With the rising cost of inflation, adults are considering returning to school. Yet, the family-work balance, cost of living, and prices of education create barriers for most, especially diverse adults in low-socioeconomic areas, English language learners (ELLs), and those labeled with a disability. As education has taken the lead in online spaces, barriers still have been overlooked to provide equitable and accessible educational platforms for adults. As motivation for a promising future drives non-traditional minority adult learners (NMALs) to return to school, education must be convenient, cost-effective, and inclusive. Furthermore, advancing technology and digital tools leave both educators and adult learners at a disadvantage. By incorporating professional development, fair access to technology, and WOW practices into online learning environments, barriers will be eliminated for NMALs allowing for systemic equity in online learning platforms.

Online teaching can be intimidating to faculty, and most educators new to online teaching do not have the knowledge necessary to create and flourish a community of learners who are active, engaged, and collaborative. Students need adequate support to be motivated and take responsibility for their learning in online learning environments and authentic learning experiences and assessment tools are integral to this process. Yet, most novice online course instructors don't understand how to translate these kinds of active learning experiences to online course environments. This chapter will go in depth with effective online instructional techniques to help train faculty to motivate online learners through best practices in online pedagogy. Topics include creating a welcoming course environment, creating and moderating engaging course discussions, creating assignments and giving meaningful feedback, motivating students to achieve, and motivating students to work with integrity and academic honesty.