An 8-week asynchronous online course designed to accommodate the schedules of busy professionals. The course has defined start dates and end dates, but there is no appointed time or day to be online. Participants determine the schedule that’s right for them.
The demonstrations of competency and assignments in this course include tasks designed for practical use and application during an online science education career. The evaluative components include web-publishing of resources created and curated during the course.
A major dimension of the course includes access to a community of online instructors for career networking opportunities and continued professional development.
Course-Level Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:
1. Develop appropriate strategies for maximum student engagement.
2. Employ instructional techniques that promote a positive learning atmosphere and build a learning community within the course.
3. Design an action plan for compliance with intellectual property and student privacy protections including copyright law, Fair Use, ADA, and FERPA.
4. Summarize educational theories of the last century.
5. Apply principles of basic online course design and instructional pedagogy.
6. Identify ways to incorporate critical thinking exercises into their course design and teaching activities.
7. Develop creative and alternative assignment and assessment strategies that promote learning and student engagement.
8. Create a cloud-based portfolio of the learning that occurred during the course.
The Online Science Educator Certification Course was designed with connectivism in mind, a new learning theory that promotes higher order thinking by creating a learning culture in which the students and the educator seek knowledge together. Participants are first presented with references and then compelled to find their own sources of information to contribute to the learning community.
Upon successful demonstration of the course learning outcomes, students will be certified by the Institute for Excellence in Distance Science Education (IEDSE).
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