by Steven N. Pyser, JD

Many educational institutions are offering distance education as an instructional option. Job opportunities for adjunct faculty are said to be growing; yet, some faculty are reluctant to venture online because of concerns about perceived preparation and time requirements. These timesaving tips are grounded in sound educational practice and organized around online instructor roles–pedagogical, managerial, social, and technical, as conceptualized by Dr. Zane Berge (Berge, 1995).

A. Pedagogical

1. Constructing a Learning Community

As an online instructor, your focus is building learning and pedagogy, and also encouraging independent scholarship in a cyber “space.” How do you create a dialogue with students, classroom buzz and interest to sustain participation while avoiding repeated instructor postings to jumpstart and perpetuate conversation? In The Courage to Teach, noted educational activist and “master teacher,” Parker Palmer, identifies an approach to pedagogical design that builds a teaching and stimulating learning space in which the voices of the individual and group are welcome. Your messages and online tone can help create fertile ground for hospitable and open discussion. Little stories of the students, the big stories of the discipline and tradition of the course materials must be honored. (Palmer, 1998, 74-77)

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