This course is intended primarily for NOVA faculty to help them make the transition from teaching in the classroom to teaching on line.

In this online course you will experience and learn from the student’s perspective. Teaching online successfully requires some of the same skills as teaching in the classroom, but involves a few additional ones as well.  This eight-week online course will guide you through:

• a refresher on some basic pedagogical principles
• the exploration of useful technologies
• an introduction to required administrative tasks

all while you are participating as an online student.  You will find out if online teaching is right for you, what skills you will need to teach online, what technology you will need to employ and therefore know, and how to engage students to become active learners.  You will grapple with some of the barriers to successful online learning and at the same time find strategies for motivating yourself to persist and finish.  You will experience learning online as part of a community.

Schedule

This is a three-credit course compressed into eight weeks; expect to spend the equivalent of about two days a week on course work. Because many of the assignments involve discussion and other forms of collaboration, assignments are completed on a weekly schedule, with some mid-week due dates.

EDU 295 will be offered the second eight-week session of Spring Semester, 2010, and the first eight-week session of Summer Semester, 2010. See http://eli.nvcc.edu/sessions.htm for exact session dates.

Registration

Registration is restricted, so you cannot self-register.  You must send a registration request to the ELI Registrar. The procedure differs depending on how you will pay for the course. Free tuition is available for full-time NOVA faculty and for adjunct NOVA faculty who have taught at least one semester and will teach the semester they take EDU 295.

How to register if your are paying the tuition yourself

1. Apply for admission to NOVA as a student (http://www.nvcc.edu/novaconnect/student/hdi-apply.htm).
2. Send your NOVA student id and request for registration to Jayne Townend, ELI Registrar (jtownend@nvcc.edu, 703-323-3523).
3. Pay your tuition as soon as you are registered.

How to register if you are requesting free tuition (NOVA faculty only)

1. Confirm that you qualify for free tuition by consulting NOVA’s tuition assistance policy:
   NOVA web site > Faculty & Staff > Human Resources > Professional Development > Tuition Assistance.
2. Submit an Employee Educational Assistance Request form (Form 105-43) to HR.
3. Apply for admission to NOVA as a student (http://www.nvcc.edu/novaconnect/student/hdi-apply.htm).
4. Send your request for registration, your NOVA student id, and a copy of your HR-approved Form 105-43 to Jayne Townend, ELI Registrar (jtownend@nvcc.edu, 703-323-3523).

You will receive 3 undergraduate credits through NOVA for completing this course.  You may also apply for 3 graduate credits from Old Dominion University for the same work through the VCCS.  At the end of the course, you will apply for admission to ODU as a non-degree student, and we will forward your final reflective essay.  You will then be billed through the NOVA business office for the ODU tuition, which will total approximately $750.  If you are a full-time or P3 part-time NOVA faculty, you can apply for NOVA tuition assistance for the ODU tuition.  If you wish to apply for tuition assistance for ODU credits, you must complete the process before you begin EDU 295.  Follow these procedures:

• Confirm that you qualify for tuition assistance for external courses by consulting NOVA’s tuition assistance policy:  NOVA web site > Faculty & Staff > Human Resources > Professional Development > Tuition Assistance
• Submit an Employee Educational Assistance Request form (Form 105-43) to HR requesting tuition assistance for the ODU graduate course.  Here are the details for the form:
  • College/University: Old Dominion University
  • College Address: Norfolk, VA  23529
  • Course Number: CCL 695/895
  • Course Title: Teaching Online Program
  • Semester Hours: 3
  • Start Date: Start date for EDU 295
  • End Date: End date for EDU 295
  • Tuition Costs: $814.50

Admission to this course is by permission of the instructors. To be admitted, you must meet the following prerequisites:

1. You must have taught in the classroom for at least one semester.
2. You must have training or experience in using Blackboard as an instructor.

If you do well in this course, you will be able to:

1. Identify and establish social presence.
2. Provide personal, effective, and motivating feedback in writing.
3. Identify active learning techniques that engage students and allow them to contribute to the course.
4. Identify the characteristics of a successful online facilitator.
5. Identify and establish the basics of a learning community within your course.
6. Create a multimedia presentation with several new technology tools.
7. Identify and describe a technology new to you and explain how you can effectively utilize it within your course.
8. Use technology effectively within your course.
9. Identify and recall the steps needed to successfully view and print course rosters within PeopleSoft.
10. Identify the steps and the importance of creating an assessment rubric.
11. Identify and recall time management techniques.

The required textbook for this course is:

• Palloff, R. and Pratt K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

You will also need a microphone and speakers (or a headset) with your computer to participate in an eNova session.

For information on how to order your textbooks, go to http://eli.nvcc.edu/books/

Your course grade will be determined according to the points in the tables below. To receive a VCCS certificate of completion, you must complete ALL assignments and achieve a minimum of 800 of the 1000 points (80%).

There are no proctored exams in this course.

We are here to help you succeed in this course. Occasionally questions or problems may arise. Here is how to contact us when they do:

You may also schedule a meeting in person at our offices.

1. Use your web browser to connect to http://www.nvcc.edu/bbstart. Follow the directions to determine your email, Blackboard and VIVA account user names and passwords.
2. Access your email account and make sure you know how to use it; you will be required to use this account for all course-related email.
3. Log on to Blackboard at http://learn.vccs.edu.
4. Click on this course under "My Courses." Review the entire course to make sure you understand what will be required of you. Then start completing the assignments.

Please note that account generation takes approximately one week from the time of your paid registration. If you cannot log on after one week, contact the IT Help Desk. If you can log on to Blackboard, but your course isn't listed, please contact ELI or your instructor.