How It Works

Online course Bootcamp is a new service offered by the Digital Learning Production Team within the Center for Teaching Learning and School of Professional Studies. Originally created to help keep courses that had previously been through development fresh, the service has expanded in its approach to be a value add all on its own. 

Bootcamps run in the Spring semester and consist of two phases. Phase I is a full-day event where we discuss what you need to be successful as a faculty, current trends in online learning, and the unique needs of online students.  Phase II is online for three weeks, to take your course even further with the hands-on assistance of instructional designers. Phase II is a mix of synchronous online Zoom meetings and asynchronous guided course design work. The goal of Phase II is to make a positive impact on student experience in your online course.

As a bonus for signing up, you'll be provided with a new, easy-to-use Canvas visual design tool, Design Plus, to use in all of your classes to make them look better than ever. Not only does Design Plus help your classes look amazing, it also makes it easier and faster to build your class. Research shows that activating positive emotions through an intentionally aesthetically-pleasing design contributes to a positive learning experience by influencing attitudes and motivation, increasing students’ interest, and strengthening their attention and level of engagement with materials (Malamed, 2015) as well as reducing cognitive load for learning (Um, Plass, Hayward, & Homer, 2012). Check out the examples below for more of an idea of what the tool can do.

During the Bootcamp, you will be placed into groups and assigned an instructional designer from CTL's award-winning instructional design team. You will receive a report that provides insights for possible course enhancements. 

Anecdotal evidence from faculty indicates that the Bootcamp process has been beneficial for them and their students. 

Course Refresh Exemplars