Online and mixed mode faculty should possess specific personality traits. Instructors should be willing to spend at least one to two hours online everyday reading and responding to their students. Anyone who cannot do this may not be suited for online or mixed mode teaching. Online and mixed mode instructors should like interacting with students on a personal one-on-one basis. They should enjoy troubleshooting and problem solving since this task is done quite often. They should also be patient enough to deal with technology issues every day. Online and mixed mode instructors should also enjoy writing since most interaction is done through email or discussion postings. It does not hurt to have efficient keyboarding skills as well.

In the online or mixed mode classroom, the primary focus is the student's learning. The instructor becomes a facilitator rather than a director. Teaching online and mixed mode requires a tremendous amount of pre-planning, but exists in a flexible environment that allows for last minute revisions. The online or mixed mode instructor should be present, provide structure, and monitor the flow of course activities. Any instructor who teaches online or mixed mode should have some first hand experience as a Desire2Learn learner. This experience will show the instructor what it is like to learn through the Internet. By learning through Desire2Lern, the instructor will notice five necessary criteria that they too will need to provide for their own online or mixed mode students.

• Clear directions
• Well organized materials
• Timely feedback
• Deadlines
• Good technical support

The instructor will also need to be very comfortable with Desire2Learn to deliver their online or mixed mode course. Faculty troubleshoot the majority of student problems. When facilitating the online or mixed mode course, faculty should schedule enough time each week to manage their course(s). Instructors need to dedicate specific time towards grading, monitoring online discussions, and replying to student e-mail. One major complaint of online or mixed mode students is the delay in or absence of instructor feedback, so timely feedback is extremely important.