OPT-In to Excel!
Posted on January 20, 2010 in Newsletter, Training
Online Professional Training – Instructors
The Learning House, Inc. (TLH) is pleased to announce Online Professional Training for Instructors (OPT-In), a new standard in online education training. OPT-In combines years of online teaching expertise and best practices into a six-course instructor training curriculum.
The program was developed to provide a strong foundation for new online instructors and give a breadth of knowledge to current instructors teaching online courses. Divided into two main “tracks,” one addressing the technological aspect and the other covering best practices for teaching online, the course provides three increasingly advanced levels of on-demand and instructor-led training.
The Technological Track currently provides training on the Moodle LMS, with other LMS material currently in development. The Best Practices Track is valuable for instructors using any LMS as it addresses standards in online teaching, classroom communication, assessment tools design and other fundamental topics.
Technological Track (Moodle)
The Moodle Track includes three courses: MT 101, MT 102, and MT 103. MT 101 covers Moodle LMS basics, which provide the foundation needed to begin teaching an online course. Beginning with Moodle Orientation, the course moves on to more advanced topics such as course navigation, adding or changing assignments, administering exams and quizzes, and adding chat rooms and forums. The course also provides basic instruction on the use of Moodle’s new grade book system.
MT 101 – Moodle Basics, is the first course in the OPT-In program and introduces instructors to the technological aspect of online teaching. Since adopting Moodle as its primary learning management system (LMS), TLH and its partner institutions have relied on a basic Moodle Orientation as the standard for training new instructors. Further training relied on live, online sessions that covered specific, advanced topics and on-demand training materials that covered individual topics. OPT-In focuses this information into a complete, three-tiered, dual-track training package.
MT 102 – Intermediate Moodle and MT 103 – Advanced Moodle cover increasingly advanced functions of the Moodle LMS. These courses intend to provide solutions for instructors who ask the question, “How can I improve my course?” These upper-level courses cover a wide range of topics, from using groups to facilitate class communication to developing resources for students to practice critical thinking and analytical skills. Once instructors have completed both levels, they are considered Innovative Instructors, capable of pushing the boundaries of their online course capabilities.
Best Practices Track
The Best Practices Track also contains three levels of instruction. The three courses, BP 101 – Foundations of Online Teaching, BP 102 – Online Communication and Community Dynamics and BP 103 – Creating Effective Online Assessments, cover topics ranging from basic online classroom management to addressing different learning styles in the online environment.
The practices covered in this track are drawn from the latest in online research and the combined experience of many veteran online instructors. Learning and following these practices has been proven to improve online course participation, communication and knowledge retention.
The first level of the Technology Track (MT 101) and the Best Practices Track (BP 101) are currently underway and accepting new enrollments. A facilitator is available to assist instructors through the self-paced MT 101, and an instructor with a Master’s degree or higher in education conducts BP 101. This allows instructors to experience a true online classroom setting so that they can fully understand how to implement the material they learn.
To enroll in these new training courses, or obtain further information, please contact your Client Services Specialist or Learning House Training at training@learninghouse.com.
