Online Learning

Quality Matters Intros New Teaching Online Certificate

• By Rhea Kelly
• 09/13/16

Online educators have a new way to document their skills in online teaching. Quality Matters (QM), a nonprofit organization providing quality standards, professional development, course/program review and more, has added a new Teaching Online Certificate (TOC) to its lineup of certifications for quality assurance in online learning.

"QM has recognized from its beginning that quality course design is a necessary, but not sufficient, component for a high quality student experience. Quality teaching matters, too," said Deb Adair, QM's executive director, in a press release. "Our new TOC follows the QM tradition of building on well-researched criteria and identifying practical competencies in alignment with those criteria. It represents our first foray into Quality Matters for Teaching."

To earn the TOC, participants take a series of modular, competency-based workshops focused on a variety of teaching skills:

• Gauging Your Technology Skills;
• Evaluating Your Course Design;
• Exploring Your Institution's Policies;
• Orienting You Online Learners;
• Connecting Learning Theories to Your Teaching Strategies;
• Creating Presence in Your Online Courses; and
• Assessing Your Learners.

Participants receive a QM Digital Credential when they complete each workshop; achieving all seven credentials earns them the Teaching Online Certificate.

"The Teaching Online Certificate provides new and experienced online instructors with visible credentials backed with evidence of their online teaching knowledge mastery to current and potential employers," said Brenda Boyd, QM's director of professional development, in a statement. "The seven workshops that make up the Teaching Online Certificate are mapped to research-backed online instructor skills needed to be effective online teachers."

The total cost for all the workshops amounts to $1,000 for QM members or $1,500 for non-members; those who register for all seven workshops at one time receive a 10 percent discount. For more information, visit the Teaching Online Certificate website.