Running head: SYLLABUS/PROSPECTUS
Syllabus/Prospectus For Certification Program for Teaching Online
Daniel Aguilar
Jose Banda
Maria Eugenia Perez
University of Texas at Brownsville
April 8, 2012
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This seven week online ‘Beginner Course’ and semester long ‘Practicum’is designed to provide
learners with the experience of being an online student while introducing them to the
pedagogical and technical issues of online teaching. While learners may want to adapt their
teaching materials and methods to a fully online delivery, this course is also suitable for those
wishing to move only parts of their courses online (e.g. hybrid, web enhanced). Course
instruction is based on the quality principles/standards identified in the UTB Online Course
Development Guidelines and focuses on three main areas:
● orientation to online teaching and learning;
● designing an online course;
● managing and supporting an online course.
Learners will follow a design process that will help them plan and develop their online
instruction for maximum effectiveness. While learners will master the basic tools for
Blackboard, the course focuses on online teaching and can be completed regardless of what
course/LMS is used.
COURSE OBJECTIVES / LEARNING OUTCOMES
● Week 1: Participants will learn best practices for the beginning of an online course.
Participants will introduce themselves to their classmates and become familiar with the
course syllabus, the course calendar, course projects and requirements. In addition,
participants will become (re)acquainted with blackboard basics and tips.
● Week 2: Participants will become versed in the best online teaching practices.
● Week 3: Participants will learn how to create an online syllabus/schedule.
● Week 4: Participants will become familiar with the best practices for building
communication in an online community. Participants will also be expected to learn
techniques related to promoting critical self-reflection.
● Week 5: Participants will be expected to master how to assess and evaluate in an online
environment
● Week 6: Participants will be expected to learn how to adapt coursework, their class, and
instructor assistance to students with disabilities and copyright awareness for an online
course.
● Week 7: Participants will become aware of time management and workload management
for online teaching. In addition, they will learn techniques for reviewing and closing out
the online course.
● Practicum: Following the 7 week ‘Beginner’s’ Phase, participants will work with a
mentor while they teach an online course. The mentor will observe, critique, and work
with the instructor for at least one online course for a semester.
RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
● CHICO’s Rubric for Online Instruction: http://www.csuchico.edu/celt/roi/
● Quality Matters Rubric: http://www.qmprogram.org/files/QM_Standards_2011-2013.pdf
● Wagner, R., Vanevenhoven, J., & Bronson, J. (2010). A top ten list for successful online
courses. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching(6), 2.
● Boettcher, J.V. & Conrad, R.M. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and
practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. ISBN 978-0-470-42353-0
● Blackboard Manual: http://library.blackboard.com/ref/ea984982-19d6-4b71-9776adab0e79ef77/index.htm
● Baran, E., Correia, A., & Thompson, A. (2011). Transforming online teaching practice:
critical analysis of the literature on the roles and competencies of online teachers.
Distance Education, 32(3), 421-439.
● Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2011). The excellent online instructor: Strategies for
professional development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
Regular attendance and participation is essential for learning. The class will meet on a weekly
basis through the Blackboard live classroom. All participants are expected to attend each of the
online meetings or sessions. For these sessions, learners will need a headset with a microphone.
Also, learners will be expected to work in groups to complete collaborative assignments. In
addition, they will be required to utilize the online discussion board to answer discussion
questions and respond to a minimum of two posts per week. Attendance is not the same as
participation. Simply logging on does not contribute to the class. Participants may be dropped if
they are absent the first week or if they miss more than a week.
GRADING
To provide each learner with a complete online experience, points will be given for assignments
and projects. Students who successfully complete this course will receive a UTB Certificate of
Completion. In order to receive the certificate, students must have achieved at least 85% of the
points in the course.
Points are awarded for all activities in the course:
I. Discussion questions / Class participation (30%)
II. Individual Projects (25%)
Project 1: Online Learning Best Practices Presentation (12.5%) (Week 2)
Project 2: Time management plan (12.5%)
III. Cooperative Project: Online course creation (30%)
Part 1: Syllabus - Part 1 - Course Description
Part 2: Syllabus - Part 2 - Learning goals / Class activities
Part 3: Syllabus - Part 3- Assessment
IV. Self-assessment/Self-reflection (10%)
Learners will be expected to complete a one-page minimum self-assessment and selfreflection of their online teaching growth. This data will be given to the learner’s peer
mentor to be worked on during the practicum phase.
V. Peer review (5%)
Learners will be expected to review and provide feedback on two of the class projects.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Discussion Questions (DQ)
Discussion board questions are an important form of communication in an online course.
After every weekly meeting, the learner will be asked to submit their viewpoint to an
issue question in the ‘Discussion Forum.’ The questions are intended to have the learner
synthesize, evaluate, and extend their knowledge and understanding of course materials.
The learner will be expected to participate weekly by contributing a minimum of two (2)
responses to other participants’ comments.
