I would like to express gratitude to my
family, Cambrian College and several colleagues for supporting my
successful sabbatical in 2001-2002. My primary sabbatical objective was
to complete the requirements for WebCT Certified Trainer status. The
secondary objective was to coordinate Cambrian Online's faculty training
in online course development and support.
Claude Belcourt & Don MacEwan, the
other members of the Cambrian Online Team, helped me formulate and
supported the initial idea and my preparation for the
"entrance" exam. Claude frequently flies the "WebCT
Trainer Certified" banner! Betty Freelandt, my dean at
the time, supported my application and encouraged me. Ivan Filion &
Mary Blanchard supported my efforts from day one. My thanks go to the
Staff Development Committee and the late Dr. Frank Marsh, who approved
and supported my sabbatical application. I am also grateful to the many
faculty who have helped me accomplish my goals by participating in our
workshops, videotaped sessions and related Cambrian Online activities.
Finally, I am grateful for the recent collaboration of Ivan Filion and Chris Bartlett, who have helped create
a flexible work environment for 2002-2003, that will enable me to apply
my skills and knowledge acquired during the sabbatical experience.
What is the "WebCT Certified
Trainer" program? Read what WebCT.COM
says...
|
|
Summary of sabbatical activities
- Prepare for and write WebCT
Knowledge Test
- Complete the "Train the
Trainer" T3 course online
- Complete the advanced
"Face-to-Face" F2F workshops at Ohio State University.
Prepare & deliver formal training session. Satisfy
presentation requirements.
- Deliver a videotaped formal training session
at
Cambrian, complete video tape logs, questionnaires & submit to
WebCT Corp. for evaluation
- Start or continue ongoing projects at Cambrian online -
faculty training, workshops, develop training matrix, etc.
Evaluation & evidence that sabbatical
objectives were achieved
From WebCT Corporation:
- Results of WebCT Knowledge Test
- Results of T3 Train-the-Trainer
course
- Results of F2F Face-to-Face training
sessions
- Formal evaluation of videotaped
training session and overall certification status
(PDF format, 89k)
- Scan
of certificate of WebCT Certified Trainer status from WebCT
Corporation (JPG format, 108k)
- Testimonial
from K. Allnut, WebCT Training Evaluator, regarding videotaped
training session (final certification step)
At Cambrian College:
- Assisted with development of
Cambrian College's quality standards for online courses
- WebCT training workshops for faculty
at Christmas 2001 and May-June 2002
- Weekly training sessions for Trades,
Heavy Equipment faculty for eight weeks (learning outcomes matched
to test questions)
- "Foundations of Online
Teaching" for faculty making the transition from
traditional to online teaching
- "Cambrian
Online Training Strategies" self-diagnostic matrices for
faculty teaching online who want to assess training needs in
computer skills, instructional design, and online teaching
strategies
- eDome Project Management Proposal
for 2002-2003 (available upon request)
- Contribute to eDome planning, design
and evaluation of instructional technology & teaching
strategies
- Unsolicited
testimonial
about Faculty WebCT Training Matrix from University of New
South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Analysis of actual time spent
| Prepare
for and write WebCT Knowledge Test |
one month |
| Complete
T3 Train-the-Trainer online course |
four weeks |
| Complete
F2F Face-to-Face workshops |
four days |
| Prepare
and deliver videotaped training session |
one week |
| Complete
reports, videotape log, questionnaires |
two weeks |
| Continue
WebCT support & training at Cambrian (concurrent) |
2001-2002 |
| Develop
training matrix for Cambrian faculty (concurrent) |
2001-2002 |
| Contribute
to instructional design and planning in eDome project
(concurrent) |
2001-2002 |
Schedule of sabbatical activities (used
in progress reports)
View "Table
1: Detailed Schedule for Sabbatical Outcomes & Progress Reports 2001 - 2002"
|
|
Benefits that resulted to the college,
the students and applicant
- Assisting Cambrian
College with scaling up online education. Increases in
student WebCT enrolments and faculty designer accounts are evident.
Several new faculty are developing course resources online with WebCT.
- Advocated
the �multiplier effect� in training &
support. Regular weekly department, discipline-specific training fosters
an autonomous online course development culture. Trades, Heavy
Equipment training in spring 2002, and currently, weekly LS/AT
(Learning Strategist / Assistive Technologist) sessions, fall 2002,
have been successful.
-
WebCT Trainer Certification emphasis on train-the-trainer,
not just one-on-one support, time-on-task, addressing diverse adult
earning styles, and focusing on teaching & learning, not just the
tools, are helping build a pedagogically sound WebCT-based learning
environment
- Several
training sessions (Christmas 2001, Spring 2002 and August 2002), and
frequent "walk-in clinic-style" sessions have improved faculty and student WebCT knowledge base
and abilities
- Students enrolled in
online courses can depend upon on a consistent course quality standard.
This is especially true with the emphasis on quality standards in new
WebCT course templates, with input from the Online Course Quality
Standards Advisory Group.
- Cambrian is now
positioned as a professional �WebCT Academy� for marketing
training to both internal and external clients, as we do now with
Microsoft and Cisco training & products
- Competitive
advantage for Cambrian College; ability to display the
�WebCT Certified Trainer� logo in course materials, Web pages,
etc.
Plans for using the knowledge and skills
gained through the sabbatical
- Continue advocating
"department-lead" model of WebCT training
- Continue to develop and formalize the
Teaching Online Skills Training Matrix process. Work in collaboration
with Staff Development Coordinator.
- Continue to support faculty &
students in online teaching & learning
- Continue to assist with the eDome
project
The identification of ways in which the
institution would assist with the application of the newly acquired
skills & knowledge
- Advocate the "department-lead"
model of WebCT training throughout upper organizational hierarchy.
Provide support necessary for departments to adopt training model.
- Support the development of a formal,
professional development skills training process for faculty teaching
online. Support the acknowledgement & resources necessary for such
an initiative to succeed.
- Continue to provide a work environment
conducive to applying my newly acquired skills and knowledge
Suggestions for improvement of the
sabbatical process
- Continue articulating very clearly the
professional development leave priorities. Frank Marsh's succinct
letter of Oct. 26, 2001 was one of the inspirations behind my
application.
- Provide support in the sabbatical
application writing process. I have assisted several folks in this
process over the last two years. While I am happy to do this, and will
continue to do so, my limited experience may not be the most
beneficial. I have only applied for ONE sabbatical, and I am sure the
Staff Development Committee is comprised of, or can access folks more
qualified than me.
Recommendations for future sabbaticals
- Encourage a public presentation of the
sabbatical final report. I would like to know what others
accomplished.
Back to Greg's
Homepage
|
times