The document discusses the roles and competencies required of online teachers. It notes that online teaching requires different approaches than face-to-face teaching. Online teachers must have skills in instructional design, use of technologies, interaction and engagement with students, and ongoing professional development. They typically take on roles such as instructor, social facilitator, evaluator, administrator, technologist and researcher. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need to define online teaching roles to help teachers be effective and address challenges of emergency remote education.

1. Teaching Online: voices, roles and
competencies in distance learning in
pandemic times
Dércio Martins & Lina Morgado
Laboratory of Distance Education and eLearning
Universidade Aberta, Portugal
2020
3rd WCCES Symposium

2. • The online teaching process is different from face-to-face teaching.
• The online teachers’ performance in contexts strongly enriched by
digital technologies, or in open environments, requires different open
pedagogical approaches, roles and competencies.
• Requires a paradigm shift in terms of time and instructional space,
virtual management techniques and the ability to engage students in
online learning.
• Expertise in the distance learning scientific, technological, and pedagogy
domains.
(Coppola, Hiltz, & Rotter, 2002; Berg, 1995, 2008; Goodyear, Salmon, Spector, Steeples, & Tickner, 2001; Martin et
al., 2019; Morgado, 2003; Schmidt, Tshcida, & Hodge, 2016; Li et al., 2017)
Online Teaching
3rd WCCES Symposium
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3. • Global changes and pressures affect society and education institutions.
• In Portugal, although legislation recently passed (Decree-Law n.
133/2019), it is not easy to define and characterize online teachers’
roles, especially the tutors.
• The emergence of digital technologies, promotes new opportunities, but
also challenges and new demands.
• The preparation to teach online is a fundamental component for the
success of online learning.
• Promotes opportunities for initial and continuing professional training,
particularly in areas such as pedagogies of teaching online.
(Coppola, Hiltz, & Rotter, 2002; Berg, 1995, 2008; Goodyear, Salmon, Spector, Steeples, & Tickner, 2001; Martin et al., 2019;
Morgado, 2003; Schmidt, Tshcida, & Hodge, 2016; Li et al., 2017)
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Online Teaching
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4. 3rd WCCES Symposium
The UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers
• Online learning scenarios need specific competencies and knowledge.
• The use of technologies implies that the online teacher understands its
potentials and limitations.
• Resources to create effective and efficient online experiences for their
students.
• Frameworks for digital competencies for educators in general.
• Some examples:
Online Teaching
Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu)
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

5. Versus
(Bozkurt, Xiao, Jung, & Vladimirshi, 2020, p.2)
• Covid-19 promoted changes in the way of teaching.
• Emergency Remote Education – ERE.
• Tendency to transfer the roles of classroom teachers to teaching online.
• Activities mediated by technologies requires specific competencies in terms of course
design, organization, interaction and instruction.
• Both teachers and students experienced difficulties in the transition from classroom
to virtual teaching.
Online Learning and the Covid-19 Emergency
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Distance learning is based in “planned
activities, grounded in theoretical and practical
knowledge which is specific to the field and its
nature.”
“The emergency remote teaching, being a
temporary emergency change and little
planned, seeks to provide a response in times
of crisis, bringing together the resources
available to learn/teach, including online
and/or offline to teach.”

6. Adapted from Muñoz Carril, González Sanmamed, and Hernández Sellés (2013)
Online
Teachers
Roles
Pedagogical
Social
Evaluator
Administrator
Technologist
Advisor/
Counsellor
Personal
Researcher
3rd WCCES Symposium
Over the years several DL authors have reviewed and identified
the online teacher’s roles and competencies witch are
continually refined.
(Anderson et al., 2001; Coppola, Hiltz, & Rotter, 2002; Berg, 1995, 2008; Goodyear, Salmon, Spector,
Steeples, & Tickner, 2001; Martin et al., 2019; Morgado, 2003; Li et al., 2017)
Image: Dércio Martins & Lina Morgado
Online Teaching Roles

