Competencies for e-Instructors: How to Qualify and Guarantee Sustainability

Abstract

e-Learning is becoming more popular than ever with the advent of new technologies and new inventions for teaching and learning. Hence, competent e-Instructors are key to successful e-Learning implementations and they should have the appropriate skills and experience for the effective implementation of e-Learning and blended learning. e-Instructors are instructors who might well be very experienced in teaching-learning contexts and even possess a high level of technology literacy. However, being an experienced instructor and possessing advanced skills of using technology does not necessarily lead to an instructor becoming an effective e-instructor. The purpose of this article is to understand which competencies are needed to be an effective e-Instructor and how can we help individuals to acquire these skills? In order to answer these questions, a broad literature review will help understand what the accepted competencies are for e-Instructors, any existing strategies for professional development, possible challenges to this process and any known solutions. On-going professional development is essential for being a role model for learners and for effective usage of technological environments. Based on the facts and research results in parallel with the advancement in the technological world as instructors, they should keep themselves up-to-date according to e-competencies defined for instructors and continue searching to make this process easier for both instructors and learners to become more effective. Consequently, future research studies can focus on the strategies and methods for self-determined, self-paced and personalised instruction to cope with the e-instructor competencies.