For the past three weeks, the Office of Open Learning and the Centre for Teaching and Learning have been offering a variety of workshops and short courses, aiding UWindsor instructors in the development of skills they need to effectively teach online.

“We recognize the need for support through this time, and are trying to meet that need from a variety of angles,” said Nick Baker, director of the Open Learning team.

The five-day intensive course “Introduction to Teaching Online” is run on a weekly basis, and guides participants through a variety of structured and unstructured activities to help build their capacity as online instructors.

“With nine hours of live class throughout the week, in addition to other self-paced activities and discussions, it is definitely a commitment,” said Ashlyne O’Neil, one of the course instructors. “But those who start out apprehensive on Monday, leave with a greater sense of self-efficacy by Friday.”

Ofelia Jianu, an assistant professor in mechanical, automotive and materials engineering, is one of 80 participants who have taken part in the course so far.

She encourages others to register: “Before taking the course, I had doubts that my course could be delivered online with the same quality as face-to-face, but by the end, I was confident that the quality of education will be maintained and that some parts of my course may even be improved.”

Learning specialist Dave Cormier says “that’s one of the best outcomes we have seen — participants’ belief in the possibilities of online learning increasing each day of the course. We don’t have all the answers, but we provide a solid foundation and encourage further development and collaboration.”

Registration for the five-day course and other workshops is open to all UWindsor instructors at: https://ctl2.uwindsor.ca/openlearning/workshops/23/.