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Virgil E. Varvel Jr.University of Illinois
Online education continues to flourish across the globe. As we pass from the early adopter phase into acceptance by the masses, the number of instructors taking part in online education grows. Although qualified in their field, many instructors have no education in the methods of instruction or facilitation. Those that have such training often do not have any additional training or experience specifically in the field of distance or online education. But what should such training consist of, and what additional faculties of an individual help one to be a proficient online educator? Furthermore, once a listing of such skills or competencies has been developed, how can or should they be assessed and when should such an assessment occur? This paper discusses the process of constructing a competency document for online instructors.
