To help guide novice online instructors through the steps of course planning and development and to explore the unique opportunities and challenges of the online learning environment, the Center for Transformative Teaching is offering a three-week Institute for Online Teaching course starting Nov. 30 through Dec. 18.

The Institute for Online Teaching, formerly known as the Summer Institute for Online Teaching, will be open to all members of the university’s instructional community. This includes faculty, graduate teaching assistants, contingent faculty and staff who operate in an instructional capacity.

“Traditionally this program has been offered over a five-week period with three synchronous class meetings,” Steven Cain, instructional designer for Center for Transformative Teaching said. “To meet the needs of this particular year we have condensed the programming to fit within a three-week period, but we also want to make sure that we’re maintaining the comprehensive approach that we’ve taken in the past, so we’ve increased the number of synchronous sessions to provide the group more opportunities to connect with one another and share their work.”

Participants should expect to connect with the class twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays for synchronous sessions and work through independent course materials posted in Canvas between meetings.

Materials for the class are organized by the instructional designers at the Center for Transformative Teaching who collaborate with colleges and other instructional support units across campus such as Information Technology Services, Students with Disabilities and the libraries, to provide a broad perspective of institutional trends.

By the end of the Institute, participants will be able to do the following:

• use principles of instructional design and nationally recognized quality standards to evaluate, design, or redesign online courses;

• demonstrate knowledge of legal and ethical issues surrounding online courses including academic integrity, course material accessibility, copyright considerations, and other university resources and policies;

• create authentic assessments of learning that appropriately align with course learning objectives;

• apply research-based principles of instruction to create learner-centered, interactive, online learning activities that promote student success;

• establish an effective online instructional persona that is present throughout the course and fosters a sense of collaborative community among learners;

• develop strategies for managing time, communication and instructor/student roles in online courses.

Detailed scheduling information and registration for the event can be found online.