Professional Development Fund Projects
eCampusAlberta is committed to achieving excellence in online teaching and learning.
Last fall, $250,000 was allocated to the creation of a Professional Development Fund. This resource is currently supporting several projects that will enable faculty at member institutions to enhance their online teaching skills and improve interaction with students. Upon completion, these projects will be shared across the eCampusAlberta consortium to benefit faculty and students at all member institutions.
Follow the links below to view a summary of each project, including contact information for the project coordinators. Watch this page for updates as these projects proceed.
Professional Development Fund Projects
eCampusAlberta Online Faculty Guidebook – Bow Valley College
Online Learning Development Resource Website – Lethbridge College
Online Professional Development Library – Mount Royal University
Professional Development in Five Modules Development – Mount Royal University
Roadmap to Web-Based Curriculum Development – NorQuest College
Elluminate Live!: Faculty Development Program – NorQuest College
Online Instructor Boot Camp – Olds College
Faculty Orientation to Blackboard CE – Red Deer College
Student Orientation to Blackboard CE – Red Deer College
Internationalizing the Curriculum – Red Deer College
Project: eCampusAlberta Online Faculty Guidebook
Description: Create an online guidebook for faculty delivering courses through eCampusAlberta, including policies, procedures, and logistics for working through eCampusAlberta as well as instructional material on the design and delivery of online courses
Intended audience: Post secondary faculty developing or delivering curriculum through eCampusAlberta, registrars, student advisors
Intended learning outcomes: Inform faculty and potential faculty of the policies, procedures and logistics of delivering curriculum through eCampusAlberta and thereby increase student and faculty satisfaction with the eCampusAlberta learning experience.
Sponsor: Bow Valley College
Contact information: rwilde@bowvalleycollege.ca
Project: Online Learning Development Resource Website
Description: Create a website to provide resources for design, development and delivery of online and blended learning instruction
Intended audience: Post-secondary instructors and course development teams
Intended learning outcomes: Provide current, relevant information on curriculum development, instructional design, learning technologies and teaching as well as opportunities for peer communication and interaction amongst those involved in developing online learning.
Sponsor: Lethbridge College
Contact information: karen.harker@lethbridgecollege.ab.ca
Project: Online Professional Development Library
Description: Design self-study, professional development multi-media learning modules
Intended audience: Online instructors, professional and support staff
Intended learning outcomes: Increase the proficiency of and satisfaction with online instruction in the eCampusAlberta system to enhance the success and satisfaction of all eCampusAlberta learners.
Sponsor: Mount Royal University
Contact information: rcorbett@mtroyal.ca
Project: Professional Development in Five Modules Development
Description: Develop a library of multimedia learning modules, each no more than five minutes long and focusing on specific online instructional competencies. This project will provide just-in-time training for faculty and support staff working in an online environment.
Modules include:
- Assessing your own teaching
- Continuing your professional development
- Designing learning activities
- Engaging learners
- How do people learn?
- Knowing your learners
- Planning presentations
- Presenting content
- Principles for good teaching
- Writing learning outcome statements
Intended audience: eCampusAlberta instructors and professional and support staff, especially those who do not have a strong background, or experience, in the principles of online learning
Intended learning outcomes: Increase the proficiency and satisfaction of online instructors and learners in the eCampusAlberta system, thereby increasing the success and satisfaction of eCampusAlberta learners.
Sponsor: Mount Royal University
Contact information: rcorbett@mtroyal.ca
Project: Roadmap to Web-Based Curriculum Development
Description: Develop a guide that presents static core skills and dynamic descriptions of emerging knowledge. As a dynamic resource, the guide will continue to grow to reflect emerging knowledge and expertise in web-based learning.
Intended audience: Instructional designers, administrators and members of development committees
Intended learning outcomes: Provide an orientation to instructional design for web-based, synchronous or asynchronous learning resources. A system of effective orientation to web-based learning will increase the potential for innovative and creative thinking to meet the needs of learners.
