MODERNIZING FACULTY DEVELOPMENT FOR ONLINE

LEARNING PROGRAMS

Carrie Levin, Michele Gribbins, Emily BolesCenter for Online Learning, Research and ServiceUniversity of Illinois Springfield

LET’S START WITH A POLL!

How do you make sure that online faculty are

adhering to good online course design principles?

Text 222057 and your message to 22333

BACKGROUND: THE UIS MODEL FOR ONLINE

LEARNING

BACKGROUND: THE UIS MODEL

Offering online courses since 1998

Online programs requested and developed by the academic department and approved through the same college and governance structures used by f2f programs

Same full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty Faculty supported by COLRS Advanced data driven decision making processes have been developed to promote best practices

Online program coordinators essential to support fully-online students

Class sizes small. Most online courses capped at 20 (but this varies)

Online courses developed as part of degree granting programs rather than stand alone courses

Online and Blended Class Enrollments at UIS

For the entire academic year – fall 2012 and spring/summer 2013:Online classes were taken by students in 48 states (not ND or VT) and 88 Illinois countiesTotal annual credit hours in online classes 45,26043.3% of all credit hours were in online classes at UIS75.8% of all UIS students took at least one online class39.5% of all UIS students took only online classesThat generated $1,131,500 in course fees ($25/credit hour)

UIS ONLINE DEGREES AND CERTIFICATES

THE CENTER FOR ONLINE LEARNING, RESEARCH AND SERVICE

Supports faculty members in conceptualizing, developing, deploying and assessing online classes Sound pedagogy is the foundation upon which we select/support

technology

Faculty Research Fellows

Major Grants

MOOC Development

COLRS Blog: https://blogs.uis.edu/colrs

Faculty Development Workshops Our website: http://www.uis.edu/colrs/

SO… HOW’S IT WORKING?

Generally, quite well. But there are concerns. Namely:Some faculty do not attend training workshopsFaculty not always aware of support services availableFaculty overwhelmed with teaching responsibilitiesSome faculty see our unit as “Blackboard Support Helpdesk” rather than online pedagogy expertsWith faculty creating their own courses, not all follow good course design guidelines

“PREPARING TO TEACH ONLINE”

3 Courses designed to enrich faculty understanding of good online pedagogy

CERTIFICATE PROGRAM FOR UIS FACULTY: PREPARING TO TEACH ONLINEUIS faculty will be recognized for innovation in online teaching and implementing best-practicesFaculty enrolled in self-paced training modulesUpon completion of modules, faculty awarded virtual badge which can be displayed in their courses, syllabi, faculty and departmental pages and other digital locationsCOLRS will maintain a listing on our website and submit the information for the faculty member’s permanent fileParticipation in the course allows COLRS staff members to engage the faculty member in a discussion on additional ways to improve or update the course

PREPARING TO TEACH ONLINE: COURSE DESCRIPTION

“Preparing to Teach Online” will provide a common foundation for all online instructors at the University of Illinois Springfield. Per the provost, this course will contain a two-hour module required for all instructors teaching online courses. Required Module for all faculty (2 hours)This required module will contain a brief introduction to effective practices for online teaching, strategies for increasing student evaluation response rates, tips for documenting online teaching performance and improvement, and tactics for managing workload

FACULTY SELF-ASSESSMENT

Faculty Self-AssessmentAfter the required introduction, faculty will have the opportunity to take an online teaching readiness self-assessment (hoping this will help prevent our experienced instructors from being offended). This assessment will place them into either PTO I (introductory) or PTO II (advanced).

Link to Survey

COURSE I: 8-10 HOURS

The course will focus on basic strategies for addressing four areas central to instructor success in online teaching: communication & presence, assessment & evaluation, pedagogy, and technology.

COURSE II: 8 – 10 HOURS

The course will focus on advanced strategies for addressing four areas central to instructor success in online teaching: communication & presence, assessment & evaluation, pedagogy, and technology

E-PORTFOLIO AND RECOGNITION

ePortfolioThe ePortfolio will be developed through Course I and Course II. It will be an extensive resource to support the faculty member’s online teaching and also document for use in the promotion and tenure process.

RecognitionWhen faculty successfully complete (80% or better) Course I, Course II, and the ePortfolio, a letter will be sent to the provost’s office and digital badges will be earned for display on professional websites. Custom course banners featuring the badge of completion for this training series will also be provided to faculty.

Required Introductory Module

Orientation

Introduction from Provost

Workload Management

Narrated Lecture

Video feature of successful faculty member

ePortfolio: Course Work Plan

Documenting Teaching Performance

Narrated Lecture

Video feature of successful faculty member

Increasing Student Evaluation Responses

Narrated Lecture

Video feature of successful faculty member

ePortfolio

Communication & Presence

Course I

Course II

Assessment & Evaluation

Course I

Course II

Pedagogy

Course I

Course II

Technology

Course I

Course II

BADGES: MOZILLA OPEN BADGE PROJECT

Mozilla Open Badges http://openbadges.org/

ANOTHER POLL!

How do you get faculty to buy-in to teaching

online?

Text 223724 and your message to 22333

FACULTY BUY-IN

COPE-L: COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE IN E-LEARNING

Spring 2014 COPE-L Meetings:What do online students want?  Student panel shares questions, concerns, suggestions with faculty and staff.

APP Share - Come to hear about favorite productivity apps and web based tools.  Choose to share about your own favorite or come to find a mentor who will help you learn a new tool.  Apps for classroom use as well as personal productivity will be included.

Online Course Design for the Future - What should/could future online courses be like?  How can UIS continue to lead in online learning and meet student needs for the future?

COPE-L Website: https://sites.google.com/copel2012/

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, INDIGNANT REMARKS?

Contact COLRS:217-206-7317colrs@uis.eduhttp://uis.edu/colrs