ELT article published by Prof. Jonathan Acua at http://reflective-online-teaching.blogspot.

com/

Writing an Instructor Biography

When one starts teaching a F2F class, one of the very first things that is done is introducing oneself, so students get to know a bit about who their instructor is. But what happens in an online course where no real F2F introduction is possible? Can one actually create the bond between students and instructor? How can the teacher start with his/her social presence in an online teaching scenario? Several ways have been suggested to start making ones teaching presence be felt by students. On the one hand, the instructor can prepare a welcome letter to students that can easily be sent to them to their email accounts. Additionally, this welcome letter can also serve as an introduction to ones course on the learning platform that is going to be used. If prepared by the instructor, a written or video version of his/her biography can be posted or embedded on the opening page of the course.

ELT article published by Prof. Jonathan Acua at http://reflective-online-teaching.blogspot.com/

What are the key elements to include in ones Instructor Biography? Roughly speaking five key elements have been suggested (Laureate Education 2013): Provide a brief recounting of your educational history, and do pay attention to areas that are closely and intrinsically related to the class that is going to be taught. Include an illustration of your professional experience, which will place you in context within your professional and teaching field and which let your students comprehend the depth of knowledge you are able to share with all of them. Explain your philosophy of instruction. Explain what your priorities are in regards to learning and student learning goals. Share with your students a bit of your personal hobbies, interests, and family life to fully create your social presence among your learners.

Sample Instructor Biography

Jonathan Acua Solano, M.L.: Senior English Language Instructor at

Universidad Latina, Curricular Developer and Teacher Trainer at Centro Cultural Costarricense-Norteamericano, and Oxford University Press ELT Freelance Consultant. Completed my Masters Degree in Linguistics and a BA in English at the University of Costa Rica, specialized in EAP (English for

ELT article published by Prof. Jonathan Acua at http://reflective-online-teaching.blogspot.com/

Academic Purposes) at the University of Cambridge, Homerton College, UK., and studied Web 2.0 Tools for ELT through the distant educations program at the University of Oregon. Most of my work focuses partly on educational research for curricular development and betterment and partly on ELT (English phonetics and phonology, public speaking, language teaching, and teaching practicum). I curate three different daily online ELT newspapers (ELT Daily, Phonemics Daily, TEFL Daily), write a teaching blog, and have published an article on The Language Point, an electronic publication in the UK. My teaching now focuses on supporting undergraduate students who need to learn English for their majors or who are studying ELT and want to become English Language Instructors. I have taught a great range of subjects in the last 15 years: English Pronunciation, Reading Skills, Oral Communication, Curriculum, Literature, Teaching Practicum, Computering Applications for Education, and regular English language courses. On a lighter note, I am an avid reader, a soccer and baseball fan, and love gardening, history, and art.

To sum up, if you are transitioning to VLEs and want to start in a hearty way, do not forget to include the key elements necessary to write your

instructor biography. This bio is vital information for your pupils and a way
to start creating and enhancing your social presence in your course. And remember that if you do not want to stand in front a camera, write a

ELT article published by Prof. Jonathan Acua at http://reflective-online-teaching.blogspot.com/

welcome letter to your students or post a written version of your bio at the home page of your course.

To fully develop and comprehend this teaching issue, its advisable to research and expand these areas: 1 2 3 4 5 Social presence in VLEs Welcome letters for online courses My philosophy of instruction Priorities in learning in online teaching Transforming the F2F syllabi into online learning

Creating an Instructor (Creating an Instructor Biogrophy 2013) Laureate Education, Inc.

ELT article published by Prof. Jonathan Acua at http://reflective-online-teaching.blogspot.com/

Professor Jonathan Acua-Solano ELT Instructor & Trainer based in Costa Rica IATEFL Member and NCTE Affiliate Resource Teacher at CCCN Senior ELT Professor at Universidad Latina Freelance ELT Consultant four OUP in Central America For further comments or suggestions, reach me at: @jonacuso Twitter jonacuso@gmail.com Gmail Other blogs and sites I often write for my students at the university are: 1. Pronunciation 1 3. Pronunciation 2 2. Readding Skills 1 4. Computering Applications in Education