The DE Certification Program (DECP) provides faculty members with the skills and strategies you need to be a successful online instructor. The DECP is fully online and is comprised of three (3) weeks of self-paced activities. Each week's activities require approximately 5-8 hours to complete. The DECP is offered once in the Fall and Spring semesters. It is also offered once during the summer term. The main topics include:
- What is Distance Education?
- Instructional design for online instructors
- Content development using Desire2Learn (D2L)
Through the DECP, you will have the opportunity to experience online learning as a student, you will learn the importance of creating strong learning communities within your online courses, you will learn and apply strategies for designing quality online courses, and you will learn and demonstrate competency with basic Desire2Learn tools.
Prerequisite
The DECP is not D2L training! Before the DECP begins, it is required that all participants attend the face-to-face Introduction to D2L Workshop offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning. If you have not attended this training, please click here to register for the next session.
Audience
The DECP is right for you if:
- you have never taught online before and plan to do so in the near future.
- you are planning to offer a new course online.
- you are seeking professional development for promotion or tenure
- you are interested in online teaching and learning and what to know more.
DECP Objectives:
In the Certification Program for Online Instructors, you will:
- Interact with the components that make up a well-designed and well-developed online course
- Experience many of the challenges that distance learners face
- Discover and implement strategies used by successful online instructors
- Identify the characteristics and needs of a successful online learner
- Understand the importance of and strategies for building an online learning community
- Explore and apply instructional design principles for designing effective online courses
Weekly Topics:
Course Orientation:
- Have a solid understanding of the structure of the program
- Know what activities are required for certification
- Know how to use D2L tools to submit assignments and interact with your classmates
- Know how to use basic D2L tools to design your own course
Week 1: What is Distance Education?
- Develop a working definition of "distance education"
- Have a solid understanding of DE in the U.S. and how it has evolved in the past century
- Identify the characteristics of the online learner
- Identify competencies that successful online educators share
Week 2: Instructional Design for Online Instructors
- Define "instructional Design"
- Become familiar with the development and application of a storyboard
- Developing a storyboard for your own online course
- Become familiar with the Quality Matters Rubric
Week 3: Content Development
- Develop the first two weeks of your own online course
- Evaluate your own design using the QM Rubric
- Create a welcome video for your course