Full time, adjunct, and CEED faculty members who are interested in developing online courses are invited to attend the Virtual Academy. The program is offered twice each year, in January and late spring. The Academy is delivered in a "hybrid" format that combines online modules with four days of on-site, face-to-face learning. The program includes three modules of instruction: Online Pedagogy, Dreamweaver and WebCT, with the following learning outcomes:

* Become familiar with the pedagogy of online learning.
* Integrate Best Practices of online instruction and pedagogy into your course design.
* Assess your teaching style and evaluate your traditional course.
* Modify your course to be consistent with the demands of an online environment.
* Customize CCBC public information templates for your online course using Macromedia Dreamweaver.
* Create course content pages for your online course.
* Develop your online course using WebCT. WebCT is the course management software adopted by CCBC for the development and delivery of online instruction.

The Virtual Academy allows flexibility in completion of training requirements with the availability of Tracks I, II and III.

* Track I is the complete three module hybrid program held in January or late Spring.
* Track II is any combination of campus based TLC (Teaching Learning Computers) workshops and the training modules in Track I.
* Track III is for faculty who have completed comparable training elsewhere and have previously developed and offered an online course at another educational institution. The online course will be evaluated and a resource assigned to assist with the transition to CCBC course delivery processes and requirements.

First-time graduates of the Virtual Academy will receive a training stipend when they have met the required objectives through either Track I or Track II. In addition, a development stipend will be paid during the first semester the course is offered successfully. The development stipend for a new section/course will be 100%. The stipend for a clone or publisher content/e-pack will be 33% of the development stipend.

Following the Virtual Academy, participants can expect continued assistance in developing their courses. Additional training sessions and instructional technology support are available on each campus.

For more information contact:

Tinnie A. Ward, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Distance/Extended Learning and Teleproduction
tward@ccbcmd.edu
410-780-6504

If you are registered for the current session of the Virtual Academy Online, you should proceed by clicking the Start Here link located on the menu to the left.