The Certificate for Online Adjunct Teaching (COAT) course is an online training course designed for instructors who are interested in learning how to teach online. Originally designed for adjunct instructors, full-time instructors, instructional designers, and administrators also find the course to be valuable.

The Certificate for Online Adjunct Teaching (COAT) is an in inter-institutional project. Content for the course is based upon research conducted by a team from seven different higher education institutions. Based upon this research, the course was designed and developed by a team of experienced online instructors and instructional designers from six different institutions.

See what our alumni have to say! The next COAT course starts on May 16th. Registration is now open for both May and June sessions! For details, please go to our Registration Page.

To date, over 320 instructors/professionals from 20 states and 2 countries have completed the COAT course. Feedback from COAT alumni has been overwhelmingly positive, with more than 90% of COAT respondents indicating:

• the course met their needs to prepare them to teach online,
• the course met or exceeded their expectations,
• the overall course objectives included what they wanted to study in order to prepare to teach online, and
• they would recommend the course to a colleague.

The course explores online teaching and learning by introducing online learning principles and instructor competencies. Participants will experience online learning from the students' perspective as they explore and master specific competencies needed in order to successfully teach online. Some topics covered include

1) The importance of and strategies for orienting students to the online learning environment
2) Basic instructional design principles as applied to the facilitation of online courses
3) Self assessment of technical skills and learning management system skills
4) Pedagogical approaches to teaching online - Teaching and learning theories, strategies and best practices
5) Establishing social processes and presence - Creating a positive learning environment, building a learning community, and engaging students in the online classroom
6) Facilitating online discussions and group work- Encouraging peer-to-peer learning and collaboration
7) Managing assessment - Maintaining assessment integrity, establishing/implementing appropriate testing strategies, creating and using grading rubrics, etc.
8) Important legal issues (FERPA, ADA, and copyright) - Student privacy, accommodating students with disabilities, understanding copyright law as applied to online course materials
9) Identifying important policies, procedures, and support services at your institution - What you need to know about your institution before teaching online

To view the detailed course and module objectives see the COAT Course Competencies.

Notes:

• This course is intended to introduce instructors to teaching (facilitating) an online course that has already been developed. This course does not train faculty how to develop an online course.
• The course is taught fully online.
• The course is nine weeks long.
• While opportunities to participate in synchronous activities during the course are provided, (optional course orientation and webinars), they are not required.
  

Course Prerequisites

1. Experience teaching in the traditional (face-to-face) classroom is strongly recommended.

2. Basic computer skills. To evaluate your computer skills, take the "Computer Skills Inventory" self-check quiz. At a minimum, you must be able to

• Browse the Internet using browsing software
• Save, find, and organize files and folders on your hard drive
• Send and receive files using email
• Use word processing software (Microsoft Word or compatible)

  Note: Computer skills are not taught in the COAT course. If you are lacking basic computer skills, you should reconsider taking the COAT course until you have acquired those skills.

3. A sincere interest in learning how to teach online. If you aren't sure whether you are a good candidate for teaching online, please view Are You a Good Candidate for Teaching Online?

COAT has also been featured in articles by a number of organizations, including the Distance Education Report, WCET (The Wiche Cooperative for Educational Technology) , and the "International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL)." (See the COAT News page for details.)

COAT has presented at numerous distance learning conferences including Sloan-C, the University of Wisconsin at Madison's Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, Quality Matters®, the Maryland Consortium for Adjunct Faculty Professional Development, the Instructional Technology Council (webinar), and the Maryland Distance Learning Association. For a complete list see our Conference Presentations.

For the current schedule of classes, please see the Registration page.

Cost:

Maryland residents or instructors associated with a Maryland institution - $300
Non-Maryland residents - $600

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any prerequisites for the course?

Yes.

1. It is strongly recommended that participants have experience teaching in the traditional (face-to-face) classroom at the higher education level.

2. Participants must have basic technical knowledge needed in order to navigate the online learning environment including

• basic navigational Learning Management System (LMS) skills (Blackboard, WebCT, or similar)
• basic computer skills including Internet browsing skills, saving and finding files on a hard drive, sending and receiving attachments through email, and
• know how to use word processing software (Microsoft Word or compatible).

3. Participants must also have a sincere interest in learning how to teach online. If you aren't sure whether you are a good candidate for teaching online, please view Are You a Good Candidate for Teaching Online?

How is the course conducted?

The course is nine weeks long and is taught fully online. This gives participants an opportunity to experience an online course as a student. (This has, in fact, been an important strength of the course as identified by COAT alumni.) The course is highly structured and includes requirements to complete weekly activities, assignments, and readings, as well as interaction and collaboration using the course discussion board and wiki. Participants must log into the course at least three days per week. Estimated weekly time commitment is six to eight hours. While opportunities to participate in synchronous activities (webinars/Internet conferencing) during the course are provided, they are not required.

Is college credit awarded for the course?

College credit is not awarded for the course. The course is intended to be a structured professional development activity for teaching professionals. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a "certificate of completion" from MarylandOnline. Completion of this course in no way guarantees participants they will receive an offer of employment by any institution or be exempt from specific training requirements of individual institutions.

What is covered in the course?

The course is intended to introduce participants to principles and practices for teaching online college courses. (The course is not intended to teach participants how to develop an online course). For a complete list of the topics and module objectives, see the syllabus and the COAT Course Competencies.

How did COAT come into being?

MarylandOnline (MOL) consists of 20 colleges and universities in the state of Maryland. These colleges and universities recognize the importance of access to experienced adjunct instructors who also have expertise in the online teaching environment. MarylandOnline funded the research and development of the COAT course in order to meet the needs of its member institutions. The course was so successful that it is now available for a fee to any interested instructors, regardless of institutional affiliation.

What are the standards used for the course?

The course was designed using the Quality Matters standards of course design.

Who is hosting the course?

The course is being hosted by Frederick Community College on its Blackboard server. Many thanks to Frederick Community College for its support!

For additional details about the course and how it is conducted, please see the Syllabus.

To enroll in the course click on the Registration link.

To see a partial list of COAT course alumni see COAT Alumni.

To see a history of how COAT came about and has grown see COAT History.

To see a complete list of articles published about COAT see COAT News.

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