LAUSR

This paper is in response to the manuscript entitled “Designing for 21st century learning online: a heuristic method to enable educator learning support roles” (Nacu et al., in Educ Technol Res Dev 66:1029–1049, 2018) from an inclusion perspective. In today’s world, given the central importance of online learning to diverse students and educators, there is a critical need for clear descriptions of adult educator support roles in online education as well as convenient and insightful assessment methods of online learning platforms. Heuristic evaluation of an online learning platform allowed for inexpensive and useful understandings of adult support roles in an online social learning platform. More detailed evaluation of online learning interactions could be useful in deepening understandings about student interactions, their prior experiences, and educator feedback. Educator support roles are key to fostering inclusion in student learning communities in online settings just as they are in classroom settings. This paper describes specific roles that are important and raises questions about system design and professional development that all online learning platforms should consider. Further study of varied aspects of system design and of educator professional development is also recommended. Educator support roles in online learning represent an important field of study, especially as it relates to supporting learning by all children inclusively.