Shifting to Online Learning Through Faculty Collaborative Support

Book excerpt: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most schools had to suddenly shift from traditional face-to-face courses to blended, synchronous, and asynchronous instructional environments. The impact upon the immediacy of remote learning was overwhelming to many faculty, instructional facilitators, teachers, and trainers. Many faculty and trainers have experience with the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of online and blended learning environments, while many faculty and trainers also do not have this knowledge nor experience. As such, the collegial workspace has developed into a collaborative work environment wherein the faculty are helping faculty, partially because the instructional designer staff and learning advisors are overwhelmed with the number of course projects that must be moved from traditional face-to-face course environments into an online environment within a short period of time. The faculty are helping each other make this move, offering course design and development support and also instructional tips and tricks that will support successful blended and online experiences that enhance learning outcomes. Shifting to Online Learning Through Faculty Collaborative Support focuses on supporting and enhancing blended and distance learning course design and development, successful tips for course design and teaching, techniques for online learning, and embracing collegial mentorship and facilitative support for course and faculty success. This book highlights the strength of collegial bonds while discussing tools, methods, procedural efforts, styles of engagement, learning theories, assessment efforts, and even social learning engagement implementations in online learning. It provides information and lessons and embraces a long-term approach towards understanding institutional impact and collegial support. This book is valuable for school administrators, teachers, course designers, instructional designers, school faculty, business and administrative leadership, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in how faculty collaborative support is playing a critical role in improving and developing successful online learning.