From Face-To-Face to Online and Back Again: How Mason’s Online Course Development Institute Can Help You!

Abstract

Over the last decade many faculty members have taken their traditional face-to-face class and created a version that is offered in a purely on-line environment. This practice has created a need to implement faculty development initiatives that help develop the skills, experience, and confidence to successfully teach online. In response, George Mason University has implemented a multifaceted approach to support faculty membersâ online teaching practice. One component of Masonâs approach is the Online Course Development Institute (OCDI), a cohort-based program implemented by the Mason instructional design team. The OCDI incorporates evidence-based practices for technology-enhanced teaching and focuses on helping faculty membersâ build competencies that enable them to enhance the quality and delivery of their courses.

During this session, a faculty member and two instructional designers will outline the best practices for online teaching and discuss how the OCDI can help support faculty in implementing these practices. Creative strategies for effectively using these practices in blended or traditional face-to-face courses will also be discussed.

The target audience for this presentation are faculty, and others, who want to learn about using online elements in their teaching and how OCDI can help them in online teaching--whether they intend to transition their class to a 100% online format, or to adapt online techniques to their traditional face-to-face class.