“Here at CIBL, you are not alone.”

Qualities of a Good Instructor

Present

The last question you should have when taking an online course is wondering where the teacher is. Students should always sense the presence of an authoritative instructor that manages the course and directs students. For every course we offer, there is an accredited instructor that overlooks the progress of each active student and provides constructive feedback and directions. 

Prompt

Students are expected to have questions, and teachers are expected to answer them in a prompt manner. A good instructor does not leave a student hanging, waiting for a response. Whether it is a technical or a subject-related question, a request should be answered quickly, so the student can move on within the course. 

Encouraging

Although each of our online programs requires a passing grade, the knowledge you are acquiring matters more than grades. A good instructor invests in time to know and understand the unique demands of each individual student. An ultimate goal for CIBL instructors is encouraging students to overcome obstacles and create a steady workflow so they never fall behind and become overwhelmed.

Constructive

A good feedback goes beyond the “good job” and “nice work” comments. When receiving feedback from your instructure, expect constructive comments that don’t only point out the positives and negatives of your work but also guide you on how you can avoid mistakes and become a better learner. With this method, students can celebrate their successes while addressing their weaknesses. 

Creative 

Online learning means more than written material. A new era of online educational technology has evolved in the past decades making learning more engaging and interesting. A good online instructor employs a variety of resources and activities to trigger every learning style and facilitate learning.

I took my first online course in university, where I studied art and design. At that time, the “course” consisted more or less of just an online reading list and a message board which was used for instructor-student and student-student communication. While the course served its purpose, and I successfully passed with a satisfactory grade, I was unimpressed with the variety of available activities. Ultimately, I thought, I would have preferred to discuss the concepts in-person where interactions with my classmates would have been composed less like essays and more authentically as we try to grasp the information presented by the instructor. Above all, I sympathized with students who struggled and couldn’t participate fully due to their insufficient reading and writing skills.  

Throughout the duration of the course, however, I did see the promise that this medium held for future students. Firstly, I could check in and complete the assignments when I had time; a freedom that weekly meetings did not provide. Secondly, I knew that as technology improved, the options for instructors designing online courses would be expanded. 

Flash forward to 2014, I found myself delivering training programs overseas to students who were about to join workplaces in Canada. As I traveled from one country to another, I encountered busy professionals struggling to find time to attend in-person classes. I had no doubt that a better system should be created to help both instructors and students deliver and receive instructions freely. The desire to help those individuals succeed without compromising their careers was the spark for my first online course.  

Creating the courses was time consuming and consisted primarily of video-recorded lectures and PDFs. As promised, the courses delivered relevant information, and students were not required to attend classes and were able to review materials at their own leisure. However, there was no system for students to apply the concepts they were learning. Additionally, constructive interactions between the instructor (myself) and the students were delayed since they were mostly done by email. Furthermore, with expanded enrollment and the lack of a well-organized system, I struggled to keep up with the courses’ demands, including marking assignment or tracking progress.

All of this changed when I started using Moodle, an open source Learning Management System (LMS) and an industry standard for online learning that is used by the world’s largest universities. As an open source platform, a dedicated group of educators is constantly working to develop new solutions and innovative learning tools, which gives me a peace of mind dealing with a trusted and reliable system. I am now more confident than ever creating, promoting, and delivering online training. Moodle is an extremely flexible and robust system that allows instructors to set up lessons creatively and with innovation.