The fifth @One Quality Principle of Online Teaching states the because technology is dynamic, our understanding of the most effective and responsive means to connect with students must be as dynamic. Ongoing professional development, then, is a central component to effective online teaching.
Within the CCC ecosystem, some ways faculty can meet this principle are by:
• Participating in the CCC community of practice, including, but not limited to, CCC sponsored webinars, blogs, newsletters, and social media;
• Attending conferences focused on online teaching, including the Online Teaching Conference and other in person events;
• Engaging in ongoing professional development for online instructors;
• Sharing in discipline-specific conversations about online teaching.
Since I have never taught online, but have used Canvas in conjunction to my face-to-face courses this standard has partially been met. As a venture in the design of my online course I will become more involved in online professional development. The courses that I have taken have served as a foundation to my understanding of how my instruction in the online platform should be structured to ensure student retention and success.
The badges shown are from courses taken through @One. Each course was taken independently and provided a different take on what online teaching is comprised of. These address criterion 3 of standard 5 which provided professional development to assist me in developing my online course as described in principle 5.
Before starting courses:
I had no idea that to teach online required formal preparation. I knew nothing about @One courses until it was brought up by my department and their interest in online learning.
My growth after taking courses:
I can honestly say that these online courses have shaped how I deliver instruction in several ways. I was able to see and redesign my content to make it more appealing to student needs versus just getting the information out. Each course's unique content allowed me to look at online teaching with a different lens and prepared me to create a course that engages students in learning and allows them to see value in the content learned.
How I plan to continue growing?
This is an area that I need to dive more into. As I complete this first phase of online instruction I see the need to keep up with the latest resources and research. This is an area that is completely new to me and I am eager to learn more about. An immediate step I can take is to attend local online teaching conferences. I have to admit this might be costly, but I will make a sacrifice to complete this task.