Overview

The Office of Digital Learning offers a non-credit Advancing Excellence in Online Teaching Program, available to UNO faculty, staff, and graduate students. This program is designed to prepare you for online instruction or advance your skills if you are a seasoned instructor. Choose from a series of offerings designed to strengthen your digital learning skills as you learn effective pedagogical practices. Earning the program badge requires completion of one core course and three electives lead by the UNO Digital Learning team. Electives can be selected by participants based on their interests and needs.

Program Structure

The Advancing Excellence in Online Teaching (AEOT) Program is made up of one core course taken by all participants. In addition to completing the Foundations of Teaching Online course, participants will choose three electives to complete. These offerings contain a combination of research-based teaching practices and strategies for using Canvas to its fullest potential. At the end of each offering, participants will earn a digital badge as well as a stipend, and after completing all 4 offerings successfully, participants will earn the Advancing Excellence in Online Teaching badge. Participants may take offerings in any order. Learn more about the core course and electives below.

Who is the program open to?

The program is open to UNO full-time and part-time faculty, staff and graduate students.

Why earn the Advancing Excellence in Online Teaching badge?

Practical: Each offering gives you the necessary knowledge and skills to successfully teach online.
High-quality: Each offering was designed and developed by instructional design and technology experts with years of online teaching experience.
Expert Instructors: The offerings are taught by instructional design and technology experts from UNO, many of whom are also teaching faculty.

Core + Three Electives = Advancing Excellence in Online Teaching Badge

Offerings

FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING ONLINE (Core Requirement)

Description: This course helps you explore the impact of technology on student learning and how you can use Canvas to help improve student achievement, motivation, and engagement. In this course we cover pedagogical, logistical, and technical aspects of teaching online. Participants receive a $1,000 stipend for successfully completing all discussions and assignments.

Format: This non-credit course is offered online using the Canvas LMS, over a 3-month period. It is asynchronous, but not self-paced and has a rolling start date. You should plan to spend about 3-5 hours per week. Register Here!

STARTING A HUMANIZED COURSE FROM WEEK ‘0’ | Humanizing Online Series (Elective)

Description: This course examines why and how to humanize online learning starting from week ‘0’. You will be introduced to the topics of teaching presence and social presence, as you learn in community with your peers. Designed to be a supportive, experimental learning environment, you will be encouraged to step outside your comfort zone to create content with tools that will infuse your students' learning with your warm presence and unlock authentic assessment options. Participants receive a $300 stipend for successfully completing all discussions and assignments.

Format: This non-credit course is offered online using the Canvas LMS, over a 6-week period. It is asynchronous, but not self-paced. You should plan to spend about 3-5 hours per week. This course will be offered at least once each academic year. Pre-register at any time to be notified of our next offering!

CONTINUING THE MOMENTUM TO THE END | Humanizing Online Series (Elective)

Description: While the course goals focus on strategies for continuing to design and facilitate humanized and connected online learning communities, we hope its content inspires your teaching in all modalities, not just online. Participants receive a $300 stipend for successfully completing all discussions and assignments.

Format: This non-credit course is offered online using the Canvas LMS, over a 6-week period. It is asynchronous, but not self-paced. You should plan to spend about 3-5 hours per week. This course will be offered at least once each academic year. Pre-register at any time to be notified of our next offering!

CREATING ENGAGING, EQUITABLE & INCLUSIVE ONLINE CLASSES | Humanizing Online Series (Elective)

Description: This course helps you create a more engaging, equitable, and inclusive class throughout the entirety of a course. Throughout the program, you'll be exploring techniques for making your course ready to support the success of all students. Much of this time will be spent reviewing research and strategies that support equitable online teaching and discussing with your peers. Participants receive a $300 stipend.

Format: This non-credit course is offered online using the Canvas LMS, over a 6-week period. It is asynchronous, but not self-paced. You should plan to spend about 3-5 hours per week. This course will be offered at least once each academic year. Pre-register at any time to be notified of our next offering!

DIGITAL LEARNING SHOWCASE (Elective)

Description: Present at the annual Digital Learning Showcase (typically held in May). The Digital Learning Showcase is an annual event designed to showcase innovative strategies faculty have utilized when they teach online or with technology. Participants receive a $100 stipend for giving a short 20-minute presentation highlighting key practices and impactful digital course activities.

Format: The Digital Learning Showcase is a virtual event that takes place via Zoom each May. Faculty present in 20-minute increments. Event theme and additional details are announced in January/March of each year. Pre-register at any time to receive more information when details are confirmed.

INSTRUCTIONAL TUNE-UP (Elective)

Description: To receive the instructional tune-up badge, participants must attend at least three (3) live Digital Learning workshops and complete a Course Design Review (CDR). All components of the elective must be completed during one (1) academic year. The Office of Digital Learning holds a series of workshops that focus on pedagogical and technological strategies that you can incorporate into your course. In a Course Design Review an instructional designer reviews a course of your choosing that utilizes the Canvas LMS, according to the components of the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric (OSCQR). By requesting a course design review, faculty are seeking feedback and suggestions about strategies to improve the flow and design of their digital course materials. Participants are eligible to receive a $100 stipend for attending three (3) live Digital Learning workshops during any given academic year.

Format: To complete this elective participants must attend at least three (3) of the Office of Digital Learning workshops offered during one (1) academic year. In addition, during the same academic year the participant requests a Course Design Review by filling out the Course Review Request Form. An Instructional Designer completes the review within 2-4 weeks. The participant and Instructional Designer meet to discuss the review, suggestions, and answer questions. The participant can decide which suggestions they would like to implement.

IMPROVING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF YOUR CANVAS COURSE (Elective) – Coming Soon!

Description: In this course you’ll learn how to improve the accessibility of your Canvas site for many types of content and tools. This course helps you understand the most important criteria for creating an accessible Canvas course, why each step matters, and how to how to test your efforts. It is designed to help answer questions, such as: Why is creating accessible Canvas sites critical? What areas should I consider when it comes to Canvas accessibility? What steps should I take to make my Canvas course accessible? How do I test if my Canvas site is accessible? In this course, you learn answers to all of these questions—and more. Participants receive a $300 stipend for successfully completing all discussions and assignments.

Format: This non-credit course is offered online using the Canvas LMS, over a 6-week period. It is asynchronous, but not self-paced. You should plan to spend about 3-5 hours per week. This course will be offered at least once each academic year. Registration information coming soon!