Conduct Online Learning?
Q: My company is getting ready to make a large investment into distance learning. One of the things that we are investigating is conducting synchronous online classes for our internal and external customers. The instructors in my department have many years of experience teaching in a traditional classroom environment, but none of them (other than myself) have any experience teaching online; and that is strictly through self-learning and experimentation. My question is, for those of you who have experience with this kind of thing, do you feel that it is necessary for traditional instructors to go through some kind of formal training on how to conduct online learning? Why or why not? And if you DO feel that it is necessary, can you recommend any good providers? What about certifications? Any value in that?
A: The Teletraining Institute in Stillwater Oklahoma provides training and certification for instructors, in Distance Learning. http://www.teletrain.com