Teaching Online Certification

The Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology is offering a comprehensive 3 part Teaching Online Certification program. The three parts include:

The first phase, Blackboard: The Basics, is currently available online and may be taken at anytime with no prior registration by contacting Julio Rodriguez at jrodriguez3@pace.edu.

The second phase, Teaching Effectively Online is routinely offered prior to the start of the Fall and Spring semesters, in January and August, and is facilitated completely online. Please contact Joe Seijo at jseijo@pace.edu  for registration.

The third phase is mentoring and can only be scheduled when the first 2 parts of the certification program have been successfully completed. 

The goals of the certification process of teaching effectively online are to promote faculty development in Blackboard use and online pedagogy, ensure Pace University continues to offer learner-centered online courses, and to provide a designation for faculty who have dedicated themselves to quality online education.

Step One
Blackboard: The Basics is a self-paced online course. It is suggested however, that faculty complete the course in one week. The course is designed to familiarize faculty with the Blackboard interface, functions, and basics in Blackboard course building.

The course is divided into topical areas:

  • Adding Content to Your Course
  • The Control Panel
  • Manage Course Menu
  • Course Design
  • The Discussion Board
  • and more...

The best way to learn the material in this course is to start with small chunks of information and rehearse it in your own Blackboard shell. In this course you have a student role. As a student you do not have access to Course Management tools. In your own Blackboard course you have an Instructor role. As an Instructor you do have access to Course Management tools.

Step Two
Teaching Effectively Online is a guided one week online workshop.
The main goals of the workshop are:

  • To create effective online instruction. 
  • To describe some of the challenges students have getting started with online learning. 
  • To examine assessment differently when teaching online.
  • To apply consistency to design and think holistically about the structure of an online course.
  • To identify the critical elements of managing a discussion board.
  • To investigate Library resources and services available to online students and faculty.

This online seminar is designed to be work intensive, requiring daily active participation and completion of posted assignments. The course materials and resources used in this seminar are a collaboration of contributions from numerous experts in the various fields of online teaching. 

Next offering will be in August 2013

Step 3
Mentoring is the final step of the three-part certification process. Faculty are asked to apply what they have learned in constructing a completely online course, starting with an empty course shell. Content from previous, current or future course shells may be used, and once the course has been created, faculty are free to copy the content over to one of their own course shells for future use.  It is recommended that this phase of the certification process be performed no longer than the duration of a semester. While faculty are building their courses, the CTLT Instructional Design team will monitor, support, and make recommendations for successful completion of the Teaching Online Certification program. Faculty completing the program are also certified to mentor peers getting started with online education.

For any questions regarding the Teaching Online Certification program, please contact Joe Seijo, Roberto Rodriguez, or Julio Rodriguez.