7. Main Role Competencies
Pedagogical
(Instructional designer and Developer; Content
expert; Tutor; Organizer and Facilitator;
Professional)
Design the teaching proposal at a general level and in each of its phases or elements; Draft and develop digital materials; Draft and develop learning activities;
Draft and develop assessment activities; Draft and develop course contents; Link the subject with scientific, social and cultural phenomena; Organize and promote
different tutorial modalities; Organize and facilitate student participation; Organize and promote self training and teacher professional development.
Social Maintain a cordial learning environment; Resolve conflict in an amicable manner; Refrain from undesirable behaviours; Act as information facilitator; Improve the
learning environments; Send messages to support students; Give feedback to student interactions and communications; Dynamize and promote interaction with
the students; Keep the classroom/course/university degree coordinator informed about the progress and the possible problems that may arise.
Evaluator Assess students' work according to established criteria; Monitor individual and group progress; Assess individual and group performance; Evaluate the
course/program.
Administrator/Manager Manage time and course; Demonstrate leadership qualities; Establish rules and regulations; Follow efficiently management and administrative procedures (e.g.:
request to create online classrooms, request to integrate technological support for performing learning activities, enrolment management, student enrolment in
the online environment, etc.); Maintain contact with the rest of the teaching and administrative team.
Personal Comply with ethic and legal standards; Adopt a positive attitude and commitment to e-learning; Show sensitivity during the communication process and in online
contacts
Technologist Select the appropriate resource for learning; Awareness of the technical procedures to develop multimedia content and to adapt them to e-learning Environments;
Suggest resources to the students (resource provider); Stay up to date with and learn about new software needed or the teaching process; Awareness of the
features and uses of the main platforms, resources and virtual tool; Awareness of the procedures required to manage as a teacher both synchronous and
asynchronous communication tools.
Advisor/Counsellor Suggest measures to enhance performance; Provide guidance based on student needs; Offer advice, suggestions and clarify doubts; Motivate the students.
Researcher Conduct research into classroom teaching; Interpret and integrate research findings in teaching; Develop reflexive processes about, in and for the teaching practice.
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Muñoz Carril, González Sanmamed, and Hernández Sellés (2013, pp. 469-470)
Online Teachers Roles and Competencies

8. Methodological Approach
A mixed methodology was adopted, and the design of this descriptive
study involves several phases:
• Meta-analysis.
• Focus group.
• Questionnaire survey.
• Implementation of narratives.
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9. In-between findings – Focus group
After analysing the focus group data, implemented to 7 experienced
Portuguese higher education online teachers, three roles were identified:
 Pedagogical (competence: organize and promote different tutorial
modalities).
 Technologist (competence: awareness of the features and uses of the
main platforms, resources and virtual tools).
 Researcher (competence: develop reflexive processes about, in and for
the teaching practice).
3rd WCCES Symposium
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10. • Teaching online requires teachers to adopt different roles during the learning
process.
• The teaching space changes and, consequently, the relationship with the
student, emerging new ways of teaching.
• The online teacher needs to have knowledge in the scientific and theoretical
domains.
• The online teacher also has several competencies, not only linked to
technology, but also pedagogical, social and management in online learning.
• Investment in research and self-training is essential.
Conclusion
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11. The need to clarify the online teacher’s roles is essential:
• To improve on these professionals’ performance.
• To respond effectively to educational changes and challenges, such as those
brought by Covid-19.
• To clearly identify the roles and competencies needed, to adjust training offer
according to online teachers’ needs and educational demands.
Conclusion
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12. Anderson, T., Rourke, L., Garrison, D., & Archer, W. (2001). Assessing teaching presence in a computer conferencing context. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5(2),1-17.
Berge, Z. (1995). Facilitating computer conferencing: Recommendations from the field. Educational Technology, 35(1), 22-30.
Berge, Z. (2008). Changing instructor’s roles in virtual worlds. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 9(4), 407-414.
Bozkurt, A., Xiao, F., Jung, I., & Vladimirshi, V. (2020). A global outlook to the interruption of education due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Navigating in a time of uncertainty and crisis, Asian Journal
of Distance Education, 15(1).
Coppola, N., Hiltz, S., & Rotter, N. (2002). Becoming a virtual professor: Pedagogical roles and asynchronous learning networks. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(4), 169-189.
Decree-Law n. 133/2019, legal scheme of the distance higher education. Retrieved from https://dre.pt/home/-/dre/124392062/details/maximized.
Goodyear, P., Salmon, G., Spector, J. M., Steeples, C., & Tickner, S. (2001). Competencies for online teaching: A special report. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 65-
72
Li, S., Zhang, J., Yu, C., & Chen, L. (2017). Rethinking Distance Tutoring in e-Learning Environments: A Study of the Priority of Roles and Competencies of Open University Tutors in China.
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(2).
Martin, F., Budhrani, K., Kumar, S., & Ritzhaupt, A. (2019). Award-winning faculty online teaching practices: Roles and competencies. Online Learning, 23(1), 184-205.
Morgado, L. (2003). Os novos desafios do tutor a distância: o regresso ao paradigma da sala de aula, Discursos Perspetivas em Educação. Lisboa, 77–89.
Muñoz Carril, P.C., González Sanmamed, M., & Hernández Sellés, N. (2013). Pedagogical roles and competencies of university teachers practicing in the elearning environment. The
International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 14(3), 462-487.
Schmidt, S. W., Tschida, C. M., & Hodge, E. M. (2016). How faculty learn to teach online: What administrators need to know. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 19(1), 1-10.
References
3rd WCCES Symposium

13. Teaching Online: voices, roles and
competencies in distance learning in
pandemic times
Dércio Martins & Lina Morgado
Laboratory of Distance Education and eLearning
Universidade Aberta, Portugal
2020
3rd WCCES Symposium
Thank you!