The following is a guideline of discussion questions, the master instructor has the liberty
to modify the questions based on the needs of the learners.
a. “What are the online learner’s learning experiences vs. Face-to-Face (F2F) learning
experiences?” (Week 1)
b. “What online teaching best practices have you employed or do you plan to employ?
How?” (Week 2)
c. “Describe how your syllabus needs to change to meet the needs of an online class?”
(Week 3)
d. “How do you plan to implement self-reflection throughout your course?” or “How
would you ensure social presence in an online classroom?”(Week 4)
e. “How do you plan on modifying assessments from past courses to meet the
challenges of an online class?” (Week 5)
f. “How would you ensure diversity in an online environment?” (Week 6)
g. “Share with the class how would you ensure good closure.” (Week 7)
2. Projects
Learners will collaborate on a cooperative project as well as two individual projects.
A. Cooperative Project. The cooperative project is a group effort that includes the
creation of a syllabus and a group presentation. Working in groups of 2-3, learners will
develop a course syllabus and present it to the rest of the class. The task will be divided
into three parts: (1) developing a the course description section of the syllabus, (2)
developing the learning goals/class activities section of the syllabus, (3) and developing a
plan to assess student learning.
B. Individual Projects.
Project 1: Online Learning Best Practices Presentation. Learners will create an 6-12 slide
PowerPoint® presentation on the best practices for online learning. Include an
introduction, a summary of the best practices and how instructors will implement them in
the online classroom. Use at least three references including, but not limited to, the
textbook, journal articles, and electronic sources. Be prepared to present to the class.
(Week 2)
Project 2: Time management plan. After reading course materials and participating in
the weekly meeting, learners will create a 2-4 page paper that will include a summary of
considerations you will make to manage your online instruction and a time management
plan. A table format is recommended to present the plan. (Week 7)
HOW TO SUBMIT PROJECTS
In this course, learners will be developing a variety of Web-based projects. In order to
share these projects with classmates and the facilitator, they must be saved in an appropriate
Web-based format (such as HTML, PDF, MP3, WMV, etc.). The projects will be uploaded to a
web server and shared with the class through the Project URL Database. If participants do not
have a web site account (on either of the Gemini, or Orange Servers), they must request it during
the first week of class. Contact the UTB Virtual Help Desk to request a new web account. Go to
"How Do I Request a Student Website?" If participants need immediate assistance they may call
the Toll Free Number: 1-882-HELP (4357).
COURSE COMMUNICATION
This course is fully online and various tools are available for communication with the course
facilitators.
● Email - All participants should have their own email account. Emails to the Master
Instructor should be responded to within 24 hours.
● Telephone - The Master Instructor should be available through telephone in order to
assist learners with questions.
● Chat - A chat module is available through the blackboard course. There is a function to
indicate if someone is available to chat.
● Face to Face - The class will meet on a weekly basis in the Blackboard Collaborate. This
is also a great time to ask questions to the Master Instructors.
● Announcements - The class can be sent weekly announcements in an effort to keep
everyone connected and on task if so desired by the Master Instructor.
● Discussion Board - Weekly discussion board entries are also an opportunity for
communication with classmates.
LEARNER SUPPORT
For basic Blackboard support, faculty may contact UTB’s help desk. For content questions,
faculty are advised to contact the Master Instructor who is facilitating the course. Participants
may also contact their assigned mentor at any time throughout the class or the practicum.
EVALUATION
● Discussion questions and class participation- The Master Instructor will monitor and ask
probing questions in order to facilitate critical thinking.
● Individual and cooperative projects will be used as means to ensure subject matter
understanding.
● A self-assessment/self-reflection will be submitted to gauge the learner’s understanding
of objectives.
● A peer review will be utilized in order to receive feedback from peers on two
assignments: Time management plan and the cooperative project.
● Rubrics will be given for all assignments.
FACILITATORS
Each facilitator is an experienced online instructor, or for the purpose of this course- Master
Instructor, and will be able to help students find the resources and answers they need.
COURSE TIMELINE
The ‘Beginner’s Course’ is a seven week course. The hands-on ‘Practicum; will be completed
the following semester. Upon successful completion, the participant will be issued a UTB Online
Teaching Certificate of Completion.
Name of Training Component
Length of
time
Beginner’s Phase
7 weeks
Hands-on practicum with mentorship (The learner is already teaching at this
time)
1 semester
PLEASE NOTE: There will be activities, discussions, and/or exercises to accomplish each
week. This is an online course, so learners need to commit time to attend online classes, add to
discussions, and work on group projects each week. It is critical that each learner is able to block
out enough time to work on this and contribute to the success of others as well as themselves.
Learners should expect to devote at least 3-5 hours each week during the course towards
homework, assignments, presentations, projects, and/or studying. If this time requirement is not
feasible, we suggest that instructors consider taking the course at a different time.
POLICIES
Faculty and students are responsible for understanding and adhering to all UTB Institutional
Policies. University policies are subject to change. Please click on the following link to review
the updated UTB Institutional Policies:
http://www.utb.edu/vpaa/Documents/University_Policies.pdf