Academy Certificate Program

The Center for Distance Learning (CDL) Academy

The Center for Distance Learning (CDL) Academy is a series of training requirements and ongoing professional development for faculty who facilitate online CDL courses for the City Colleges of Chicago.  This training is focused specifically on distance learning within the context of the City Colleges of Chicago, distance learning technologies and related topics which may include seminars, workshops, video conferences and complete online courses.

 
Several of the required CDL courses are currently offered through the Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality (MVCR) Series. This is a series of online training workshops sponsored by the Illinois Online Network (ION).  Course numbers 2-4 (listed below) are administered through this series and are designed to promote inter-institutional collaboration, awareness of online teaching techniques and curriculum design.   The workshops are free for CDL faculty who are identified to facilitate our online courses.  Registration information and access to training will be provided by CDL staff.

CDL also encourages faculty to pursue the Master Online Teacher Certificate as part of their ongoing professional development.The Master Online Teacher Certificate is a comprehensive faculty development program based upon the MVCR series of online faculty development courses. This program recognizes and certifies faculty, staff, and administrators who have achieved a measurable level of knowledge related to online course design, online instruction, and other issues related to online teaching and learning.

1. CDL 202—Center for Distance Learning Overview

Description

This is an orientation course for the Center for Distance Learning faculty members. The course is divided into two parts.   Part one is designed to provide basic information on the College and CDL’s policies, procedures, and practices.   Part Two is an introduction to the blackboard, the learning management system used to support and deliver CDL courses.

Audience

This course is designed to assist CDL Faculty in understanding CDL policies and processes including the use of their course management system (Blackboard).

Topics

• Creating and managing groups
• Effective use of discussion forums
• The virtual classroom
• Online chat groups
• Using graphics
• Incorporating web pages/HTML, multimedia
• Introduction of instructional design and development.

Outline

Goals

The goal of this course is to provide faculty with an overview of the Center for Distance Learning including its policies, procedures and operations. Additionally, the course provides instructors with training materials on how to use the school blackboard system to design, develop and implement courses online.

Outcomes

• Be familiar and understand CCC and CDL policies
• Identify and define CDL’s  2 course delivery methods
• Identify the CDL policies, procedures and guidelines relating to students grievance handling
• Outline the student appeal of grading process
• Modify Course Setting and Images
• Manage the Grade book and Users
• Edit/modify the content area of the system
• Run statistical reports using Bb Course Statistics Tools
• Utilize file compression programs such as WinZip (PC), StuffIt (Mac)
• Save documents in various alternative formats such as Rich Text Format (i.e., RTF)
• Manage, add and modify course and assessment
• Utilize Time Trade

Length

Approximately twelve hours (online, self paced)

Description

This instructor-led, eight-week, fully-online course is an overview of online learning and teaching and introduces the key elements of an online program. Participants will actively discuss topics related to online learning and collaborate with peers in projects that analyze and assess online course design elements and technologies.

Audience

This course is designed for CDL Faculty to acquire pedagogical and technical skills needed to successfully teach courses online.

Topics

Participants will explore in depth the following topics:

• The online student’s role and responsibilities in the virtual classroom.
• The facilitator’s role in the virtual classroom, and characteristics of a successful online instructor.
• Strategies to promote communication and collaboration in the virtual classroom.
• Curriculum conversion for the online environment.

Outline

Module 1 - Online education compared and contrasted to traditional teaching and the student's role in the online classroom.
Module 2 - The instructor's role in the online classroom and course management issues.
Module 3 - Alternatives to the online lecture and collaboration strategies.
Module 4 - Tying it all togethe.

Goals

• Give prospective online instructors an opportunity to experience the virtual classroom from a student’s perspective.
• Model facilitator skills and technologies that participants will use in their own online courses.
• Develop a functional understanding of the nature and importance of online learning in the context of contemporary educational offerings.
• Provide participants with an overview of the key elements of an online course.
• Discuss the online student’s role and responsibilities in the virtual classroom.
• Discuss the facilitator's role in the virtual classroom and identify characteristics of a successful online instructor.
• Consider strategies to promote communication and collaboration in the virtual classroom.
• Share ideas about how curriculum can be converted to adapt to the online environment.

