The Joyful Online Teacher: Finding Our Fizz in Asynchronous Classes (Volume 8)

by Flower Darby

The happier the teacher, the better the learning experience—for instructor and student alike. With this equation at its core, The Joyful Online Teacher provides practical guidance for making distance learning infinitely more enjoyable and effective, and for improving the online teaching experience in asynchronous classes that often take place in Learning Management Systems (LMSs) like Canvas or Blackboard Learn, and where instructors and students rarely interact in real time, contributing to low completion rates.

One of the most pervasive challenges in distance learning is the absent online instructor; and one clear reason for this problem is the often unsatisfying nature of teaching online. A leading voice on online education, Flower Darby draws on the sciences of learning, emotion, and motivation, three decades of her own teaching, extensive research on online student experience, and the stories of joyful online teachers to present concrete tips for making online teaching more rewarding.

The key, Darby suggests, is learning to love teaching online. To that end, her book offers instructors accessible, inspiring, common-sense hacks for connecting with students, finding passion, navigating the structural inequities of higher ed, and more—all with a focus on building rapport and relationships, the central ingredients of happiness and satisfaction. These time-tested strategies and hard-won insights promise to help online teachers find meaning, purpose, and, yes, joy in their work—and, consequently, to fulfill the enormous, largely untapped potential of online education.
 

Genres: Teaching

208 pages, Paperback

Published April 21, 2026

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a much-needed boost of encouragement. I appreciate both the positive psychology resources that she drew on as well as the practical suggestions made. I hope that we can get a faculty reading group to talk about this book next year.

[Any Direction · Rating 4 out of 5]

I primarily have been an in-person student and teacher. I teach one online course but even my pandemic stint was primarily reduced class sizes with masks and was not entirely online. I took an online calculus class (as a refresher after taking calculus in person), my Jane Austen class is online though synchronous, and I had a couple fully online sychronous classes during the pandemic. While I didn’t gain nothing from my online experiences and even enjoyed them at points, it feels undeniable that in person experiences have been better for me. Additionally, I’ve built my teaching philosophy around the idea that there is value to being in person. This book does some challenging of my assumptions, as there is a large portion of the population that can access online education but not in person courses. I believe in the right to learn and that means that people should have access to a variety of different ways to learn. I also believe that having a teacher is going to get you much farther than anything you can accomplish on your own. So having an online class with an instructor has potential to get you further than on your own. As an introverted procrastinator, I also believe in the power of accountability and deadlines as motivation. Online classes- good, but this book made me consider that for a potentially large portion of the population they might be better, as long as instructors put some effort into making them so.

Takeaways as the book suggests you do:
- many online professors don’t engage with their students at all, so even doing that puts you a step above
- Having the time and capacity to do in person classes is a privilege (thought of it previously as mostly financial privilege)
- If you don’t care for yourself you can’t be a good (online) teacher
- Be present in a way that’s honest for you

Main complaint. This could have been a pamphlet or like an online article titled something like “10 ways to find your fizz as an online teacher”, but at under 200 pages I won’t complain too much.

Was this book revolutionary? No. I rarely find that non-fiction books are telling me things that I didn’t already know, but they do help to remind me of things that I know, put them into a useful context, and form new connections. The world of pedagogy isn’t often considering online teaching even as it becomes an increasingly present method of getting an education. In this book Darby is recognizing a portion of the educational system that is overlooked and brings, dare I say, “fizz” into it.

[Kinti Conroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a former online teacher and now an Instructional Designer collaborating with faculty, I found much of this deeply resonant with my work and the support I provide. The core principle of grounding teaching in emotions and relationships is paramount—we genuinely care about our students. Teaching is an inherently heart-felt endeavor, and online teaching is no exception! Thank you, Flower, for this exceptional read and valuable resource!

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you teach online, you have likely encountered the work of James Lang and Flower Darby. This latest entry connects online teaching to research by Martin E. P. Seligman on flourishing. If you are a longtime online teacher looking for specific approaches to creating community in online courses, this book will provide plenty of suggestions. For newer online teachers, you will get plenty of course design ideas.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I think it's a great text for a Faculty Learning Community, which is the context in which I read it. I appreciate that it has actionable, practical tips to implement in the classroom--something I have come to expect from Darby's work.