Course Summary

By studying best practices in online teaching, and using the Quality Matters Online Course Development Standards, the Distance Education Faculty Development Certificate is designed to introduce faculty to teaching online. Topics include: assessing your readiness for teaching online; an overview of Quality Matters standards; measurable learning objectives; creating a comprehensive syllabus and course calendar; foundations of online instruction; learner-centered course design; instructor presence; student engagement; time management; and academic honor. This course is open to full and part-time faculty. Participants should anticipate devoting 40-60 hours to completing the course.

Course Objectives

• Demonstrate relevant pedagogy and effective design of an online course.
• Use the Quality Matters Rubric to evaluate an existing face-to-face or online course.
• Apply Quality Matters standards to the design and development of an online course.
• Analyze and discuss faculty and student expectations, support, essentials for success, and effective course design with colleagues.
• Describe and apply best practices for teaching students online as evidenced by successful completion of online course design.
• Evaluate and apply QM standards to colleagues’ courses and provide effective feedback and suggestions.

Prerequisites

• Two years of teaching experience is highly recommended. (Inexperienced instructors may need to supplement with Instructional Technology Training and Development (ITTD) training courses or other preparatory activities.)
• Must be able to use Blackboard effectively. Participants will identify and address any Blackboard training gaps. (Only brief general Blackboard instructions will be provided in this course. ITTD offers multiple sessions of Blackboard training.)
• Must be able to effectively use Microsoft Office, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Must have access to a recent computer (less than 2 years old) with Internet access both inside and outside the N.C. A&T campus.

How to Earn a Distance Education Faculty Development Certificate

Requires completion of both the New Online Faculty Orientation and the Online Teaching Course (OL-700) or Designing Effective Online Courses:

• New Online Faculty Orientation - This self-paced orientation program defines institutional expectations for online teaching and introduces university resources. For more information, consult this flyer.)
• Teaching Online Course (OL - 700) – This 8-week, 40-60-hour online course, addresses best practices, skills, and competencies for teaching online. Various instructional applications and strategies are integrated into the course. This course is offered by ITTD.
• Designing Effective Online Courses - Offered by the UNC System Division of Academic Affairs, this 2 or 4-week workshop will provide you with information, tools, and experiences that will help you to be more successful in teaching online.

Quality Matters

• Each Module meets the requirements of one or more Quality Matters Higher Education rubric standards for online and blended courses.

To access the New Online Faculty Orientation, please follow these instructions or if you have questions, please contact Gwen Godard, Ph.D. (godardg@ncat.edu or (336) 285-3810). To register for the Teaching Online Course, please visit learn.ncat.edu or if you have questions, please contact Tracie Lewis, Ph.D. (tolewis@ncat.edu or 285-4491).