UAF eCampus Faculty Development Opportunities
UAF eCampus offers many different ways for faculty to improve their courses. Here are just a few of opportunities we offer!
UAF eCampus offers short and long-form professional development opportunities for teachers across UAF. Start with The Basics, learning about Blackboard, Canvas, and the foundations of online learning, Grow your Practice by learning from faculty colleagues and designers, and then Collaborate and Contribute by working with others in a long-form program. Explore the options below and view the full schedule of upcoming faculty development events in the calendar at the bottom of the page.
Not seeing what you need? Interested in a department-specific training? Contact Kendell Newman Sadiik (klnewman4@alaska.edu) for more help.
The Basics
Blackboard Levels I + II
Time Commitment: 1.5 hours
Need more experience with Blackboard? Join UAF eCampus instructional designers for a two-part series to learn the basics: making your course available, creating announcements, adding content, creating a discussion forum, collecting assignments, quizzes and exams.
Blackboard Level I workshops are offered on the first Monday of every month at 10-11:30AM. Level II is offered on the third Monday at 10-11:30AM.
Reserve a Seat View the Schedule
Canvas Levels I + II
Time Commitment: 1.5 hours
Are you teaching on Canvas for the first time? Or just curious about this popular platform for comprehensive course management? Join UAF eCampus instructional designers for this two-part training to get you oriented to the Canvas platform.
Canvas Level I (2nd Monday of every month, 10-11:30AM) presents the basics of the Canvas platform, including how to create and structure modules, facilitate discussions, create a test or assignment, and integrate other tools. Level II (4th Monday of every month, 10-11:30AM) includes instruction on more advanced features including gradebook setup and management, integration of external tools, and more.
Reserve a Seat View the Schedule
Barn-Raising: Start-to-Finish Course Design
Time Commitment: 3 days (with hourly Zoom checkins)
Having trouble getting started with your online course design? Join UAF eCampus instructional designers for a facilitated “Barn-raising”, which lays out a set of tasks and deadlines to get your course online and ready-to-go in just three days. As ‘guided’ practice, the top 6-10 minutes of each hour faculty will be shown how to perform specific tasks. Then they are asked to work on that task during the next 50 minutes. Participants should plan to be at a computer with access to Zoom throughout the three-day program.
UAF eCampus will host Barn Raisings January 6-9 and over Spring Break (March 8-12) in 2021. View the sample intro, schedule, and checklist.
Reserve a Seat
iTeach Online
Time Commitment: 30 hours
iTeach Online is a self-paced course that offers foundational training in online course design. Through a series of 5 modules, faculty learn how to build a solid online course founded in current research and relevant learning experiences. Designed and facilitated by UAF eCampus instructional designers, this course takes most faculty 25-30 hours to complete. Teachers work through the materials themselves, get feedback from experienced instructional designers, and are eligible for a certificate upon completion.
iTeach Online modules include: Fundamentals of Online Learning; Planning Your Online Course; Assessments and Feedback; Creating Engaging Learning Communities; Curating and Creating Content.
Faculty are invited to self-enroll in the course by following the link below. Create an account or sign-in to Canvas to get started. If you’re interested in working through iTeach Online with a cohort, please email Kendell Newman Sadiik (klnewman4@alaska.edu).
Enroll in Self-Paced Course Login to Course
Grow Your Practice
Community Seminars in Teaching and Learning
Time Commitment: 1 hour
Community Seminars in Teaching and Learning invites UAF teachers to learn from one another. Seminars are led by faculty who’ve had success with a particular aspect of or approach to teaching and learning — i.e. Contract-based Grading, Supporting Student Mental Health, Discovery-based Group Projects, and more. By discussing their experiences as well as topical resources and research with participants, teachers learn in community.
Community Seminars are online every other Tuesday at 1-2pm. View the schedule.
Reserve a Seat Browse the Archives
Spotlight Courses
Time Commitment: 1 hour
Spotlight Courses is a presentation series highlighting quality online courses at UAF. Selected by UAF eCampus’s Design Team, these courses represent high quality, innovative, student-centered online course design. The UAF community is invited to Q&A’s with the course instructors on the third Friday of every month. Alternatively, faculty can explore the archives on their own time.
Spotlight Course Q&A’s are at 10-11am on the third Friday of every month. View the schedule.
Reserve a SeatBrowse the Archives
Designer Workshops
Time Commitment: 1-3 hours
UAF eCampus instructional designers regularly offer hour-long workshops on topics requested by faculty, staff, and others. We have put together short programs on everything from editing your own videos to learning about hybrid/hyflex teaching.
To request a workshop, email Kendell Newman Sadiik at klnewman4@alaska.edu.
Reserve a Seat View Schedule
eCampus Workbench
Time Commitment: 1-2 hours
Looking for a space to connect with other instructors? Step up to the eCampus Workbench, a collaborative space where instructional designers and instructors can work together on projects and talk about big ideas.
The Workbench is setup for every Friday from 1 PM – 3 PM. This event uses a new platform and attendees should be prepared to create a new login at the beginning of the event.
Reserve a Seat View Schedule
Quality Matters
Quality Matters (QM) is a non-profit organization that sponsors peer-reviewed quality improvement for online courses. The QM rubric features 46 standards that online courses ought to meet in order to be certified as “quality.” In addition to getting their courses certified through this process, UAF teachers have the opportunity to take short courses and even become certified as peer reviewers for Quality Matters.
Collaborate and Contribute
Faculty Learning Communities
Time Commitment: 2 semesters with monthly, 3-hour meetings
Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) bring teachers together from across UAF to study and create shareable resources around a current topic in teaching and learning. In 2019-2020, FLCs included Trauma-Informed Pedagogies, Best Practices for High-Enrollment Online Courses, and Best Practices for Dual-Enrollment Online Courses. In each FLC, 6-12 teachers meet monthly, read and research outside of meetings, and create text-based and training resources to share their findings with the broader UAF community. FLCs are supported by a partnership between UAF eCampus, the Provost’s Faculty Development Team, and the Faculty Development and Improvement Committee.
We are currently seeking proposals for 2020-21 FLCs. Do you have an idea? What do you want to work with other faculty on?
Propose an FLC
Share your Expertise
UAF eCampus’s Community Seminar series is always looking for faculty willing to share their expertise. Have you had success with a particular approach to or aspect of teaching and learning? Contact Kendell Newman Sadiik (klnewman4@alaska.edu) to pitch your idea and get a seminar on the schedule.