2. Online learning is an essential part of the entire educational process
and should be viewed as such
Objective: Create a long-term
faculty that views the online
environment as a career and
not as a job; i.e. developing
online instructors who are in
the job for the long-run
and do not perceive the
position as temporary.
Developing Long-Term Faculty
Important Factors
Ensuring the availability of
adequate budgeting and funding
to support the following:
The program
Trainers
Faculty
Support Staff
A Common
Misconception
Online teaching
consists mainly of
the technological
aspects
Requirements
Thorough planning before the
commencement of the program
Eliminate the problems that
may cause frustration or
discouragement
Frequent Assessments
Determine the effectiveness of
the program
After assessments, make
relevant adjustments to ensure
smooth transitioning and
continuity of the program
Ensure that training meets the
faculty and trainer’s needs
(Palloff and Pratt, 2011)
3. olc.onlinelearningconsortium.org
Efficient Online Training
Inexperienced Faculty
4 - 6 weeks or longer of training
dependent on the level of
experience; the course length
depends on if courses are
pre-written or require designing
from the outset
Novices may require an entire
semester to develop the
necessary skills
Experienced Faculty
May be given immediate
teaching assignments
Training is dependent on
skill levels
Level of training also
dependent on if the courses
are pre-written or require
designing from the outset
(Palloff and Pratt, 2011)
Having determined the above prerequisites through assessments, it is time
to determine the required level of training:
The level of training for
faculty depends on:
Experience in
online teaching
Experience with
technology
Whether courses
are pre-developed
or require designing
from the outset
Efficient online facilities
manifest the following:
Variety of training
options
Well-trained faculty
Flexible faculty
Flexible Course Delivery
4. Efficient Online TrainingPhased Approach
• Online faculty development
occurs in various phases
• Align the training needs of the
instructor with their position in
the developmental lifespan
(Palloff and Pratt, 2011)
• Teachers encounter five
distinct phases in development
of expertise in online
instruction
• The cyclical process evolves
from teachers as learners to
teachers as leaders (Sherry,
Billig, Tavalin, & Gibson, D. , 2000)
6. Learning Community
Utilizing technologies
employed for delivering
online or hybrid classes can
also be used to start faculty
learning communities:
Discussion forums for faculty
Listservs
Chat
Webcasts
Synchronous sessions via
virtual classroom
Blogs and wikis
Learning Community Approach
Achieving formation and support of communities of practice among faculty
One the most effective ways to assist faculty in understanding the value of a
learning community in online teaching
Incorporated into faculty training and development (Palloff and Pratt, 2011).
Sustained by:
Online communication
Project-based work
Reading discussions
Activities that keep a
discussion ongoing
Cohorts
Formed groups within a topic
of interest
7. Outcomes
Reflection on teaching practice
Transformation of practice
Increased self-direction and
confidence in online practice
Development of online presence
Sense of connection
Process
Reflection/
Transformative
Teaching & learning
Social/ Constructivist
context
Engage in dialogue
Purpose
Training for online
teaching
Critical explorations
of teaching practice
for hybrid and online
instruction
People
Colleagues
Staff
Administrators
Students
Learning Community
The components of the framework
consists of the community:
(Palloff and Pratt, 2011).
8. References
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2011). The excellent online instructor: Strategies for
professional development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sherry, L., Billig, S., Tavalin, F., & Gibson, D. (2000). New Insights on Technology
Adoption in Communities of Learners. Retrieved from
http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED444565