Between July 1, 2020, and August 10, 2020, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) joined forces to develop and to facilitate a massive University-wide online teaching readiness initiative. The purpose of this initiative was to ensure that all faculty, especially those approved to teach fully online in the fall semester, had access to courses designed to develop skills and knowledge required to elevate the quality and consistency of fully online instruction.
SMU faculty completed approximately 8,025 combined contact hours of online teaching and Canvas technology courses in preparation for Fall 2020 instruction! A total of 321 faculty members successfully completed both readiness courses—an outstanding achievement, and an achievement which will greatly improve SMU’s online instructional adaptability and overall quality. Special thanks to all of you who worked with our OIT/CTE facilitation team through July—it wasn’t always easy, but the results were positive. OIT/CTE also extends an additional thanks to Dr. Jennifer Culver and Dr. Addy Tolliver for their patience and determination in facilitation of these courses. In early September, SMU will be releasing additional flexible online training options for those faculty who did not have a chance or opportunity to complete July’s online readiness programs.
