UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new professional development course will help online instructors incorporate free or low-cost learning, teaching and research materials into their curricula.
"Integrating Open Educational Resources into Your Course” will be offered online in February, June and October by Penn State World Campus Online Faculty Development, which offers courses free of charge to faculty and staff.
“This will really integrate with our efforts to lower the costs of education for students — a strategic goal for World Campus and across the University,” said Matt Dingo, interim assistant director of faculty development for World Campus.
The open education resources course is one of the professional development courses World Campus Online Faculty Development will offer in 2024. Courses may be self-directed or led by an instructor; all are asynchronous. Registration is open now on the Online Faculty Development website.
Six online teaching certificates also are available, including the Foundations for Online Teaching Certificate, which is part of the new Provost Endorsement Program, an effort to recognize and support professional development across the University.
The open education resources course, OL 2450, was developed in partnership with Penn State University Libraries and fulfills one requirement for the Course Authoring Certificate. The course also will teach instructors how to create open educational resources of their own that they could make available to other instructors at Penn State or elsewhere in higher education, Dingo said.
Online Faculty Development also has revamped its course on the Canvas learning system, which is now OL2150, “Canvas Hands On.” Faculty and staff taking the four-week course, which Dingo teaches, will learn to create and manage a Canvas course while developing an actual mock course, he said.
Other courses include essentials of online teaching, academic advising, online teaching for graduate students, online course design, supporting accommodations for online learners, and serving military and veteran students.
Visit the Online Faculty Development website for more information.