Objectives

In threaded discussions via an asynchronous online discussion forum, participants will:

• Identify skills and responsibilities students need to succeed in the virtual classroom.
• Identify skills and responsibilities facilitators need to succeed in the virtual classroom.
• Identify the characteristics of curriculum used in the online paradigm as contrasted with curriculum used in the traditional classroom.

In a collaborative team project, participants will:

• Critique the appropriateness of specific course design elements and technologies with respect to curriculum and course objectives in selected online courses.

In a final course project, participants will:

• Propose instructional design strategies they will use to promote communication and collaborative learning in their own online courses.
• Synthesize the topics covered in this course by converting a segment of their on ground curriculum for delivery in the online environment.

Length

The course is eight weeks in length and requires an online orientation.

Prerequisites

You may take this course without any course prerequisites.

3. Student Assessment in Online Courses

Description

This instructor-led, eight-week, fully-online course addresses various assessment formats that can be used for evaluating students in online courses. Assessment theory is explored, focusing on the applications to online education and the necessary adjustments needed when evaluating students in online courses. The course is designed to provide students opportunities to apply online student assessment concepts to their particular areas of interest in online course development.
Note: this is a paced distance education course that requires active and intensive participation in online asynchronous discussions and small group collaboration. It is not an independent study course.

Audience

The course is designed to assist CDL faculty in understanding issues surrounding student assessment in online courses. This is not a comprehensive course on student assessment, but rather deals specifically with the issues that are of most importance to online education.

Topics

• Why should instructors assess their students?
• What should be assessed?
• When should assessment take place?
• How can assessment be conducted?
• What are the pros and cons of various assessment methods?

Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Online Student Assessment
Module 2: Appropriate Assessment Methods
Module 3: Evaluating Assessment Activities
Module 4: Designing an Assessment Report

Goals

• Provide participants with an overview of strategies to assess students in an online environment.
• Provide an environment where participants can share ideas and experiences related to online student assessment and online education in general.
• Provide a model for educators who are or will be teaching online, and allow the educator to experience online education from the student's perspective.

Objectives

• After completing this course, learners will be able to:
• Participate in online discussions with peers that encourage analysis of online assessment issues using theoretical, technical, and practical frameworks.
• Demonstrate their ability to create a variety of assessment tools by completing mini-assessment plan assignments and other assessment activities.
• Apply online assessment models to a specific learning environment by developing a final online course assessment project.
• Discuss the major benefits and limitations of each type of assessment discussed in this course.
• Choose to use multiple forms of assessments in their online courses.

Length

The course is eight weeks in length and requires an online orientation.

Prerequisites

This course requires Online Learning: An Overview or its equivalent as a prerequisite.

Description

This instructor-led, eight-week, fully-online course introduces instructional design principles and relates the principles to the development of online courses. Participants will discuss concepts, ideas and strategies that lead to the effective design of an online course.

Audience

This course is designed to assist CDL faculty in understanding instructional design principles that apply to online or Web-enhanced education.

Topics

• Instructional Design Principles
• Instructional Design Models
• Conducting Appropriate Analyses
• Writing Effective Learning Outcomes
• Developing an Instructional Strategy
• Organizing Learning Sequences
• Evaluation of Online Courses

Outline

Module 1 - Overview of Instructional Design
Module 2 - The Analysis Stage
Module 3 - Planning and Design
Module 4 - Evaluation
Module 5 - Design Document Final Project

Goals

The goal of this course is to provide students with an overview of theories and strategies related to instructional design for online courses.

Objectives

In threaded discussions via an asynchronous online discussion forum:

• Learners will gain a general understanding of instructional design theories and understand the importance of systematic design.
• Learners will be able to conduct an analysis of an online course by identifying characteristics of the learner, the content, and the technology.
• Learners will be able to determine learning objectives and choose appropriate instructional strategies, methods, and delivery systems.
• Learners will be able to design an online learning environment that fosters learning and evaluate the effectiveness of the environment.

Length

Instructional Design is an eight week course including an online orientation that must be completed during the first week of the course.

Prerequisites

This course requires Online Learning: An Overview or its equivalent as a prerequisite.