The Excellent Online Instructor

The Excellent Online Instructor is a guide for new and seasoned faculty who teach online, those responsible for training and developing online instructors, and administrators who must evaluate online faculty performance. This comprehensive resource describes the qualities of and explains how one can become an excellent online instructor. Written by Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt noted experts in online instruction the book Includes models based in adult learning principles and best practices Offers guidelines to test instructors' readiness to teach online Contains ideas for overcoming faculty resistance Reveals how to develop an effective mentoring program Shows how to establish a long-term faculty development effort Praise for The Excellent Online Instructor "e;Palloff and Pratt have a profound understanding of the online educational milieu, its complexities and challenges as well as the potential it opens up to serious educators dedicated to exploiting its full value. Practical and down-to-earth strategies are at the core of what the authors offer the reader in this engaging book."e; Michael J. Canuel, CEO, LEARN Quebec "e;This book examines best practices for effective online teaching and instructor engagement and provides a concise plan for faculty development and effective training methods. Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt have provided another essential resource for the field of online teaching and learning that is a must-read for anyone working with faculty or teaching online in either higher education or K 12."e; Kaye Shelton, dean, Online Education, Dallas Baptist University "e;Whether you are guiding departmental faculty or looking to improve your own online skills, Palloff and Pratt provide practical steps, tools to organize your processes, best practices to emulate, and valuable resources to help you achieve excellence online."e; Lynn Olson, dean, Graduate and Professional Studies, St. Joseph's College Online

The Excellent Online Instructor is a guide for new andseasoned faculty who teach online, those responsible for trainingand developing online instructors, and administrators who mustevaluate online faculty performance. This comprehensive resourcedescribes the qualities of and explains how one can become anexcellent online instructor. Written by Rena M. Palloff and KeithPratt--noted experts in online instruction--the book* Includes models based in adult learning principles and bestpractices* Offers guidelines to test instructors' readiness to teachonline* Contains ideas for overcoming faculty resistance* Reveals how to develop an effective mentoring program* Shows how to establish a long-term faculty developmenteffortPraise for The Excellent Online Instructor"Palloff and Pratt have a profound understanding of the onlineeducational milieu, its complexities and challenges as well as thepotential it opens up to serious educators dedicated to exploitingits full value. Practical and down-to-earth strategies are at thecore of what the authors offer the reader in this engagingbook."Michael J. Canuel, CEO, LEARN Quebec"This book examines best practices for effective online teachingand instructor engagement and provides a concise plan for facultydevelopment and effective training methods. Rena Palloff and KeithPratt have provided another essential resource for the field ofonline teaching and learning that is a must-read for anyone workingwith faculty or teaching online in either higher education orK-12."Kaye Shelton, dean, Online Education, Dallas BaptistUniversity"Whether you are guiding departmental faculty or looking toimprove your own online skills, Palloff and Pratt provide practicalsteps, tools to organize your processes, best practices to emulateand valuable resources to help you achieve excellenceonline."Lynn Olson, dean, Graduate and Professional StudiesSt. Joseph's College Online

List of Figures and Tables ixPreface xiAcknowledgments xixThe Authors xxiPART ONE The Excellent Online InstructorONE What Are the Characteristics of Excellent OnlineTeaching? 3What Does the Excellent Online Instructor Look Like? 5The Importance of Establishing Presence 7Engaging Learners and Creating Community 9Excellence in Course Development 10Providing Effective Facilitation When Teaching Courses Developedby Others 11Good Facilitation Online:What Is Involved? 12Key Points That Define the Excellent Online Instructor 13Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 14TWO Phases of Development 16Faculty Readiness to Teach Online 17The Phases of Online Faculty Development 20The Key to Understanding the Phases 28Faculty Mentoring for Online Teaching 29Dealing with Faculty Resistance 30Key Points Regarding Training Needs and Phases of Developmentfor the Excellent Online Instructor 33Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 34THREE Elements of Training for Excellence 35What Does Good Faculty Training Look Like? 36Online, Face-to-Face, or Hybrid:Which Works Best? 41Who Should Conduct Training for Online Teaching? 42Key Points in Training for Excellence 43Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 44PART TWO Supporting the Movement from New to GreatFOUR Models of Faculty Development 47A Phased Approach to Online Faculty Development 48Establishing a Long-Term Faculty Development Effort 53The Learning Community Approach to Online Faculty Development54Working with Adjuncts at a Distance 57Training Efficiently 59Certificate Programs in Online Teaching 60Key Points Regarding Models of Online Faculty Development 62Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 63F I VE Mentoring Online Faculty 64Common Elements of Mentoring Approaches 65Approaches to Mentoring for Online Teaching 68Developing an Effective Mentoring Program 70What Organizations Can Do to Promote Mentoring 74Key Points About Mentoring Online Faculty 75Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 75S I X The Widening Gap: Professional Development forK-12 Teachers 77Online Teaching Methods in the K-12 Environment 79Characteristics of Excellent Online Teachers 81Preservice Teacher Preparation and Professional Development82Coping Effectively with the Issues and Challenges of K-12Online Teaching 85Key Points in K-12 Online Teaching 86Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 86PART THREE Connecting the Dots: Faculty Development andEvaluationSEVEN Linking Training to Faculty Evaluation 91Online Course Evaluation and Faculty Evaluation 92Managing and Evaluating Faculty at a Distance 99Key Points on Linking Faculty Development to Evaluation 102Becoming Your Own Faculty Developer 102E I G H T Best Practices in the Development of ExcellentOnline Faculty 104Best Practices for Faculty Developers and Faculty Tasked withFaculty Development 105Best Practices for Faculty Engaged in Their Own Development110Best Practices for Institutions 112A ''Best System'' for DevelopingExcellent Online Instructors 113Resources for Faculty Developers, Faculty, andAdministratorsAppendix A: Resources for Faculty Developers and Those Taskedwith Faculty Development 119Appendix B: Resources for Faculty 139Appendix C: Resources for Administrators of Online Programs149References 159Index 167