Faculty training is your introduction to the college or university you will be teaching for. \u00a0If this is your first time teaching for an online school or your fifth faculty training, remember that training is a necessity.\u00a0 The training helps you understand the school\u2019s expectations and become familiar with their Learning Management System (i.e. Blackboard). \u00a0Training will help you become more comfortable navigating the classroom in terms of posting announcements, sending messages, interacting in the discussion boards, and grading assignments.<\/p>\n
Training Modalities<\/strong><\/p>\n Faculty training is usually asynchronous.\u00a0 This means the training work is delivered via message boards and email in the course room. One of the advantages of faculty training is you become the student. \u00a0You learn how the student navigates the classroom as well as how you, the faculty member, navigate the course.<\/p>\n Some colleges or universities have self-paced training. \u00a0This means you complete the training at your own leisure. \u00a0One of the school\u2019s I teach for trained faculty this way.\u00a0 I had two weeks to complete the training, which meant responding to discussion posts of other faculty trainees and watching videos, and taking quizzes.\u00a0 The advantage of this training was I could take my time.\u00a0 I could do as little or as much work I wanted in a day.<\/p>\n The second school I worked for required trainees to participate in a four-week faculty training.\u00a0 During this training, I was the \u201cstudent\u201d along with nine other trainees.\u00a0 Each week we were required to respond to a discussion board question and post at least two participation posts to our peers . We had a separate classroom, which was called the sandbox.\u00a0 The sandbox was our mock course room.\u00a0 What we learned in training we applied to the sandbox.\u00a0 This required us to post announcements, discussion threads, setup the grade book, and grade assignments.<\/p>\n Suggestions for Successful Training<\/strong><\/p>\n Take your faculty training seriously.<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a great way to show off your skills, learn about the school, and become familiar with the classroom.\u00a0 This is also a great networking opportunity to get to know your fellow colleagues.\u00a0 From my experience, it is beneficial to have a colleague you can bounce ideas off of when you teach.\u00a0 Online teaching can become isolating so the more communication you have with your peers, the more involved with the school you will feel.<\/p>\n Print documents or make a folder on your computer.<\/strong><\/p>\n I like to do both.\u00a0 Training usually offers setup guides and helpful tips.\u00a0 It is useful to save these when you begin teaching, especially when you setup your classroom.\u00a0 Most schools provide classroom setup checklists so you know exactly what is expected of you.\u00a0 Save these documents to help you organize and make setup a breeze.<\/p>\n Take notes.<\/strong><\/p>\n I know many people may not have a pen and pad next to their desk but I do.\u00a0 I find it easier to remember certain details when I jot things down and keep everything together.<\/p>\n Ask questions.<\/strong><\/p>\n Do not hesitate to reach out to your instructor during training.\u00a0 The trainer is there to help you succeed. After all, you made it through the interview process so training is a big deal!<\/p>\n Have fun.<\/strong><\/p>\n Take this opportunity to view training as a learning experience and getting to know your peers.\u00a0 One of the schools I trained for had a scavenger hunt assignment.\u00a0 This consisted of 10 multiple choice questions about the university.\u00a0 The assignment required trainees to navigate the school website to find the answers. From my perspective, this was a smart and brilliant way to teach trainees about the university.\u00a0 Reading about the history of the school, their accreditation, and the university objectives allowed me to become more excited about working there.\u00a0 I felt like I really knew about the school I work for and that I belonged.\u00a0 In my years of experience teaching online, I was never taught about the school I worked for. Yes, I could easily look it up myself but there were areas in the scavenger hunt I never would have thought to research.<\/p>\n Using Your Training Skills to Teach <\/strong><\/p>\n When I began setting up my classroom, I became overwhelmed. \u00a0Training had ended, and I thought I knew everything I needed to know.\u00a0 In some circumstances, you may not teach your first class until months after training ends.\u00a0 Therefore, you may need to refresh your memory. \u00a0This is a good time to read those notes you took and the documents you saved.\u00a0 Give yourself a refresher course, then take a deep breath and remind yourself that they hired you for a reason. \u00a0You can do this!\u00a0 As the weeks progress, you will become more comfortable in the classroom interacting with your students, and your notes will be put to the side.\u00a0 Soon you will realize that the faculty training has made you become the best online instructor you can be.<\/p>\n Dorothy A. Miraglia, PhD<\/strong> earned her B.S. in music and sociology from Adelphi University (2004). \u00a0She attended Hofstra University (2006), earning her M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, and earned an M.S. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Phoenix (2011). \u00a0Dr. Miraglia graduated with distinction from Capella University (2014), earning her Ph.D. in Advanced Studies in Human Behavior. Her dissertation is titled, The experiences of adult women ages 30-44 who log on to Facebook daily using their smartphone: A generic qualitative study<\/em>. \u00a0After graduation, Dr. Miraglia co-edited a book with dissertation mentor Dr. Stephanie L. Brooke titled, The Use of the Creative Therapies to Cope with Grief and Loss. Currently, Dr. Miraglia is the lead editor on her second book with Dr. Brooke titled, Breaking the chains of Violence and Bullying Through the Creative Arts Therapies. Dr. Miraglia has over five years of online teaching experience and currently teaches humanities and psychology courses.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Faculty training is your introduction to the college or university you will be teaching for. \u00a0If this is your first time teaching for an online school or your fifth faculty training, remember that training is a necessity.\u00a0 The training helps you understand the school\u2019s expectations and become familiar with their Learning Management System (i.e. Blackboard).… Continue reading Faculty Training: Your Gateway to Becoming the Best Online Instructor You Can Be<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1],"class_list":["post-920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","category-professor-services","entry"],"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.professorservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}