4. (40) Faculty are provided on-going professional development related to online teaching and learning.

Not Observed      Insufficient      Moderate Use       Meets Criterion Completely

SLIS faculty members are provided on-going professional development related to online teaching and learning through both synchronous and asynchronous means. Our annual Faculty Institute is a major event with the objective of sharing knowledge about online teaching in areas of technology and pedagogy. All full-time faculty and many part-time faculty travel to San Jose to participate in this two-day event. Evaluations of the Institute confirm its value both in terms of knowledge gained as well as individual networking and motivation.

Faculty members are invited to participate in online workshops that are offered by SLIS. These workshops often focus on technology-related topics such as the use of Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing. The sessions are held via Collaborate and they are recorded and made available for later review.

SLIS works with other units on campus to encourage the use of web conferencing to extend the reach of on-campus events. These opportunities allow our off-campus faculty to participate in professional development activities they would otherwise not be able to attend. The King Library’s Research Forum, held in May, 2012, is an example of this type of event.

The School provides several resources to help faculty members incorporate new ideas into their teaching. SLIS purchased a Sloan-C membership for the university in order to provide access to current written materials as well as reduced pricing on conference and workshop attendance.

The University provides a subscription to two valuable Magna Publication newsletters. Online Classroom and Distance Education Report provide practical current information related to online teaching. The Assistant Director for Distance Learning sends emails to faculty members throughout the year highlighting articles of interest and encouraging use of these subscriptions.

The SLIS Faculty Tech Tips blog provides information on how to use technology more effectively for teaching.

Next: Faculty Support #5

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