COMPETENCIES NEEDED IN ONLINE TEACHING IN MEXICO

This study is the first draft in the research of creating a framework for the skills involved in online teaching in Mexico. It presents a construction of the online educator’s profile from the perspective of the five roles that Berge and Paulsen propose that an online teacher must fulfill, redefining each of these roles with a focus on skills. A first result of the research process is the definition of each of the general competencies: pedagogical, social, organizational or administrative, technological and evaluative. The construction of these general competencies for online instruction is the basis for further investigation on the skills that the online facilitator evidence in their regular practice. Although international data are available on the competencies that teachers must have for online facilitation, there are actually few studies that focus on this knowledge in the context of online education in Mexico. The definition of these skills will help us to know the profile of online teachers in Mexico and the possible ways to improve their training.