Teaching Solutions is NMC’s online teaching certification program required of all online, hybrid and livestream instructors. The program was established in 2011 and hundreds of NMC faculty have earned their Online Teaching Certificate since its inception.

There are two versions of Teaching Solutions:

• The Bootcamp: this week-long version in mid-May is ideal for faculty who would like to join a group of colleagues to share experiences and discuss best practices in online teaching and learning. Participants meet with facilitators for about two hours each day and have additional workshop hours to get help building their capstone courses.
• Online, Self-Paced: this version is intended for faculty who would like to progress through concepts on their own or for those who are otherwise too busy to attend the bootcamp in May. Participants meet with the facilitators for a kickoff meeting to get acquainted with the program’s goals and can reach out for help as needed.

Regardless of the version selected, Teaching Solutions takes approximately 30-40 hours to complete and culminates with the development of a functional capstone course that meets each of the Capstone Requirements. Capstone courses can be directly applied to academic Moodle courses your students will see.

Any faculty member can participate. If you’ve already completed the program, you’re more than welcome to attend again to pick up new concepts or brush up on existing skills. Adjunct faculty who complete the program are eligible to receive a one-time $500 stipend.

Important Note

Teaching Solutions isn’t the same as the Course Review Cohort. Teaching Solutions serves as an introduction to concepts the Course Review Cohort covers in much more detail. Any faculty member who continues to teach online and/or hybrid courses at NMC will be asked to participate in the Course Review Cohort where an entire course is worked through a thorough review process.

Key Concepts

Participants can expect to learn about best practices in the following areas relative to online teaching:

• Course overview and introductory material (welcome videos, contact information, communication policies, introductory activities, etc.)
• Delivery and instruction (ADA compliance, NMC course and college syllabi, schedules/itineraries, navigation and wayfinding, course branding, aesthetics, lecture capture, video repositories, etc.)
• Assessment and feedback (gradebook design, creating quality feedback loops, generating interaction, developing varied assessments, etc.)
• Technology and learner support (supplemental technology, tech best practices, ADA best practices, online services, etc.)

What is TPACK?

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is a model that “attempts to identify the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge” (tpack.org). Originating at Michigan State University, the TPACK framework is a great way to approach Teaching Solutions and online/hybrid course reviews. Ed Tech staff can help content experts become fluent with current technology and pedagogy to create highly functional and engaging online learning experiences for students.

Facilitators

Both longtime K12 educators, Mark DeLonge and Ryan Bernstein have been in the higher education setting for over a decade and also serve as adjunct instructors of online, face-to-face and livestream courses in the Social Sciences and Communications departments respectively. Contact Mark (mdelonge@nmc.edu) or Ryan (rbernstein@nmc.edu) with questions or to enroll.