ARE YOU A DREAM COME TRUE OR A NIGHTMARE? DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS IN THE FACE TO FACE AND ONLINE INSTRUCTOR

All instructors would all like to be a ―Dream Come True‖ but unfortunately many come
across to their students as a ‗nightmare‘. The purpose of this study was to determine
the characteristics in effective and successful online and/or face-to-face instructors.
Characteristics as perceived by pre-service teachers in each setting were investigated
in the survey. Results reveled that students in both types of learning environments
desire and appear to need communication (or contact) with the instructor in order to
be considered effective and successful in their studies. However, students held face-toface
instructors to higher standards on their knowledge than the online instructors.
Survey information was divided into five categories and provided very different
information. Although this was a limited study, it provided valuable information that
instructors cannot view teaching both online and face to face classes as one-fits all
type approach.