
“The essential role of the e-moderator is promoting human interaction and communication through the modelling, conveying and building of knowledge and skills. An e-moderator undertakes this feat through using the mediation of online environments designed for interaction and collaboration.”
Gilly Salmon, Professor of Innovation and Transformation at the University of Liverpool, UK.
Course overview
The role of the e-moderator in an online education context is to promote and facilitate discussion and communication in the online environment, through modelling behaviours, and scaffolding learners towards building of knowledge and skills.
Essentials of e-moderating is a short course for those delivering online education and training, wishing to gain a strong foundation in best practice principles of e-moderation.
Who is it for?
The course is aimed at those who are new to delivering and supporting online education in HEI environments and those working in professional education settings who wish to get a grounding in research based, best practice principles of e-moderating. The course offers practical strategies and resources that aim to help e-moderators support students in the online environment.
Course delivery
This fully online course will take approximately 10 hours to complete over a two-week period. It is a combination of self-directed learning, moderated guided learning and peer engagement. Participants are expected to complete short individual and group e-tivities throughout the course within the two weeks.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Describe the learning environment and skills and responsibilities of an e-moderator in supporting the student learning experience.
- Understand the critical role of e-tivities, and how the purpose and design of an e-tivity can help e-moderator get the most from a community of learning.
- Understand Gilly Salmon’s five stage model and how the e-moderator can apply the different strategies support and challenge learners at each stage.
- Describe practical ways to moderate live environments.
- Discuss some approaches to issues that could arise in online environments.
- Recognise some differences between deep and surface learning.
Course Structure

Entry requirements
Participants are expected to have a primary degree and to be working in the delivery of online education and training.
Award
On completion of the course, participants will receive a University Certificate of Attendance. This course is not credit bearing.
Further information
For further information on this course please email your Institution’s contact point (for UL, MIC or TUS).
Institute | |
TUS | Clara.Keevey@tus.ie |
UL | CTL@ul.ie |
MIC | Laura.Costelloe@mic.ul.ie |
Developed by the REAP Project, a collaboration between:
- University of Limerick
- Mary Immaculate College
- Technological University of the Shannon
and funded under the HEA Innovation and Transformation 2018 call.

“The Essentials of E-moderating” has been developed by the REAP Project , a collaboration between University of Limerick, Technological University of the Shannon and Mary Immaculate College and funded by the HEA Innovation and Transformation Fund (2018). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons [CC-BY-NC-SA] 4.0 International License.