How Is Teaching Online Different from Teaching In Person?

Teaching online is more than just delivering content through a screen. While learning goals may be the same, the way instructors design, communicate, and engage must adapt. Here's a side-by-side comparison to help clarify how your strategies may shift when teaching online versus in person.

Teaching Online

Structure: Requires detailed, upfront course design with modular content and scheduled deadlines.
Communication: Mostly asynchronous. Relies on announcements, messages, and clear written directions.
Engagement: Needs to be intentionally designed into discussions, interactive activities, and feedback loops.
Feedback: Must be clear, timely, and often provided in writing, video, or audio.
Instructor Presence: Must be created through consistent messaging, participation, and visible grading.
Technology Use: LMS is central. Must be accessible, mobile-friendly, and intuitive to navigate.

Teaching In Person

Structure: More flexible. Can adapt content and activities in real time.
Communication: Relies on verbal explanation, body language, and impromptu conversations.
Engagement: Happens naturally through group work, eye contact, and in-class dialogue.
Feedback: Includes informal, verbal cues as well as written responses.
Instructor Presence: Occurs naturally through physical presence and classroom interactions.
Technology Use: Supplemental. Often limited to slides, LMS announcements, and email.

In-person teaching leans on spontaneity and presence. Online teaching requires design, intentionality, and proactive communication. Both can be equally effective when crafted with student needs in mind.