Teaching Online

Q: Does the Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT) online training mean that we no longer have any training in the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) for online teaching?  

A: CFE provides walk-in and by appointment instructional design support for faculty to redesign courses and leverage the QLT rubric as a tool to improve courses. Please contact CFE to set up an appointment. 

Q: Is the QLT training entirely online?

A: Yes. It is approximately 15-20 hours of online learning activities over a three week period.

Q: I'm assuming the APM 206 requirements for faculty to be trained would be fulfilled through the QLT Introduction to Teaching Online course?

A: Faculty who successfully complete the online training through the Chancellor’s Office (QLT Q1, Q2, or Q3 course or equivalent) will be added to the list of Trained Faculty. If your name is not listed and you have been trained, complete a Verification of Training Form for our records.

Q: I already successfully completed a training to teach online at a community college or other institution. Do I have to take another course?

A: If you have completed training at a different institution, complete a Verification of Training Form so that it may be reviewed.

Best Practices for Online Teaching

The online instructor is faced with learning new technologies, introducing new technologies to students and building a sense of community, usually without any face-to-face contact. Needless to say, the online instructor must focus on how students and faculty communicate and the tools that they use to communicate. These best practice resources have been selected to assist the online instructor in creating a successful online environment.

Ten Best Practices for Teaching Online

(taken from The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips, by Judith V. Boettcher and Rita-Marie Conrad)

1. Be present at the course site.
2. Create a supportive online course community.
3. Share a set of very clear expectations for your students and for yourself as to (1) how you will communicate and (2) how much time students should be working on the course each week
4. Use a variety of large group, small group, and individual work experiences.
5. Use synchronous and asynchronous activities.
6. Early in the term - about week 3, ask for informal feedback on "How is the course going?" and "Do you have any suggestions?"
7. Prepare discussion posts that invite responses, questions, discussions, and reflections.
8. Focus on content resources and applications and links to current events and examples that are easily accessed from learner's computers
9. Combine core concept learning with customized and personalized learning.
10. Plan a good closing and wrap activity for the course.

CSU Online Course Services Quality Assurance Resource Repository (QuARRy)
QuARRy is a collection of online-blended-flipped teaching exemplars collected from participants in the CSU Quality Assurance program.

ACUE’S Online Teaching Toolkit
These free and downloadable resources can offer fresh ideas to seasoned online educators.

The Power of Asynchronous Video
Seven articles that discuss the benefits of asynchronous video in teaching

How Much Work Should I Assign in an Online Course?

Credit Hour Equivalents
45 hours of instruction for a 3-unit course. This does not include the additional hours for activities such as reading, reflective writing, and assignments. CSU Credit Hour Policy

Hybrid I as 10-49% distance-education. Up to 10% 4.5 hours online activity

Hybrid II as 50%-99% distance-education. Up to 49% of 22.05 hours of online activity

ONLINE: 100% of the course is offered online. 45 hours of online activity

- Helpful tools for estimating workload - 
Reading time calculation tools

• • How to calculate reading time
  • Convert words to time

How much work should we assign?

• • Course workload estimator

What is Regular and Substantive Interaction?
Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) is the legal federal requirement for distance education courses and is defined as taking place on a “predictable and scheduled basis” and “substantive” means students are engaged through teaching, learning, and assessment. This includes at least two of the five activities:

1. providing direct instruction;
2. assessing or providing feedback on a student’s course work;
3. providing information or responding to questions about the content course or competency;
4. facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency;
5. or other instructional activities approved by the institution’s or program’s accrediting agency.

How does CSU Online Course Services Support RSI?

How QLT Supports RSI
The QLT Rubric provides objectives to guide and support the design and delivery of an online course. The QLT Rubric can be leveraged by faculty, instructional designers, departments and institutions to also improve and update existing online courses. Throughout the QLT Rubric there are many objectives that support regular and substantive interaction (RSI) between the student and the instructor. See below select QLT objectives that meet the RSI legal federal requirement for distance education courses.

At the beginning of the semester you may find the QuARRy examples with an *asterisk especially helpful for engaging students and creating a sense of community/belonging.

The Quality Assurance Resource Repository (QuARRy) is a collection of online and hybrid teaching exemplars collected from participants in the CSU Online Course Services program. Organized by the CSU Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT) rubric and the Quality Matters (QM) rubric, the repository exemplars inform and assess the design and delivery of online and hybrid courses.

Section 1: Course Overview and Introduction
*Objective 1.4 Online course etiquette expectations across relevant communication and dialog modalities (e.g., email, chat, online discussion forums, messaging threads) are presented and clear to the student, addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Objective 1.7 The instructor provides samples of student work and provides opportunities for students to ask questions. These are in addition to email inquiries, office hours, or individual appointments.

*Objective 1.8 Instructor asks students to share or reflect on their own learning goals.

Section 2: Assessment of Student Learning
Objective 2.6 Throughout the semester, the instructor provides multiple opportunities to solicit feedback from their students about their learning and on the course for the improvement of the course.

Section 4: Student Interaction and Community
*Objective 4.2 Instructor provides information about being a successful learner/student.

Objective 4.5 The modes and requirements for student interaction are clearly communicated.

*Objective 4.6 Instructor clearly explains their role regarding participation in the course. Instructor participates, facilitates student participation, and encourages students to take ownership and promote different points of view.

Section 5: Facilitation and Instruction
*Objective 5.1 The instructor is helpful in normalizing a culturally responsive and sustainable and/or critical lens on course topics, respecting culturally diverse expressions while addressing microaggressions or disrespectful comments.

*Objective 5.2 The instructor clearly helps students make connections between the content and the course activities, and how their life experience and mastery of concepts gained in the course will integrate into their college degree, future career, and role as a global citizen.

*Objective 5.4 The instructor empowers students with choices to encourage the exploration of new concepts and new perspectives through the course experience.

*Objective 5.5 The instructor helps to focus discussion/interaction on relevant issues. Instructor also provides how microaggressions (e.g.,intentional or unintentional negative attitudes toward marginalized groups) or disrespectful comments in the course discussions will be addressed.

Objective 5.6 The instructor demonstrates commitment to students’ learning by providing clear feedback in a timely manner.

Objective 5.7 The instructor provides communication in multiple formats to students about important goals and course topics as opportunities arise, enunciating respect to students' diverse identities, backgrounds and cultures.

*Objective 5.9  The course resources, student tasks, activities, assessments, and instructional strategies build upon students’ individual strengths and assets as it pertains to their cultural and linguistic backgrounds and funds of knowledge.

Section 7: Learner Support and Resources
Objective 7.1 The instructor states their role in the support process and what type of things they can support.

Section 8: Accessibility and Universal Design
Objective 8.1 Course design and activities enact the core principles of Universal Design for Learning by incorporating multiple means of representation, action and expression, and engagement. Accessibility is therefore embedded in the course design rather than a reactive accommodation for those with registered disabilities

Section 9: Course Summary and Wrap Up
*Objective 9.1 The instructor provides students opportunities to ask questions as a form of closure and to foster insight into accomplishments.

Objective 9.2 The instructor provides students with feedback about their overall learning and progress and their experiences of the term.

*Objective 9.3 The instructor provides opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and connect their individual learning goals with the expectations (stated learning objectives and outcomes) of the instructor.

The showcases linked below were created by faculty participants in the Humanizing Online STEM Academy, reflecting on the Academy experience and sharing the new "humanized" elements of their courses.

Learn more about Humanized Online Teaching