PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE INSTRUCTION
ABSTRACT
Online instruction has influenced how higher education redefines teaching as universities understand the significance and move towards the paradigm of online teaching and learning. Despite the benefits of online teaching, many university faculty members tend to gravitate toward instructional practices that are most comfortable to them. The purpose of this study was to reveal whether faculty at one university valued and supported the paradigm of online teaching and learning. Participants were asked to rate their comfort levels and training towards teaching online, as well as their perceptions pertaining to student learning outcomes and the delivery of academic tasks being taught online. Advantages, disadvantages and barriers of online instruction as perceived by university faculty were additionally revealed in this study. Perceptions of teaching and learning outcomes were strongly influenced by experience teaching online. Clearly, those who had positive online experiences felt the teaching and learning outcomes were equivalent to traditional classrooms while those who had never taught online, or had previously negative experiences, did not feel the teaching and learning outcomes were essentially the same. Few participants were comfortable with teaching entire courses online, but almost all respondents saw value in using online availability to enhance the traditional classroom environment.