QUALITY ESSENTIALS FOR

ONLINE AND BLENDED TEACHING

(Note: blended classes are defined as courses where in-class time
is set at 50% to 80% and online time is 20% to 50%.)

All faculty teaching online classes are expected to be proficient in ANGEL. If an instructor has previously developed an online course in WebCT and migrated it to ANGEL, or developed a course in ANGEL , that instructor will be considered “ANGEL-Ready.” If an instructor has attended face-to-face training on a campus (and hasn't taken the online “Pathways to eLearning” or PTE), they will be required to register for the PTE course only to complete the “Try It” activity checklist. All of the items on the checklist are to be completed in their “sandbox” course. Instructional T echnologists will review the contents of the “sandbox” course to verify completion of all checklist items and confer with Program Directors who will work with faculty.

(Three levels of training are available in PTE: Level I for ANGEL basics like enabling your course, using attendance manager, creating announcements, adding a syllabus, etc. Level II, Teaching your online or blended course, builds on Level I and includes basic pedagogy and more specifics on use of primary ANGEL tools. It is designed for faculty who are going to teach an online course or blended that has already been developed. PTE III builds on I and II and contains extensive information on analyzing your learners, good web design, creating learning objectives, and the course development process, and is designed for faculty developing a new or totally redesigned online course.)

Any faculty who have only had WebCT training or have not attended any face-to-face training must complete PTE I and II to be considered ANGEL-Ready. Remember, PTE allows the instructor to continue along a training “path” based on their personal goal for using ANGEL (e.g., teaching an existing class, developing a new class, etc.).

Prior to teaching an online or blended class, instructors will take the online Pathways to eLearning (PTE) course (Levels I and II) and complete it, certified by the site Instructional Technologist.  Supplemental assistance from Instructional Technologists is encouraged, but does not substitute for completion of the online Pathways training. Faculty assigned to a blended or online class immediately prior to the start of the semester will be expected to complete the PTE training by the Friday of the second week of that semester.

When teaching an online class, the instructor will use signature or master classes where available, including the course materials, exercises and textbook. (Note: the requirement to use the signature class applies to all adjuncts and full-time faculty who are new to teaching online and/ or new to teaching the particular course online. Full-time faculty who have taught the course using other materials approved through the Flexible Access process will be considered “grandfathered out” of this requirement.) If a signature or master course is not available, instructors are to use materials from a course approved through the Flexible Access process. There may be additions to, but not deletions from, the approved Course Outline.

The instructor information page on the College website is to be updated to correct any errors and add new information including details on courses the upcoming semester by the online instructors prior to online registration each term.

When teaching a blended class , the instructor should will consider using the Flexible Access approved online course materials, exercises and textbook, including the signature course where one exists. The instructor must complete the campus “Blended Course Form” for classes where an online course already exists and has been approved through the flexible access process. Where no online course currently exists, the instructor teaching the blended course will follow the same procedure and complete the same flexible access process as used for online courses.

Program Directors (at all campuses) will continuously confer with one another to determine whether any face-to-face instructors may need to shift to online classes, notify adjuncts of the status of their positions and make decisions on reassigning no later than one week before the start of any term.

A face-to-face full-time faculty member (unable to make base) will first replace another face-to-face instructor/class rather than an online course, unless he or she is “ANGEL-Ready” (taken PTE I and II) and has previously taught online for SPC. Departmental adjuncts teaching face-to-face classes (at any site) should be replaced before considering bumping eCampus adjuncts, however exceptions can be made in the case of extenuating circumstances.

A reassigned face-to-face faculty member will use the class materials and textbook for the new online class he or she is assigned. The E-campus program director will send the approved "Performance Expectations and Targets" document for the reassigned instructor to review. (http://www.spcollege.edu/eagle/administration/forms_procedures/expectations.shtml ).