Arab Educational Information Network

Within nowadays’ rapid changing world and the growing complex environments, the academic debate on how to enhance the e-learning pedagogical strategies has focused mainly on two aspects. First, on the quality of technologies as it is strongly employed to ease and assist an active and collaborative learning process to engage students further and guide them towards diverse learning experiences. Second, on fulfilling the needs of the learners in a way to meet their expectations from different cultural backgrounds and learning styles’ perspectives. However, few studies emphasized the crucial role of the instructor in this debate, especially how to relate the new learning and teaching paradigm along with the student-centered approach to the effective use of online technologies in education. Hence, the present review argues that among the tripartite elements influencing the e-learning pedagogical strategies, that is, the students, the technology, and the instructor, further in-depth attention should be given to the major role of the instructor. Indeed, as effective knowledge starts with learner’s engagement, advancing the debate on the fundamental role of instructors that help in providing a genuine lecturer-student interaction in the virtual learning platforms is crucial to fit the requirements of today’s society’s educational needs. Therefore, this research emphasizes the crucial instructor’s skills that are necessary for students’ engagement in the e-learning platforms. Hence, this review goes beyond the conditions of boredom and disengagement to target the roots of the instructor’s role and mission to deliver and communicate knowledge effectively, which can be traced back to the “theory of knowledge” and to essential communication skills. (Published abstract)