Online Faculty Certification

1. Online Faculty Certification Presented by: Dr. Vesta Whisler Ivy Tech Community College East Central Region vwhisler@ivytech.edu

2. Topics • Why we certify our own faculty to teach online • How we certify faculty to teach online

3. Why Certify Our Own Faculty? • Online courses are in demand • Quality of online courses is in question • Many faculty have never taught an online course • Many faculty have never taken an online course

4. Informal Survey #1 • If you think • online courses are more in demand on your campus this academic year than last • hold up your smiley face • If not, • hold up your frowney face

5. Online Courses are in Demand • UOP Online saw 70% enrollment increase • up from 29,000 students in 2001 • to 49,400 in 20021 • Postsecondary schools expect online enrollment growth to continue to accelerate • expected average growth rate for online students for 2004 was 24.8% • up from 19.8% in 20032 1Gallagher, S. (2002, October). For-profit postsecondary online programs grow rapidly by meeting student needs. The Education Economy.Boston: Eduventures, Inc. ). 2Sloan Consortium (2004). Entering the Mainstream: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2003 and 2004. http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/survey.asp

6. Online Courses are in Demand “In 2000-01, about half of all course enrollments in distance education courses were at public 2-year colleges.”33NCES National Center for Education Statistics. The Condition of Education 2004, Section 5 on Contexts of Postsecondary Education, p. 85http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2004077

7. Ivy Tech Statewide DE Stats Includes online & video courses. In 2004, 92.8% were online, 7.2% video.

8. Ivy Tech Statewide DE Stats

9. FASTNET Students • FASTNET saw a 100% enrollment increase • up from 150 students Fall, 2004 • to 300 in Fall, 2005 • For each 8-week session

10. Why Certify Faculty? • Online courses are in demand • Quality of online courses is in question

11. Informal Survey #2 • If you think • online courses are as good as (or better than) face-to-face courses on your campus • hold up your smiley face • If not • hold up your frowney face

12. Quality of Online Courses • A majority of academic leaders believe that online learning quality is already equal to or superior to face-to-face instruction. • Three quarters of academic leaders at public colleges and universities believe that online learning quality is equal to or superior to face-to-face instruction4 4Sloan Consortium (2004). Entering the Mainstream: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2003 and 2004. http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/survey.asp

13. Why Certify Faculty? • Online courses are in demand • Quality of online courses is in question • Many faculty have never taught an online course

14. And Even More Important . . . Many faculty have never taken an online course.

15. Why Certify Online Faculty? • Most of us • have experienced what it’s like to take a f2f class • from the student’s perspective. • Many, however, • have NOT experienced what it’s like to take an online class • from the student’s perspective.

16. Informal Survey #3 • If you • are (or know) a faculty member • who has taught online • AND taken an online class • hold up your smiley face • If you • are (or know) a faculty member • who has taught online • but nottaken an online class • hold up your frowney face

17. Faculty Professional Development • Takes time • Adjuncts sometimes hired on the fly • Takes money • PDG funds in short supply • Online classes are fairly new • Not available when many of us earned degrees

18. Why Certify Faculty? • Online courses are in demand • Quality of online courses is in question • Many faculty have never taught an online course • Many faculty have never taken an online course

19. Topics • Why we certify faculty to teach online • How we certify faculty

20. Online Faculty Certification Course • Online experience • The expectations • The participants • The results

21. Personal Online Experience • Late 90’s Ivy Tech • Top Class • Self-taught • SMSU CIS – Not my passion • Capella University Online Learning – My passion • Lotus Notes • Ivy Tech Statewide • Adopted Blackboard 5 & First Class • Franklin University • Online faculty training • Ball State – Blackboard 6 • Ivy Tech – Blackboard 6 • 2004 FASTRACK FASTNET • University of Phoenix • OE/OWA • Intense online faculty training

22. Realization • Not everyone interested in teaching online classes for Ivy Tech has been as immersed in online learning as others.

23. Solution • Share what we know with others • Develop internal training modules

24. The Expectations • Four modules • Minimum participation 3 days a week • Successful completion of at least 80% of assignments • 1 Credit Hour = 16 contact hours • Four weeks = 4 contact hours/week

25. The Participants • First class (July, 2005) • All current & prospective FASTNET Instructors (full-time or adjunct) • Certified 27 faculty • Second class (Sept, 2005) • New FASTNET Instructors & any interested Region 06 faculty (full-time or adjunct) • Certified 18 more faculty • Third class (Oct, 2005) • Any interested Region 06 full-time and adjunct faculty • Mandatory for full-time faculty in some divisions in Region 06 • 20 currently participating • Next class (Feb, 2006) • Any interested person qualified to teach for Ivy Tech • 8-week option

26. The Results Participants were asked: “What are the five most important or memorable things you learned from this course?” • How to work in groups. • How powerful discussion boards can be • The use of rubrics to encourage students to contribute even more than they currently do in my classes. • Building a sense of community in an online class is very important and how icebreakers can help

27. Results, continued . . . • One distinction that is important as an instructor integrating learner-centered activity is to act as a coach or facilitator and give support but not too much. • Plagiarism: How to detect it as well as the variety of information available on this topic. The group discussions/input helped out tremendously. • Time Management: The on line learning will demand a more structured time management style from the typical student who may wait to do all homework in one night.

28. Results, continued . . . • The assignments helped me to brush-up on Ivy Tech Policies and Procedures. • Above all, the best part of this course was the vivid and stimulating interaction between all the participants.  It reinforced a notion that I already had after teaching several online classes--that online classes can certainly be just as interactive as f2f classes, and sometimes even more so.  • The entire process of checking grades, posting to the digital drop box, downloading assignment sheets, and everything just helped me to get a better idea of what my students see on the student side of eLearning. 

29. Results, continued • The importance of an autobiography to a student.  I learned a lot about my classmates.  • I learned how to use external links.  • I really like using a syllabus template, I think this allows for consistency and does not allow you to forget something.  • I certainly have learned how to walk in my students' shoes.

30. In Summary . . . • Why we certify faculty to teach online • Because it’s important to share best practices • How we certify faculty to teach online • Online, of course 

31. Question & Answer Time