Online Teaching and Learning Minor

Coordinator: Ray Pastore

Online education has increased significantly in K-12 institutions, community colleges, and higher education over the last decade. As a result of this increase, there is a need to train educators to teach in, create, and manage these online and virtual environments. This undergraduate minor program in Online Teaching and Learning (OT&L) is designed to meet the needs of pre-service teachers, teachers, and other individuals who wish to teach in, design, develop, and manage online learning environments.

The minor program in Online Teaching and Learning (OT&L) will provide participants with a multitude of learning experiences. These include design, development, implementation, and management of online courses using various Learning Management Systems (LMS); design and delivery of synchronous learning environments and learning management systems; design and development of electronic, self-directed learning materials, and others; and to teach in virtual schools. By completing this minor program, candidates have required competencies for teaching in, creating, and managing online programs.

Minor Program Objectives:

• Design, develop, implement, manage, and evaluate online learning environments, courses, and programs.
• Demonstrate skills in integrating instructional design principles and procedures with multimedia technologies and course management tools to develop highly engaging and interactive online learning environments.
• Develop knowledge safety, ethics, plagiarizing, and cyberbullying in online environments
• Develop knowledge and skills of designing, developing, delivering, and evaluating online learning environments and programs that are  accessible for individuals with disabilities and are responsive to learners’ diversity and cultural differences.
• Demonstrate competencies in creating and implementing assessments in online learning environments in ways that assure validity and reliability of instruments and procedures.
• Demonstrate competencies in using data and findings from assessments and other data sources to modify instructional methods and  content and to guide student learning in online learning environments.
• Demonstrate administrative skills in planning, launching, maintaining, and coordinating distance education programs.