Overview

The course provides academic staff with the knowledge and skills required to design, deliver and evaluate blended (selected in-class sessions replaced with online teaching) and fully online study-units.

Participants will have the opportunity to develop their understanding of effective online teaching practices and the relationship of these practices to the use of different technologies. Academics will also be encouraged to progressively design and reflect upon their own online learning, assessment or resource for use in their study-units.

The course also addresses practical issues in developing online study-units, some of which involve technology such as: discussion boards, open educational resources, tools to monitor online student activities and video-recording applications.

The course is delivered online to provide academics with an online learning and teaching experience and to accommodate their busy schedules. The course starts with a class-based session (2hr) to introduce participants to each other and the facilitators, to explain how the course is organised on the VLE, to communicate course expectations etc.

This course requires a commitment of 6 hours per week of “study time”. This includes reading course materials, viewing recorded lectures, contributing to online discussions, writing activities and practical implementation of learning.

The main aims of the course are:

• to provide participants with the knowledge and skills required to design, deliver and evaluate blended (selected in-class sessions replaced with online teaching) and fully online study-units;
• to develop the participants’ understanding and critical reflection on online learning, through active engagement in an immersive online learning and teaching experience.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge & Understanding

By the end of the course, participants will be able to

• articulate a critical awareness of developments in online learning, evaluating how the use of technology will best integrate with current theory and practice in education.
• demonstrate a critical understanding of the guiding principles of effective teaching for learning in blended and online environments.
• apply these principles and the experience of class-based teaching to design, deliver and evaluate an element of online activity in a study-unit.

Skills

By the end of the course, participants will be able to

• use various technologies including discussion boards, tools to monitor the students' online activities in the VLE and video-recording applications.
• utilise advanced research skills to systematically develop their knowledge so that they can make informed choices in integrating technology into student learning experience so as to engage and challenge the student.
• use technology to present material and to communicate complex ideas in a clear, organised, stimulating and engaging way.
• work constructively with colleagues to evaluate and support one another's work.
• engage in a systematic critical reflection on their own and their colleague's academic practice with a view to its enhancement.

Note:

• The course will make use of Internet readings, periodical articles available through the UM Library, videos recorded facilitator and online videos.
• It is recommended that participants following this course would have successfully completed the Foundations of University Teaching & Learning.