Dziuban, C. and Fusch, D. (2010) Training and Preparing Your Faculty for Teaching Online Academic Impressions, June 24
In this interview, Chuck Dziuban of the University of Central Florida provides excellent advice on selecting and preparing faculty for online teaching. For old hands at online learning, the advice may seem obvious, but in my experience very few institutions have as good a preparation for online learning for faculty as the University of Central Florida (one of the best case studies in our book on integrating technology).
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
Hi, Tony. I was at a ed tech conference (CeLC) recently and one questioned asked (somewhat, repeatedly) was how to prepare instructors to effectively use technology in their teaching – this obviously meant they needed to explore and use such technology. Some shared they found it frustrating to get faculty involved in professional development efforts as well as overcome the resistance to technology (though, this is not everyone).
In my instructional design work, I try to balance the possibility of instructors not being completely familiar or comfortable with newer technologies, and the need for students to become creative, expressive, and active in their learning with such tech. My view is instructors don’t necessarily need to know the intricacies of software (such as using cooliris or Google webpage design) but need to know/determine what to expect from student work. I provide enough instructions and guidance for students using new technology to engage, and at the same time provide explicit learning objectives and assessment rubrics for instructors and students to have a sense of the intent and quality of the expected work. In short, my expectations are not for instructors to be highly competent with technology (maybe one day, if they wish!) but to weave the use of technology into the curriculum to entice students to do richer work. My opinion is students will do just fine and so will instructors – each have their jobs.