Online Learning Fellows Guide Faculty on How to Develop Online Courses
Online Learning Fellows Guide Faculty on How to Develop Online Courses
In January 2016, the Office of Online Learning launched its latest round of the Online Learning Fellows (OLF) program. This program, targeted primarily at UGA faculty teaching online for the first time, sought to guide these faculty members through the planning and creation of online courses. The program consisted of an online course blended with face-to-face instruction, which highlighted the importance of thoughtful course design that informs instructors on how to use specific tools within eLC. The instructional designers at the Office of Online Learning worked closely with over 50 faculty members from nine different colleges to design and develop undergraduate-level courses to be delivered during the Summer 2016 semester.
Elizabeth Osborn-Kibbe, a Lecturer from the School of Dance, noted that the OLF program “was extremely helpful in utilizing all of the eLC features from the student perspective… All of that helped me to understand eLC from a student perspective, which is helping me to design as an instructor.” Many of the faculty cited the value of the face-to-face meetings with their fellow instructors. In particular, Frans Weiser, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature, found the meetings beneficial as faculty “saw how members of our cohorts had implemented their learning, as it provided ideas for how we can organize our own modules and assignments.”
Many other features of the OLF helped faculty and staff to better prepare themselves to teach online classes. Sandrine Zawacki, an Instructor in the Romance Languages department cited creating two modules of her own course as being “an excellent way to practice, using the new tools I’ve learnt in the course.”
Similarly, Jennifer Gay, Assistant Professor in the College of Public Health, appreciated how the OLF program helped her with organization when creating a course.
Rob Greer, an Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Policy, summed up his experience in the OLF program by saying it was a “great experience. I learned a lot, and I believe this to be a useful program that many other faculty will benefit from and, as a result, untold numbers of students.”