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Professional Development Resources for UMUC Faculty and Staff

Linda Smelser

Instructional Support Specialist

Center for Support of Instruction

Published: November-December 2009

Category: » Fac-resources » Faculty-development

If you are looking to enhance your professional development at a low cost, look no further. Low/no-cost professional development resources are available for both faculty and staff from a variety of sources, including UMUC, Baltimore-Washington metropolitan academic institutions, and national educational organizations. UMUC provides a number of professional development opportunities through institutional memberships with academic organizations and via the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The list below identifies these and other free professional opportunities with a brief explanation of their offerings. The list was compiled from information provided by staff who support UMUC faculty in the Office of Instructional Services and Support (OISS).

Institutional Memberships and Local Organizations

UMUC is a member of the following academic organizations that provide professional development resources through a variety of in-person and online events. Staff and faculty can access free resources at these organizations as UMUC employees. The educational services and events at these free sites are endless. Tutorials, courses, open educational resources, videos, articles, and more are available for the interested educator. Most of the sites ask users to create individual accounts using a personal e-mail address.

National Educational Organizations

• Sloan-C is a consortium of individuals and organizations dedicated to improving online education. Sloan-C offers opportunities to share knowledge through participation in conferences, research initiatives, online seminars, and academic publications. To sign up for the Sloan-C Workshops, follow the instructions on the CTL Web site.
• EDUCAUSE is an academic organization that promotes the intelligent use of information technology in higher education. Professional opportunities are available for online events, special interest groups, and applied research. Discounts are available for conferences and publications. To join, when prompted, choose UMUC from the list of institutions.
• The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group (TLT Group) is a grassroots organization that helps colleges and educators collaborate on issues about changes in technology. The TLT Group offers online and face-to-face workshops on using technology to improve teaching and learning. To join, go to the TLT site and list UMUC as your institution.

Local Organizations

• The Maryland Distance Learning Association (MDLA) promotes the coordination of distance learning among Maryland's K-12 and higher education institutions. Maryland institutions participate in MDLA's fall and spring conferences by offering sessions that discuss new ideas for improving online education.
• The UMBC Training Forum at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) offers quarterly in-person events for local educators. The forum provides opportunities for well-known speakers to share ideas on training and education. Recent speakers include the American Society for Training & Development's CEO Tony Bingham, Rapid Instructional Design's Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan, and authors Dr. Michael Marquardt and Dr. Ruth Clark.

Open Educational Resources (OERs)

OERs are available for free by and for educators to share, adapt, and reuse. According to UMUC librarians Rawson and Thomes in their article Open Educational Resources, there are over 300 institutions that develop and offer OERs. Below is a short list of OER sites; a more comprehensive list is available in the Rawson/Thomes article.

• The goal of Academic Earth is to reduce barriers so that "everyone on earth" has access to a world-class education. The site hosts a library of full video courses and lectures from the world's leading scholars.
• iTunes U is a service designed by Apple for institutions to manage a broad range of multimedia and PDF content available to iPhone and iPod users. MIT is one of 28 colleges that has posted courses, campus speeches, and other events at iTunes U.
• The Online Education Database (OEDb) includes a list of 200 free online classes in natural science, language, math, engineering, and many other disciplines from a variety of accredited online colleges and programs.
• YouTube EDU organizes video channels of more than 100 academic institutions and allows viewers to sort clips by school or number of views.

Instructional and Technical Training

• Adobe.com eSeminars are live informational and instructional sessions related to Adobe products, such as Flex, Creative Suite 4, Acrobat Connect Pro, and Captivate.
• The Instructional Design Resource Center (formerly the Hitchhiker's Guide to Instructional Design) is for online instructors and instructional support staff who are looking for ways to improve online course delivery. Visitors can use the site to attend courses, find resources to develop content, and get new ideas to enhance student learning. Forty self-paced courses, workshops, and tutorials are available on topics such as Assessment and Evaluation, Content Development, Teaching with Blogs, Integrating Wikis into the Curriculum, and Captivate 4.
• O'Reilly Media provides workshops and training videos on topics related to its publications. Recent and current trainings include Android Applications, Building iPhone Apps, and Lean Startup.
• A variety of Wimba Online Workshops are available each week on best practices, designing activities, and tips for engaging learners for Wimba Live Classroom and Voice Tools.

UMUC Center for Teaching and Learning

CTL offers several professional development opportunities for UMUC faculty and staff.

• CTL presents online workshops throughout the year on a variety of topics ranging from Handling Difficult Students to Best Online Instructional Practices. CTL facilitators are experienced UMUC faculty who are using the principles they teach in the own classrooms. Classes run between one to three weeks depending on the topic.
• SkillSoft training courses are online self-paced modules that help build technical and business skills. There are ten technical modules offered, with topics such as Creating Rubrics, Web Authoring (understanding and using HTML), and tutorials for Microsoft products, such as PowerPoint, Vista and Outlook. The 17 business skills modules include topics such as The Role of the Facilitator, The Impact of Culture on Communication, Working with Negative People, and Enhancing Your Listening Skills.
• The Faculty Development Workshop Certificate Program assists faculty in charting a course for their own professional development. The certificate program, available in Basic and Advanced, offers opportunities to earn CEUs.