By completing the activities and assessment requirements in the short course you will experience life as an online student so you can make better decisions about what will work with your online students. You will experience most learnonline activity types (workshop, forum, wiki, quiz, database, glossary, choice, lesson, feedback, H5P, Panopto, Zoom virtual classroom) as well as learn more about the role of an online tutor in supporting students' learning. We hope that this will not only increase your confidence in learnonline but also help you to develop empathy for the online learner.
Overview
Engaging Learners online (ELO) is a fully online four-week short course that aims to prepare you for being a teacher in the online environment. By completing the activities and assessment requirements in the short course you will experience life as an online student so you can make better decisions about what will work with your online students.
What kind of course is this?
Engaging Learners Online is a short course that aims to prepare you for being a teacher within active online environments. You will be asked to engage with a range of online resources, activities and assessments while reflecting on how what you’re learning may be applied to your own teaching in online spaces – both blended and fully online.
This short course is facilitated completely online (no face-to-face sessions), and you will experience most learnonline activity types (workshop, forum, wiki, quiz, database, glossary, choice, feedback, H5P, Panopto, Zoom virtual classroom). You will also learn more about the role of an online teacher in supporting students' learning. We hope that this will not only increase your confidence in learnonline but also help you to develop empathy for the online learner.
What will I learn?
This course aims to achieve two broad goals: 1) to introduce to you some theoretical frameworks to guide your online teaching learning design and practice, and 2) to give you a hands-on experience of learning in our learnonline Moodle platform – including a showcase of the many tools available for use at UniSA.
You will also get the experience of working with a team in the online environment and get a sense of what it’s like using some of the online collaboration tools we have available.
What kind of commitment is required?
This short course is offered completely online over a 4-week period and requires approximately 35-40 hours to complete all activities and assessments. Most of the course is delivered asynchronously (at a time and place that suits you) but there are optional real-time events.
Engaging Learners Online is offered two times a year.
Who can register?
This short course is open to all UniSA staff (including casual and sessional staff). Due to limited numbers, registration is essential.
Coordinator
Dates
There are no further offerings in 2024. Please see below preliminary dates for 2025.
Offering 1: 20 January – 16 February 2025
Offering 2: 30 June - 27 July 2025
Notes
Registration in this short course forms part of the Professional Certificate in Higher Education. A record of completion of Engaging Learners Online is provided as a certificate and also noted in your HR record.
"The course is well-structured and designed for everyone, whether newly appointed tutors, novice to teaching or experienced staff who have been teaching for a while. The content and readings are appropriate to stimulate learning, contemplation and strategic planning for teaching in the online environment. The content and workload over the 4-week period were just right."
“It teaches through example, creating empathy for the online learner and showing prospective tutors how to assist learners with managing online learning. The tasks and assessment are instructive and useful but not onerous. There is plenty for learners at different levels of experience and knowledge in face-to-face teaching and use of technology for teaching.”
"An excellent course. Well-structured and very informative. I always knew what was expected of me and developed a good range of knowledge and skills for teaching using online environments."
"Wonderful structure. Great activities. Well-selected readings. Inspiring teachers. Lots of great new ideas and practical skills to apply in my own teaching."
The Teaching and Innovation Unit offers a variety of options for professional development, including short courses and symposiums. Check out the calendar to find out what's on.
Core concepts, quizzes and online lessons: To adapt your teaching requires a commitment to developing your skill-set and possibly collaborating with the TIU.