Center for Teaching and Learning

Purpose

To create a community of teaching excellence with online technologies.
To prepare faculty to effectively design and deliver online curricula using the Blackboard Course Management System (Bb).
To support the integration of appropriate presentation and communication technologies into course delivery with an emphasis on matching teaching techniques and learning styles.
To encourage a continuous quality assurance process by which teaching and learning outcomes are met in the online environment.

Process

To certify competency of delivering an online course, whether hybrid or entirely online, an instructor will understand both the teaching tools available in the Blackboard course management system and the best practices for using them in the online instructional environment.
Instructors seeking certification will be recommended to the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) by the appropriate department or program chair or Dean.
Candidate instructors will make an appointment with CTL staff during which enrollment in the seminar, assessment of skills and individual needs will be determined.
OCToPuS(Online Certification Teaching Primer Seminar): a six module, synchronous course concentrating on Blackboard design skills and teaching methodologies
Completion of the seminar, the CTL director will meet individually with each instructor to review their course materials on Blackboard and determine their alignment of the course objectives.
The instructor will receive a completion certificate and membership to the Teaching with Blackboard community.