A Multi-Modal Program to Ensure Online Course Quality and Success

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Thursday, 21 July 2005
This presentation is part of 4: Poster Session
A Multi-Modal Program to Ensure Online Course Quality and Success

Description: Pima Community College combined faculty training using online and face-to-face components with live online course mentoring and course monitoring to ensure online course quality and success. Completion of an online competency-based course with F2F kick-off and wrap-up sessions are required of new faculty to teach online. Faculty trainers monitor online training course completion and faculty competence. New online faculty are mentored in their first course by experienced peers who provide guidance, support, and course monitoring.
Presentation Format: Poster
Topic: Enabling learning: Effective instructional practices and flexible design models
Target Audience: Course Designers, E-learning Managers, Faculty and Other Instructors
Appropriate Audience Level: Beginning or new users of WebCT, Experienced WebCT users
WebCT Version:
Abstract Text: How can we ensure our WebCT training program is getting the desired results? How can we support new online instructors? How can we ensure online course quality and student success with faculty teaching online for the first time? This session describes Pima Community College's model program for quality assurance for online courses with new faculty that incorporates training, mentoring, and course monitoring components. The college's Center for Learning Technology tackled several critical issues in faculty preparation and online instruction with a new, innovative and multi-modal program. In the Fall of 2004, years of optional face-to-face faculty WebCT training workshops and intensive “WebCT boot camps” designed to prepare faculty for online teaching were replaced with a required competency-based online training course, WebCT 151, in a non-credit and credit format. Mandatory face-to-face kick-off and wrap-up sessions for the online training course were put in place to ensure adequate faculty preparation and subsequent success. As new online faculty completed training, they were assigned a faculty mentor, an experienced online instructor with proven WebCT skills, in their first online course experience. The mentors provided both technical support and pedagogical guidance. Faculty have responded positively to this peer support when they began online teaching and have benefited from their mentors' online experiences. Additionally, the mentors monitored course activities and students' experiences and stepped in to correct problems and consult on issues as needed in a timely manner so that student success was enhanced. Training course design and institutional issues in developing and launching the program will be discussed along with recommended strategies for the implementation of this type of program at other institutions. Come find out how you can apply Pima's model at your institution.

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Description:	Pima Community College combined faculty training using online and face-to-face components with live online course mentoring and course monitoring to ensure online course quality and success. Completion of an online competency-based course with F2F kick-off and wrap-up sessions are required of new faculty to teach online. Faculty trainers monitor online training course completion and faculty competence. New online faculty are mentored in their first course by experienced peers who provide guidance, support, and course monitoring.
Presentation Format:	Poster
Topic:	Enabling learning: Effective instructional practices and flexible design models
Target Audience:	Course Designers, E-learning Managers, Faculty and Other Instructors
Appropriate Audience Level:	Beginning or new users of WebCT, Experienced WebCT users
WebCT Version:
Abstract Text:	How can we ensure our WebCT training program is getting the desired results? How can we support new online instructors? How can we ensure online course quality and student success with faculty teaching online for the first time? This session describes Pima Community College's model program for quality assurance for online courses with new faculty that incorporates training, mentoring, and course monitoring components. The college's Center for Learning Technology tackled several critical issues in faculty preparation and online instruction with a new, innovative and multi-modal program. In the Fall of 2004, years of optional face-to-face faculty WebCT training workshops and intensive “WebCT boot camps” designed to prepare faculty for online teaching were replaced with a required competency-based online training course, WebCT 151, in a non-credit and credit format. Mandatory face-to-face kick-off and wrap-up sessions for the online training course were put in place to ensure adequate faculty preparation and subsequent success. As new online faculty completed training, they were assigned a faculty mentor, an experienced online instructor with proven WebCT skills, in their first online course experience. The mentors provided both technical support and pedagogical guidance. Faculty have responded positively to this peer support when they began online teaching and have benefited from their mentors' online experiences. Additionally, the mentors monitored course activities and students' experiences and stepped in to correct problems and consult on issues as needed in a timely manner so that student success was enhanced. Training course design and institutional issues in developing and launching the program will be discussed along with recommended strategies for the implementation of this type of program at other institutions. Come find out how you can apply Pima's model at your institution.