In the description of the functions associated with the online educator we can identify a series of roles.
Process management: adapting the training action to the needs and expectations of the students. For this purpose, technical mastery of the platform, adequate management of the means and channels of communication and the tools for supervision and control of student learning are crucial.
Evaluator: offer clear evaluation criteria that help the student to know what is expected of him/her and how he/she can achieve them. Feedback is also fundamental, the teacher must guide and orient the student towards continuous improvement, always identifying areas for improvement and strengths.
Collaborator: must collaborate and work with other online faculty and promote and facilitate student learning experiences to collaborate online.
Technical: ensure that students understand the operation of the platform, advising and supporting them in technological problems arising from the use and mastery of ICT.
Pedagogical: facilitating the knowledge construction process of students, answering their doubts and questions, helping to synthesize and focusing discussions on crucial points.
Instructional designer: organize the learning process according to the competencies of the subject. It involves designing the process, the methodology, the most appropriate individual and group activities and the content.
Counselor: know the participants in order to assume or anticipate those aspects that may interfere in their learning, facilitate dynamics or strategies to learn to learn in a network. Must ensure that the pace of work of students is constant and adequate, providing individualized feedback throughout the process to help students improve their learning.
Social: configure and facilitate a social environment of interaction between and with the group of students. Follow up their process, their activities, encouraging and motivating the student to actively participate and collaborate in the creation of a learning community.
Alonso, L., y Blázquez, F. (2012). El docente de educación virtual. Guía básica. Narcea.
Bates, T. (2015). Enseñar en la Era Digital. http://solr.bccampus.ca:8001/bcc/file/da50f5f1-bbc6-481e-a359-e73007c66932/1/La%20Ensen%CC%83anza%20en%20la%20Era%20Digital_vSP.pdf
Catasús, M. G., & Ornellas, A. (2014). El docente en línea: Aprender colaborando en la red. Barcelona : Editorial UOC.
Garcia-Aretio, L., Ruíz, M., & Domínguez, D. (2007). De la Educación a Distancia a la Educación Virtual. Ariel. https://www2.uned.es/catedraunesco-ead/nuevo_libro2.htm
García, B., Serrano, E. L., Ceballos, S. P., Cisneros-Cohernour, E. J., Arroyo, G. C., & Díaz, Y. E. (2018). Las competencias docentes en entornos virtuales: Un modelo para su evaluación. RIED. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 21(1), 343-365. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.21.1.18816
Gros, B. (2018). La evolución del e-learning: Del aula virtual a la red. RIED. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 21(2), 69. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.21.2.20577
Llorente, C. (2006). El tutor en E-learning: Aspectos a tener en cuenta. Edutec: Revista electrónica de tecnología educativa, ISSN 1135-9250, No. 20, 2006, 20. https://doi.org/10.21556/edutec.2006.20.517
Ní Shé, C., Farrell, O., Brunton, J., Costello, E., Donlon, E., Samantha, & Sinead. (2019). Teaching online is different: Critical perspectives from the literature. Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/record/3479402
Quiroz, S., y Gros, B. (2005). La formación del profesorado como docente en los espacios virtuales de aprendizaje. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación, 36(1), 1-14. http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaiart?codigo=3130431