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Online Educator Workshops & Professional Development

The College of the Canyons Online Education team offer a variety of training options to help you improve your teaching effectiveness, gain new skills and knowledge, stay current on best practices in distance education, and connect and collaborate with other amazing full-time and part-time faculty members!

  • Live Workshops & Recorded Sessions: Explore a range of topics through our regularly scheduled workshops offered via Zoom as well as in-person. These interactive sessions cover a variety of topics, from incorporating technology in the classroom to effective online teaching strategies. 
  • Online Professional Development Courses: These week-long facilitated courses in Canvas allow you to explore specific teaching and learning strategies in greater depth at your own convenience through the week. 
Want to see what's coming up? Look for our Monday Memo email (sent on Mondays 😀) with updates for each week, and/or explore the calendar below. 

Calendar

Select the "Agenda" tab (on the right-side of the below Calendar) for an overview of what's taking place this week, and for the links to join online.

Exploring AI Course Series

College of the Canyon's Exploring AI Series contains four week-long courses designed to provide participants with an understanding of how generative AI technologies work, their capabilities and limitations, and a summary of ethical considerations related to their use. Click below to view the descriptions and learning outcomes for each course, and visit the Vision Resource Center calendar to see when each course is being offered and to enroll.

Essential AI Literacy offers a practical introduction to generative artificial intelligence (AI) to provide participants with an understanding of how generative AI technologies work, its' capabilities and limitations, and a summary of ethical considerations related to its' use.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Define "generative AI" and differentiate it from other forms of artificial intelligence.
  • Summarize the capabilities and limitations of generative AI.
  • Identify basic ethical considerations of generative AI.
Course Length: 1 week
Flex credit: 3 hours

AI in Education: Opportunities & Considerations will serve as a starting point to equip you with the knowledge and skills to optimize your teaching practices by leveraging AI for more engaging and effective learning experiences. We'll explore commonly used AI tools for education, critically analyze the advantages and limitations of generative AI models, and delve into strategies for crafting effective prompts for AI applications.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Demonstrate comprehension of various AI technologies applicable to education, including adaptability to diverse learner needs, intelligent tutoring systems, and educational chatbots.
  • Identify common AI tools that can be used to generate learning content.
  • Identify ethical and social implications of teaching with generative AI, including issues related to students' future employability, bias, and privacy.
Course Length: 1 week
Flex credit: 3 hours

In today's rapidly evolving educational landscape, understanding how to integrate AI technologies can greatly enhance teaching practices and student outcomes. In Teaching & Learning with AI, you'll gain insights into how AI is being used to enhance student engagement, facilitate differentiated learning, foster critical thinking, and streamline assessment processes. We'll also explore ethical considerations you and your students will want to be aware of.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Identify ways AI can be used to foster critical thinking in learning activities
  • Identify how generative AI can be applied to educational materials-such as quiz questions, assignment instructions for differentiated learning, research projects, grading rubrics, and adapting a F2F assignment to online-to enhance student engagement, personalized learning, and assessment
  • Utilize AI prompt engineering techniques to formulate and refine AI-generated content.
Course Length: 1 week
Flex credit: 3 hours

There's no doubt that the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has brought forth both opportunities and challenges. In Academic Integrity and AI Policies, we'll unpack the interplay between AI technologies and academic integrity. You'll learn about AI plagiarism detectors and writing tools, gain insight into effective practices for using AI tools equitably and responsibly, and begin crafting thoughtful and comprehensive AI course policies.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Articulate ways in which AI technologies (such as plagiarism detectors, spell checkers, essay generators) affect academic integrity
  • Analyze ethical considerations associated with generative AI in higher ed (equity, access, academic integrity)
  • Critically evaluate AI tools used for plagiarism detection and prevention (considering factors such as reliability, accuracy, and ethical/equity implications)
  • Draft an AI policy (separate from a course academic integrity policy) for at least one existing or future course, outlining appropriate usage, ethical guidelines, assessment criteria, and student accountability.
Course Length: 1 week
Flex credit: 3 hours

Humanizing Online Teaching (HOT) Course Series

Transform your online teaching with the Humanizing Online Teaching series! This comprehensive professional development series is designed to help college instructors create a more engaging, inclusive, and supportive online classroom. Each course in the series focuses on a unique approach to humanizing teaching, from becoming an approachable and responsive instructor to using kindness cues, embracing the "warm demander" approach, and leveraging video to strengthen your teaching presence.

Through practical strategies and the creation of meaningful course components, you’ll learn to build trust, foster a sense of belonging, and empower students to succeed. Join us to elevate your online teaching and make a lasting impact on your students' learning experiences! {Note: The courses may be taken “stand alone.” You’re encouraged, but not required, to complete the entire series.]

Join our upcoming professional development course, Humanizing Online Teaching: Becoming an Approachable Instructor, designed to help college instructors build genuine connections with their students in the online environment. This course will guide you in recognizing and applying key humanizing principles—trust, presence, awareness, and empathy—to create a welcoming and supportive online classroom. Through practical activities, you'll learn effective communication strategies that foster approachability and develop two essential course components—a course card and home page—that help students feel seen, valued, and connected. Transform your online presence and make a lasting impact on your students’ learning experience!
Enhance your online teaching with Humanizing Online Teaching: Using Kindness Cues! This professional development course is designed to help instructors create a warm and inclusive online course (works with in-person too ;-)) by recognizing and using kindness cues that build trust and foster social inclusion. You’ll learn how to increase your instructor presence to cultivate a supportive learning environment and design two powerful course elements: a self-affirming icebreaker and a "getting to know you" survey. These tools will help you prioritize relationships and create a classroom where students feel valued and encouraged. Build a kinder, more connected online learning experience!
Discover the balance between warmth and high expectations in Humanizing Online Teaching: Becoming a Warm Demander! This course equips instructors with the skills to create a learning environment that is both supportive and challenging, encouraging students to reach their full potential. You’ll explore and implement "warm demander" strategies to set high standards while showing genuine care for each student's success. Learn how to deliver humanized feedback that is both constructive and growth-oriented, and create an inclusive "liquid syllabus" that reflects diverse perspectives and meets the needs of all students. Empower your teaching with warmth, high expectations, and inclusivity!
Bring your online classroom to life with Humanizing Online Teaching: Using Video to Create Your Teaching Presence! This hands-on course will guide you through the powerful impact of instructor-created videos in building connection and enhancing learning. You'll explore the pedagogical and humanizing benefits of video, gain insights into essential recording tools and equipment, and apply best practices to create two impactful videos—a bumper video and a microlecture—that foster a stronger connection with your students. Learn how to make your online presence engaging and supportive, and help students feel more connected to their learning journey!

Annual Online Instructor Retreat

Every Fall Flex week, the Online Education Team hosts an Online Instructor Retreat which provides an opportunity for faculty who are teaching, or who would like to teach, in any of COC's Distance Education formats, to:

  • explore the latest online instruction best practices to support student success
  • enjoy networking and conversation with colleagues across disciples and departments
  • get ideas and inspiration for the coming semester. 

Online Instructor Retreat

We look forward to you joining us for the next Online Instructor Retreat: Fall Flex Week, 2025!


Additional Training Opportunities

*NOTE: To request Flex credit for attending external workshops, please complete this External Training form.