Sponsor: NorQuest College
Contact information: barb.pearce@norquest.ca
Project: Elluminate Live!: Faculty Development Program
Description: Create a series of six master training seminars delivered through Elluminate Live! and five tutorials delivered through WebCT that provide all the information and practice necessary to enable faculty to use Elluminate Live! as an instructional tool.
Intended audience: Faculty delivering courses through eCampusAlbera who wish to further develop their web conferencing skills
Sponsor: NorQuest College
Contact information: deanna.kiss@norquest.ca
Access the tutorials on the NorQuest College website.
Learn more about the five tutorials.
Project: Designing Accessible eLearning for Persons with Disabilities
Description: Develop a set of web-based, stand alone tutorials to support the development of accessible eLearning and facilitate community-wide collaboration in web-based instructional design
Intended audience: Instructional designers, instructors, course developers, media specialists and administrators
Intended learning outcomes: eCampusAlberta course development teams will have access to resources that will increase their understanding of accessible design practices and principles. They will be better positioned to ensure that all students experience seamless access to web-based courses.
Sponsors: Mount Royal University and NorQuest College
Read the new paper written by Flo Brokop at NorQuest College: Accessibility to E-Learning for Persons with Disabilities: Strategies, Guidelines, and Standards
Contact information:
Project: Online Instructor Boot Camp
Description: Orientation, professional development and peer mentoring; online workshops
Intended audience: New and current online instructors
Intended learning outcomes: Instructors will be able to use new technology options to support online students. Existing instructors will mentor new instructors.
Sponsor: Olds College
Contact information: dgray@oldscollege.ca
Project: Faculty Orientation to Blackboard CE
Description: Revise/edit the Red Deer College course entitled Orientation - Faculty Orientation to WebCT CE to reflect the newest version (Blackboard CE)
Intended audience: Faculty, staff and administrators involved with the Blackboard CE learning system
Intended learning outcomes: Instructors will know how to properly set up and use their Blackboard course. Support staff will understand how Blackboard courses are set up and how to assist students with using course components during course delivery. Administrators will understand the course development requirements of the Blackboard CE system.
Sponsor: Red Deer College
Contact information: maxine.evans@rdc.ab.ca
Project: Student Orientation to Blackboard CE
Description: Revise/edit the Red Deer College course entitled Student Orientation to WebCT CE to reflect the newest version (Blackboard CE)
Intended audience: Students taking a Blackboard CE course for the first time and those who want to refresh their online learning skills as well as others who wish to view Blackboard CE as a student
Intended learning outcomes: Students will become more engaged in online learning through an orientation to Blackboard CE course modules. Students will also understand how to access information easily, how to interact with each other and know where to direct questions using the most common tools (homepage, e-mail, discussion forums and chat rooms as well as areas for posting assignments, viewing grades and accessing assessments). Students will also gain experience in additional components such as Horizon Wimba.
Sponsor: Red Deer College
Contact information: maxine.evans@rdc.ab.ca
Project: Internationalizing the Curriculum
Description: Develop a new course for faculty interested in bringing an international, intercultural or global dimension to the content, perspectives and/or delivery of their courses
Intended audience: Faculty, course developers
Intended learning outcomes: Raise awareness of strategies for internationalizing new and existing curriculum.
Sponsor: Red Deer College
Contact information: maxine.evans@rdc.ab.ca
Project: Resource Videos Showcasing the Practical Technology Enabled Application of Various Teaching and Learning Theories
Description: Develop online video resources that will showcase easy-to-understand scenarios that connect learning theory to practical application in online and blended learning delivery
Intended audience: Anyone involved in either curriculum design or online teaching
Intended learning outcomes: Provide six videos which illustrate how technology is integrated into the following learning scenarios: team and project-based, experiential, performance-based, reflective, problem-based, and knowledge construction.