certified online instructors for career and technology education

Certified Online Instructors

for Career and Technical Education

15th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning

October 28-30, 2009Orlando, FL

Dorothy Cady, M.Ed.www.dorothycady.comwww.francistuttle.edu

Len Bogner, Ed.D.www.lenbogner.com

www.uco.edu

http://www.francistuttle.edu/

Why Move Traditional Courses Online?

Financial & space restrictions

Competitive pressuresTechnological improvements

Technology-savvy students

Dorothy Cady

Even with a steady increase in available funds, which isn't standard for most schools, you can only build so many buildings in the space that's available.Online courses have become the norm, so if you don't do it, someone else will. You'll lose students, funding, and the ability to positively affect the lives of increasing numbers of students.Technology changes everyday. The pressure to keep up with it requires a willingness to use it, not just to be aware of it.Students use technology on a daily basis. Educational institutions that don't embrace those technologies risk alienating students--both existing and future.

And of course…

LogisticsYou want us to train HOW MANY

INSTRUCTORS?

What Challenges had to be Met?

Availability and reliability of critical systems

Qualified support personnel

Instructor resistance

Training that protects traditional instructors’ classroom

How was the first challenge met?

Critical systems availability/reliability All-in-one LMS from a strong company (market share, history, finances)

Tested/integrated with current systems

Leadership’s commitment to the future

Investment in technical support tools and personnel

How was the second challenge met?

Qualified support personnel Significant staff-to-instructor ratio

Intense training of all support staff

Customer service feedback mechanism

Anytime, anywhere policy

Report to Chief Technology Officer

How was the third challenge met?

Instructor resistance

Let participation be optional Identify and reward early adopters

Provide a variety of training choices

Spotlight instructor successes

Be there when instructors need help

How was the fourth challenge met?

Training that Protects Traditional Instructors’ Classroom

On-site training at non-class time Online training materials, FAQs, etc.

One-on-one training by appointment

Move traditional training to online (COI/CEI)

Why Train Faculty Instead of Hiring Online

Adjuncts? Capture SME Knowledge Maximize ROI Capitalize on Reputation Support Professional

Development Increase Availability

Dorothy Cady

In Career Tech, instructors are hired for their industry experience and subject matter expertise, as well as their ability to share that experience and knowledge with others. But that often means traditional teachers are entering the career tech classroom with fewer remaining years with which to share that knowledge than their inexperienced counterparts. Capturing that knowledge online means that more students can benefit from it.Educational institutions invest heavily in personnel, especially instructional personnel. Their return for such investment can be increased by making double-duty out of their knowledge, thus maximizing the institution's return on investment for all of its stakeholders.The institution has spent a great deal of time and resources to develop its reputation. When a student is choosing to attend school online, part of that choice is based on the reputation of the institution. Schools with a positive reputation for traditional education can capitalize on that reputation for its online courses and programs, with little additional investment in building its reputation.Career Tech instructors must meet continuing education requirements, and developing online creation and facilitation skills can help fulfill that requirement.While the availability of online instructors continues to grow, so too does the demand for those instructors. Educational institutions that want to provide online courses must compete for skilled online instructors just as they do for traditional instructors.

What do instructor’s fear about going online?

Endangering traditional program

Too much work, too little reward

Drop in student success rates

Loss of job

Peer opinion

Dorothy Cady

Why should an instructor with a successful on-ground program put in all of that extra time and effort when... ~ doing so might endanger the success of their current program? ~ school leadership displays limited understanding of and committment to online? ~ intangible rewards for success more often go to school leadership than to the instructor? ~ reliability of content delivery rests on a system that is out of the instructor's control? ~ participation hours come mostly out of the instructor's unpaid personal time? ~ the instructor believes he risks losing peer respect if his opinions regarding online courses differ from that of his peers? ~ the instructor fees that students won't get from online courses the education they need to succeed? ~ putting the instructor's knowledge into an online format makes it easy for the school to replace the traditional instructor with an adjunct?

How do you overcome instructor fears?

Involve them in decisions and give them choices

Provide strong, quick support

Train them online to succeed at developing and teaching online

Provide professional certification in exchange for their hard work

Certified Online/Elearning Instructor Certification

What is the COI/CEI?

Four online courses that result in recognition of achieved, measurable knowledge related to online course development, management, and facilitation.

Four Online Courses for Professional Certification

COI1

•Online Course Development

COI2

•Managing the Online Classroom

COI3

•Online Course Facilitation

COI4

•COI Capstone

Introduces students to creating online courses using Blackboard as the development and delivery tool.

Designed to train participants in the design and development of online courses, as well as in the practical use of the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS).

COI1/CEI1Online Course Development

COI1/CEI1Online Course Development

Introduces students to best practices and techniques for successfully managing online courses.

Covers how to manage student expectations, online communication, lesson presentation, and technical management of the online classroom.

COI2/CEI2Managing the Online

Classroom

COI2/CEI2Managing the Online

Classroom

Introduces students to best practices for teaching/facilitating online courses following validated instructional practices and standards.

Gives students the opportunity to implement best practices in an online course they create.

COI3/CEI3Online Course Facilitation

COI3/CEI3Online Course Facilitation

Capstone participants design, develop and teach an online course following validated instructional practices and standards while demonstrating the application of best practices.

Students also participate as online students and conduct peer-reviews of other students’ courses.

COI4/CEI4Capstone

COI4/CEI4Capstone

Capstone courses created by each student must:

Meet all quality control guidelines

Reflect sufficient knowledge of online course design & development

Pass review by COI/CEI Certification Committee

Passing All Four Courses Doesn’t Guarantee

Certification

100 Full-time instructors

10 Instructional Assistants

8 Administrative Personnel

50 Offsite specialists

All Adjunct who are interested

All BIS Coordinators who ask

Challenges by the Numbers

And the result…

An exhausted Elearning StaffAND…

Well, what did you expect?

14 certification series completed

56 COI/CEI courses taught online

400+ participants

100% graduation rate

600+ online courses created by COI/CEI participants

Successes by the Numbers

There is a time for departure even when there's no

certain place to go.

~ Tennessee Williams ~

Thank you for your attention!

_________________________________________________

Learn more about Career Tech at www.technoscholars.com

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