Center for Teaching and Learning

Online Instructor Certification

Development

Why Become Certified?

If you teach online at SFA, or plan to teach online in the future, becoming a Certified Online Instructor makes sense. The Online Instructor Certification course, and the prerequisite Brightspace workshops, will help you learn and practice the technical skills you'll need to teach online as well as the pedagogical skills and best practices needed to design and deliver quality online courses.

In addition to the numerous pedagogical benefits, instructors who are certified to teach online here at SFA may be eligible to receive stipends for the development of fully online courses.

Becoming a Certified Online Instructor at SFA

All faculty members (including part-time faculty members and adjuncts) at SFA are eligible to become Certified Online Instructors. Staff members and graduate assistants may also be eligible to complete the certification course, with permission from their supervisors or department chairs.

The Online Instructor Certification course provides faculty members with the pedagogical skills needed for teaching online, including the Principles of Good Practice, around which high quality, effective online courses are designed. Course participants will create a single content module in Brightspace (that could potentially become part of a full online course).

To become a Certified Online Instructor at SFA, faculty members must:

  1. Notify Laura Osborne, the CTL training and certification coordinator, that they are interested in becoming certified. Send an email to CTLTraining@sfasu.edu or to osbornel@sfasu.edu (or complete the OIC Interest form linked at the bottom of this page).
  2. Have working knowledge of the fundamentals of Brightspace, including how to communicate with with students; how to create and edit course content; how to build a gradebook and enter grades; how to build, edit, and assess activities including discussions, quizzes and dropbox assignments; and more. Faculty members with limited Brightspace experience at SFA are strongly encouraged to attend Brightspace workshops; however, workshop attendance is no longer a required prerequisite for online instructor certification. Essential Brightspace information and instructions will be available during the OIC course, as well.
  3. Successfully complete the OIC course. The course runs online for about 9-10 weeks each fall and spring semester (with nothing due during university holidays). The course is also sometimes offered during the summer in a compressed seven-to-eight-week format if there is sufficient and qualified demand.

Contact us and as soon as possible to ensure that you are eligible for the OIC course the next time it is offered.

OIC Course Expectations

There are weekly deadlines in the OIC course as well as a small amount of group work; these elements are designed to give participants a realistic online course experience, emulating some of what participants' own students will encounter in the future.

The course includes discussions, quizzes and assignments. Participants will be expected to put in several hours of work per week for most of the duration of the course, with more time possibly being required towards the end when the sample module is due.

Upcoming OIC Course Dates

The next cohort will begin in fall 2024. Firm dates have not yet been set, but it is anticipated to begin in mid-September and run approximately ten weeks, wrapping up by late November. Those interested in participating in this cohort should submit the OIC Interest form no later than Friday, Sep. 6.

To notify us of your interest in participating in an upcoming OIC cohort or to simply request more information, complete the form below:

OIC Interest Form

For more information email ctltraining@sfasu.edu.