Taking a Hard Look at the Soft Skills of Online Course Design and Online Teaching in Higher Education

Abstract

Over the past few decades substantial growth has occurred in online education in general and this has been particularly true of the higher education sector. Most universities and post-secondary institutions now offer students the opportunity to enroll in online pre-tertiary, vocational, undergraduate and/or postgraduate courses. While some of these courses are successful for the learners who enroll in them, others have been found somewhat deficient, often criticized for their lack of humanization, interaction, communication and online presence. This chapter examines the role of the so-called soft skills of online course design and online teaching that are seen as vital for online educators who are responsible for the facilitation of high quality online learning. Along with a review of relevant literature about the soft skills of online teaching, the chapter examines three institutional case studies to develop a set of practically-focused recommendations to promote the design of humanized online learning environments.