Stein, S. (2007) Academic Professional Development for Effective E-learning: A Possible Framework for Brazil. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, Vol. 2 Issue 4, p48-53, 6p.
- Darabi, A. Aubteen; Sikorski, Eric G.; Harvey, Robert B. (2006). Validated Competencies for Distance Teaching. By: . Distance Education, Vol. 27 Issue 1, p105-122,
Open Resources for Workshops
Larry Ragan at Penn State, with whom I began the quest for competencies years ago, has posted several modules at the Rice University Connexions open resources site under the title "Best Practices in Online Teaching." Go to http://cnx.org/ and search for "Ragan" to pull up all of these modules.
- Course Goals and Objectives (m14872)
- Getting Started - Create a Warm and Inviting Atmosphere to Build a Learning Community (m14877)
- Getting Started - Online Instructor Performance Best Practices and Expectations (m14878)
- Getting Started - Prepare for Success (m14871)
- Getting Started - Prepare Your Students for Learning Online (m14875)
- Getting Started - Specify Course Goals, Expectations, and Policies (m14874)
- During Teaching - Encourage Students to Regulate Their Own Learning (m14970)
- During Teaching - Model Effective Online Interaction (m15030)
- During Teaching - Assess Messages in Online Discussions (m15035)
- During Teaching - Deal With Conflicts Promptly (m15042)
- During Teaching - Monitor Student Progress and Encourage Lagging Students
- During Teaching - Promote Active Learning (m14977)
- During Teaching - Provide Feedback and Support (m15038)
- During Teaching - Sustain Students' Motivation (m15040)
- During Teaching - Understand the Impact of Multiculturalism (m15041)
- During Teaching - Use Evaluation Data (m15043)
- Pulling It All Together - Follow Intellectual Property Guidelines (m14976)
- Pulling it All Together - Introduction (m15044)
- Pulling It All Together - Manage Grades and Exams (m15045)
- Pulling It All Together - Manage Time and Workload Effectively (m15046)
- Pulling It All Together - Participate in the Online Teaching Community (m15047)
- Pulling It All Together - Teaching Blended Learning Courses (m15048)
- Using a Couse Management System (CMS) (m14873)