10 essential skills you need to teach online (and can learn through Loyola’s M.Ed. in Educational Technology program)

As we endure the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for effective online teaching continues to grow with rapidly rising demand for online and hybrid teachers at all levels from kindergarten–higher education.

Loyola’s M.Ed. in Educational Technology program ensures University graduate students have the 10 skills needed for online teaching success and beyond:

• Skill 1 Foundations: Candidates develop their online learning vocabulary while focusing on a learner-centered instructional model to support student achievement.
• Skill 2 Roles: Candidates consider their roles and tasks for the online versus in-person environment. Interactions among online teachers are emphasized as a critical resource to overcome technical and pedagogical challenges.
• Skill 3 Theories: Looking at educational theories of behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, connectivism, and more, candidates learn how instructional strategy and best practices transfer to effective online instructional experiences.
• Skill 4 Presences: Candidates practice providing a high-quality learning experience and building a community of learners through a social, cognitive, and teaching presence, while balancing dialogue, structure, and learner autonomy.
• Skill 5 Students: Candidates practice carrying out a read-reflect-display-do student-centered structure to address the diverse preferences of online learners and improve student engagement.
• Skill 6 Accessibility: The basics of accessibility and content creation—such as heading styles, embedded hyperlinks, and more—are taught to ensure student achievement and education equity, and comply with legal requirements.
• Skill 7 Communication: Candidates build their communication skills and create an intentional plan to be effective in both synchronous and asynchronous ways.
• Skill 8 Technology: Successfully integrating technology to support course design and engage students requires practice in balancing content, pedagogy, and the appropriate technology.
• Skill 9 Feedback: Candidates consider how to best provide prompt, individualized, and constructive feedback out of the many kinds of feedback options, including acknowledgement and corrective.
• Skill 10 Competencies: Candidates reflect on national standards for high quality online and blended teaching, including the National Standards for Quality Online Teaching and iNACOL Blended Learning Teacher Competency Framework.

The class, ET631: Transformative Online Teaching, helps candidates build their skills throughout the semester with meaningful assignments, such as presenting on online teaching terms, responding to scenarios, reviewing technology tools, and building their online teaching philosophy and facilitation plan.

Grounded in Loyola’s Jesuit tradition of experience, action, and reflection, and commitment to academic excellence, the University’s M.Ed. in Educational Technology program is the perfect place to develop as a successful online teacher and more. The broad program prepares students for multimedia design, social justice issues in the field, professional learning leadership, and the future of teaching. Here you will learn how to facilitate good communication in ways that promote quality student engagement, learning, and connections—no matter where you teach.

Kelly Keane, Ed.D., is the program director and a senior lecturer of the M.Ed. in Educational Technology program, as well as an accessibility and inclusion fellow. To learn more about the Educational Technology program, please visit our website.