Here’s a Helpful Resource for Faculty Who are New to Teaching Online

New to Online Teaching? Meet Tony.  

“Tony with book on screen” by Contact North is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Dr. Tony Bates is considered by many to be a pioneer of distance education in Canada. He’s got over forty years of experience, authored eleven books and who knows how many blog posts, and has delivered dozens of keynote presentations all around the world. If you’re interested in hearing Tony speak, I highly recommend a recent keynote presentation that he delivered at the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education conference last year. I wasn’t at the conference, but I do sit on their Board and have access to a recording. If you’re interested, shoot me an email and I’ll send you a link to the not-for-publicly-sharing video.

His seminal text, Teaching in a Digital Age, has been translated into seven languages and has been downloaded over 40,000 times. The book is required reading in many graduate-level education programs, likely due to its accessible approach to educational theory and recommended practices. It’s an openly-licensed educational resources (OER) and as such, you can access the full version here. I still have Lori Gauthier’s signed copy in the Hub. I don’t have immediate plans to return it to her either… 

Thanks Lori! 😉

Left: The 10 Fundamentals of Teaching Online for Faculty and Instructors by Tony Bates is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

I Do Not Have Time to Read a Textbook!!!

Bates’ book is awesome. But many of you don’t have time to read entire textbooks devoted to online teaching, do you? Here’s where his newish (2016) resource The 10 Fundamentals of Teaching Online for Faculty and Instructors might come in handy. Basically, Bates took the 517 pages from his textbook and distilled them down into a 37 page booklet available for download here. If you’re new to teaching online, skeptical about the efficacy of online education, and/or looking for a pragmatic resource to help you get started, Bates’ guide is for you.

Left: Teaching in a Digital Age by Tony Bates is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

I can offer guidance too! If you’ve been loaded for a fully online, hybrid, or HyFlex delivery next semester, I’d love to meet with you to talk through your hopes, concerns, questions, and ideas for your course.