This is the Fall 2012 welcome letter for the Preparing to Teach Online training course offered at Madison College.

1. To:
Preparing
to
Teach
Online
participants
From:
Jennifer
Lewis,
instructor
Re:
Welcome
Letter
to
Preparing
To
Teach
Online,
Fall
2012
Date:
August
27,
2012
Welcome
to
Preparing
To
Teach
Online
(PTTO)!
This
is
an
introductory
course
that
investigates
the
design
and
pedagogy
of
online
teaching
and
learning.
This
course
provides
the
opportunity
to
gain
experience
in
e-­‐learning
environments
and
online
facilitation
best
practices,
the
opportunity
to
receive
instructional
design
advice
while
designing
a
specific
course
and
constructing
specific
online
teaching
materials,
the
opportunity
to
create
online
syllabus
policies,
and
the
opportunity
to
create
an
ongoing
learning
plan
to
improve
your
online
pedagogy,
management,
and
technical
skills.
Participants
will
explore
online
teaching
methods,
communication
and
interaction
management,
use
a
variety
of
communication
and
assessment
tools,
and
distinguish
best
practices
in
the
online
classroom.
This
is
not
a
course
in
tools
or
Blackboard
usage;
the
focus
is
on
how
to
design
and
facilitate
online
instruction.
Successful
completion
of
PTTO
can
earn
you
2
continuing
education
credits
towards
re-­‐
certification
beyond
the
initial
5
year
level.
If
you
are
still
provisional,
you
may
earn
WTCS
provisional
certification
credit
for
WTCS
#52,
teaching
methods.
You
may
also
earn
2
undergraduate
or
graduate
credits
through
UW-­‐Platteville,
payable
to
them,
for
an
additional
fee.
This
course
is
100%
online
that
operates
in
Blackboard.
Our
class
will
begin
on
Monday,
September
10,
2012
and
will
end
on
Monday,
November
5,
2012.
Although
there
are
no
required
face-­‐to-­‐face
class
sessions,
you
will
have
a
series
of
assignments
that
must
be
completed
each
week,
which
means
you
cannot
get
behind
in
the
coursework!
Many
of
the
weekly
assignments
require
you
to
interact
with
your
peers.
This
interaction
may
be
in
the
form
of
collaborative
writing,
online
discussions
and
the
construction
of
group
Wikis.
Because
you
will
often
be
working
together
on
activities,
this
course
cannot
be
completed
early,
late,
or
on
your
own
schedule.
You
can
expect
to
spend
5
hours
each
week
on
the
coursework.
This
time
will
be
divided
between
course
readings,
viewing
audio
and
video
presentations
and
completing
the
weekly
assignments.
Most
students
find
online
courses
take
more
time
than
traditional
face-­‐to-­‐face
courses.
Our
course
will
be
available
in
Blackboard
on
Wednesday,
September
5,
2012.
On
this
date
you
will
be
able
to
access
the
Blackboard
site,
the
syllabus
and
begin
the
introductory
activities.
You
are
expected
to
log
in
to
the
Blackboard
site
before
our
course
begins
on
September
10th
to
complete
the
introductory
activities.
These
activities
are
a
series
of
short
tasks
that
will
orient
you
to
the
Blackboard
site,
introduce
us
to
each
other
and
review
the
specific
requirements
for
our
course.
These
will
take
you
1
to
1.5
hours
to
complete.
This
course
has
three
pre-­‐requisites:
1)
You
need
to
complete
“Enhancing
Your
Course
with
Blackboard”
or
be
a
daily
Blackboard
user.
2)
You
need
to
ask
your
supervisor/dean

2. which
course
you
may
be
assigned
to
teach
in
the
online
format
prior
to
the
first
day
of
our
class.
3)
You
need
to
obtain
a
Blackboard
master
course
shell
for
your
online
course.
You
can
do
that
here:
http://bbwebapp.madisoncollege.edu/
Finally,
this
course
requires
you
to
use
a
computer
extensively.
This
course
may
not
be
right
for
you
if:
• You
do
not
have
5
hours
each
week
to
complete
the
course
work
between
September
10th
and
November
5th.
• You
have
not
completed
Enhancing
Your
Course
With
Blackboard
or
are
not
a
daily
Blackboard
user.
• You
do
not
like
working
with
computers,
the
Internet
or
technology.
• You
cannot
type
or
you
type
very
slowly.
• You
do
not
have
unlimited,
high-­‐speed
access
to
the
Internet.
If,
after
reading
this
document,
you
have
decided
that
the
format,
time
requirements
or
technology
requirements
are
compatible
with
your
schedule
please
begin
the
introductory
activities
available
beginning
September
3rd.
If
you
have
any
questions
about
this
course,
please
email
Jennifer
Lewis
at
jlnielsen@madisoncollege.edu.
If
you
have
decided
that
this
is
NOT
the
right
time
for
you
to
take
Preparing
To
Teach
Online,
please
email
Jennifer
Lewis
at
jlnielsen@madisoncollege.edu
so
that
you
can
be
removed
from
the
course.
To
log
in
to
our
virtual
classroom:
1. Go
to
https://blackboard.madisoncollege.edu/
2. Click
the
User
Login
button
to
begin,
then
enter
your
login
information
to
enter
Blackboard.
3. Select
FALL
2012
Preparing
To
Teach
Online
to
enter
our
course.
4. View
the
welcome
blog
announcement
in
the
Home
Page
for
instructions
for
beginning
the
introductory
activities.