Abstract:

With the increase in demand of online courses it is critical to continue to develop the online capacity of faculty members through robust professional development opportunities.

In this session I will share successes and lessons learned in the process of developing and delivering Teaching Adult Learners Online (TALO), a professional development program for instructors. TALO is anchored in research and expertise gained through 15 years of delivering distance and online education at The Chang School, and is open to all instructors who are teaching online at Ryerson University. There are 4 interactive, media-rich online modules: Module 1: The Online Teaching and Learning Experience; Module 2: Online Teaching and Learning Principles; Module 3: Challenges and Opportunities in Online Assessment; Module 4: Design one online module.

Through these modules and individualized and peer-to-peer support in this program, faculty experience online learning from both a student and instructor's perspective and engage in hands-on activities to effectively communicate, facilitate and provide feedback to students using various mediums. They also develop and enhance their skills in selecting and applying effective pedagogical approaches, as well as integrating technological tools in online teaching, as means to ultimately increase the quality of the student learning experience.

Over 150 online instructors have successfully completed the program and have established a Community of Practice. Post-program instructor survey results show that experiential learning online has increased as well as more interaction with peers and a better understanding of the students' needs. Student survey results showed an increased rate of student satisfaction with instructor availability/responsiveness, instructor course management skills and quality of course materials

The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University offers over 450 online courses and 23 certificate programs delivered fully online. It has over 70 enrolments yearly with 20,000 of those enrolled opting for online courses.

Keywords:

Online learning, professional development.