Two MOOCs for 2016

Open SUNY COTE is pleased to share the following professional development opportunities being offered in MOOC format! BlendKit 2016 and Access MOOC both begin on February 22, 2016.

BlendKit 2016

The BlendKit Course is a set of subject matter neutral, open educational resources related to blended learning developed by the University of Central Florida.

Periodically, a facilitated open, online course is offered in MOOC format to cohorts of interested faculty and institutions. The goal of the facilitated BlendKit Course is to assist participants in the design and development of a blended learning course via the consideration of key issues related to blended learning and practical step-by-step guidance that help participants produce actual materials for their blended courses.

A facilitated BlendKit Course is planned for 2016. The BlendKit2016 MOOC, opening February 22, 2016, will be facilitated by Dr. Rohan Jowallah and Dr. Baiyun Chen from the University of Central Florida. In addition to the BlendKit course materials (i.e., readings from scholarly works pertaining to blended learning, document templates, and practical step-by-step “how-to” guides), BlendKit will provide an orientation, five weeks of facilitation in the form of regular email communications, weekly webinars with guest presenters, blogging/social networking interaction opportunities, and more.

Open SUNY COTE plans to organize Open SUNY campus cohorts to participate in #BlendKit2016 as a means to engage SUNY faculty in an online competency development offering targeting blended learning. The Open SUNY COTE community will discuss how we can best take advantage of participation as a an Open SUNY cohort in this blended learning opportunity.

Open SUNY COTE will be coordinating a COTE Community cohort of interested online instructional designers from across the system to participate in the BlendeKit Course. If you are interested in participating in that cohort, or of you would like to organize your own cohort of faculty from your institution to participate in the BlendKit facilitated course, please let us know: ContactCOTE@SUNY.edu

To learn more:
Course schedule: https://blended.online.ucf.edu/blendkit-course-schedule/
Course registration: http://www.educause.edu/eli/events/eli-ucf-mooc?trk=profile_certification_title

Access MOOC

Enrollment is now open for the Access MOOC, which is a collaborative effort of faculty and staff from SUNY Empire State College and SUNY Buffalo State College, funded by a SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grant.

Accessibility: Designing and Teaching Courses for All Learners is a free 6-week professional development course available that will help you gain a better understanding of accessibility as a civil rights issue and develop the knowledge and skills you need to design learning experiences that promote inclusive learning environments. The course begins February 22, 2016.

During this six-week course, you’ll learn how to:

● Recognize and address challenges faced by students with disabilities related to access, success, and completion.
● Articulate faculty and staff roles in reducing barriers for students with disabilities.
● Apply the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in designing accessible learning experiences.
● Analyze the benefits of Backward Design when developing learning experiences.
● Use Section 508 standards and WCAG 2.0 guidelines to create accessible courses.
● Determine which tools and techniques are appropriate based on course content.

You will have the opportunity to earn badges that recognize your mastery of these competencies. Anyone may enroll and participate in the MOOC. It has been designed for faculty and staff in higher education at any type or level of institution.

Why take the Access MOOC? Watch this short video to find out! (Audio described version)

Next steps:
1. Register at Canvas Network
2. Share and follow the conversation on Twitter using #AccessMOOC
3. Follow our Access MOOC Facebook Page