The Teacher in an eLearning Environment

     Typically, when I used to think of a teacher in an eLearning environment, I thought of a faceless, voiceless entity that sent feedback, and posted a grade for work submitted. My thoughts instantly went to a distance learning program because that is what I was introduced to when I started taking nontraditional classes. My first exposure was a science class that was presented through the television. I had a book to read, a program to watch on a public broadcasting station, and I needed to visit a predetermined site to take tests. The teacher was there to answer any questions that I had, but for the most part, I went through the program, following the syllabus and turning in my assignments on time. The teacher in an eLearning environment may be more of a facilitator than a traditional teacher. Teachers in this type of environment may work with their students in a synchronous setting where they have some interaction with the students. Lessons are presented, students may instant message, Skype or use other means to interact with the teacher. Some students are expected to be online at a specific time of day; the teacher is also online and delivers the lesson on the computer. Other online programs have the student working at their own pace reading, watching or interacting with the lesson; but the teacher is not present online at the same time.  I find that many online programs deliver their lessons following this asynchronous method.  Both types of online classroom settings have all the material that the students need on their student page, articles are hyperlinked, homework is attached; the teacher has all this material ready to go when the class begins. Students are able to review and reread any materials that the teacher has placed in their “classroom”. The teacher is contacted by email, phone or even face to face if the program is in the same city as the student. Teachers must be sure their lessons are well constructed and easily followed since they are often not online with the students.  In an online environment, teachers have to be available to offer timely feedback, answer questions relating to their material, and even offer technical support if a student is having issues.

Teachers in a face-to-face environment have to perform many of the same tasks as an online instructor. They need to be able to answer questions, offer feedback and in some cases offer technical support. They also have many different challenges. In the traditional environment, teachers have to deal with interruptions to their day; specials, fire drills, classroom visitors. They must be able to deliver a lesson to the entire class, even if a student is acting out, sick, or just not ready to learn. Their delivery method is real time, and usually the lesson isn’t recorded or saved somewhere so the students can review it at a different time. The students are expected to “get it” the first time it’s delivered. Remediation is often offered at lunch, after school or in correspondence with the parent. Due to the tight schedule of the school day, there isn’t a lot of down time where the teacher can stop, answer questions and reteach the lesson. Individual instruction can’t take place because there are too many students and only one teacher. Some on-on-one time may be available if the teacher has an aide or an assistant. The main difference is traditional teachers are in front of the students, in the classroom at the same time. The lessons are often more teacher lead, with students following along, or answering the questions the teacher has predetermined. Both the online and face-to-face instructors are starting to change their method of teaching. Student lead instruction is emerging as the “new way” to teach. The students are more actively involved in the lessons and with just a brief introduction expected to explore the lesson with minimal teacher involvement. Some differences between the two types of delivery methods may disappear in the future with this new style of teaching. Teaching is going in the direction where students need to discover things, develop questions on their own, and struggle. Having a teacher in front of the class delivering a long, formal, verbal presentation is a thing of the past. Students will be expected to step up and take a more active role in their own learning.