Interacting with colleagues as an online educator is an entirely different world from interacting with colleagues as a traditional educator.
In my early years of teaching, I ate lunch with a group of colleagues every day and often found myself socializing with fellow teachers outside of the school day. If there was an issue with a student, I felt comfortable discussing this with other teachers who might also have the student and I could simply walk to their classroom before or after school to have these conferences. I felt like I had a core group of colleagues who were not only fellow teachers who understood the challenges I was facing each day, but also a close-knit group of friends that were readily available.
Within the online environment, this type of interaction is much more difficult to develop and find. As a part-time adjunct faculty member for several colleges and universities, I have often found that I have very little interaction with other faculty members be that other adjuncts or superiors. Some schools do provide chat rooms/discussion boards for adjuncts but often these become breeding grounds for negativity and aren’t always the best place to engage with other instructors.
I was lucky as an adjunct that I did connect via email during my training for one school with a colleague that I could really relate to and we’ve been able to keep in touch via social media. I also found that some schools were much more likely to reach out and offer support and guidance to adjunct instructors than others and I found that I tend to prefer those who offer the support instead of allowing their adjuncts free reign.
As a full-time online instructor, my relationship with my colleagues is much more rigorous. I email with my program chair numerous times daily and he has created a team environment within our program allowing me to work closely, despite great distance, with my colleagues. One of my main tasks as a full-time faculty member is to reach out to adjuncts – answering their questions and providing support as they teach their courses within our department.
Many schools are making more of an effort to engage adjunct instructors and to help them to feel more invested in the school. It’s important for adjuncts to have the support they need and I’m glad that I’ve found both a school and a position that allows me to contribute to this goal.
I have also been working with my boss and other full-time colleagues on research and presentations. I’m excited to have the opportunity to meet a few of them in the coming year at conferences. I feel that being able to meet in person and get to know each other on a more personal level will only make our dynamic that much stronger when we return home to conference calls and emails.
While colleague interaction is definitely different in the online classroom when compared to a traditional classroom, it is an area that is constantly improving as technology improves the ways we can communicate and as schools recognize the importance of effective communication.
About the Author
Jamie Weitl is a WAHM teaching for several online universities and raising three precocious little ones. In her spare time she enjoys writing, baking, and running. For more info, see my Google Plus Profile.
