Online Teaching Training
Foundations of Canvas Course Design and the Better-Prepared Online Teacher Program
The only contractual requirement for CRC and other Los Rios faculty to teach online is completing the course Foundations of Canvas Course Design. More information about this can be found on the page Distance Education Training Requirement. This course is also a prereq for our Better-Prepared Online Teacher (BPOT) program. These courses are designed to support the creation of effective teaching and learning environments for our online students. These courses offer professional development in instructional design and online teaching strategies and are designed to help you become a better-prepared online teacher.
BPOT Outcomes
Instructional faculty who complete the program will be able to do the following:
Design a course in Canvas that employs course design principles outlined in the California Virtual Campus - Online Education Initiative's Online Course Design Rubric
Create an equity-minded teaching philosophy and course syllabus
Build an online community of learners through presence, empathy, and awareness
Use summative and formative assessments to document achievement of student learning outcomes
Create an online learning environment that is accessible to all students
Teach online classes with a high success rate
Faculty who complete the program will be well-prepared to design courses that align with the CVC-OEI's Course Design Rubric.
BPOT Structure
Five courses comprise the BPOT program. Select each course name to view its outcomes and badge of completion:
These courses can be taken in any order. To view the upcoming schedule, visit the BPOT Registration form.
As with the Foundations of Canvas Course Design, participants in the Better-Prepared Online Teacher courses are awarded badges for course completions. Those who complete all five BPOT courses are awarded the BPOT badge.
The Online Network of Educators (@ONE)
The @ONE network is a collaborative, system-wide network of California Community College faculty, staff, and administrators, is coordinated by the professional development team of the CCC California Virtual Campus-Online Education Initiative (CVC-OEI). The program offers courses that are designed to help faculty become effective online instructors. Their courses include facilitated online courses and free self-paced online courses. To see the schedule of upcoming offerings, visit the @ONE catalog.
Regular and Substantive Interaction
Under California regulations (Title 5 § 55204), the distance education portion of any class must include "regular and substantive interaction" (RSI) between instructors and students (and among students if described in the course outline of record). The regulations provide the following definitions:
Substantive means engaging in teaching and assessment, consistent with the content in the course, and including at least two of the following:
Direct instruction
Feedback
Providing information or responding to questions about the course
Facilitating a group discussion
Regular means predictable and scheduled substantive communication appropriate for the length of time and the amount of content in the course. It also means monitoring engagement and intervening when students need help (and responding when they ask for help)
Neither regulations nor our curriculum system dictate how to conduct RSI, and the details (which tool, etc.) are up to individual instructors. What is most important is that students know how their instructors will contact them, how frequently, and the best way for them to contact their instructors. If the course outline of record expects student-to-student RSI, students are more likely to be successful if those expectations are clear.
Effective instructional practices recommend a content page in the orientation module in Canvas that define the communication policy and practices for each class. The following additional resources can help instructors identify how they will use RSI to help their students succeed:
ASCCC Curriculum Institute attendees' suggestions for RSI in practice
Sacramento City College's Academic Senate guidelines