What is Instructor Role

Online learning has been on the rise during the 21st century. Both instructors and students enjoy the flexibility of teaching and learning from anywhere they choose. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 forced institutions of higher education around the globe to rely on technology to deliver education whether the institutions, instructors, and students were ready or not. The spread of the virus dictated the quick adoption of remote delivery of education. In this chapter, the authors provide a brief history of traditional learning theories followed by an assessment of their applicability to online education. Next is a delineation of the roles played by both instructors and students in online higher education. Furthermore, they explore generational differences in online learning (i.e., based on existing literature, what generational differences are evident with learning online and delivering content online?). At the end of the chapter, they provide the reader with implications/recommendations for the successful delivery of online learning/education.