Online and Mixed Modalities at UCF
Online teaching at UCF is administered by the Center for Distributed Learning (CDL). There are several modes of teaching online at UCF, including the three most common: Reduced-Seat-Time, or Mixed ((“M”, “MR”), fully online on the Web (“W”), and Limited Attendance (“RS”, “MR”, “RL”). Additional modalities include options for synchronous video (livestream or lecture capture). If you hope to teach a class in any of these online modalities, additional credentialling will be required. Speak with your department chair about this training.
Center for Distributed Learning Training Programs
Enhancing face-to-face classes with a Webcourse
UCF requires all classes to have an associated webcourse for collecting data about the student financial aid requirement and grading. However, even for face-to-face courses, web course shells can be a convenient place to post student resources and collect assignments. For more information about how you can enhance your face-to-face classes with a web course, faculty can take the “Essentials for Webcourses” self-paced module. See this website for details and registration instructions.
In-depth training for fully online and mixed-modality classes
CDL also provides numerous online and face-to-face training opportunities for instructors teaching online. Visit their schedule page for a list of training sessions and scheduled events. Their Resources page offers links to many helpful files, such as their live training sessions recorded as a video for you to watch. The Center for Distributed Learning also maintains its own website of best practices in online teaching pedagogy.
Additional training for specific technologies
CDL also provides self-paced training modules geared toward synchronous online teaching including using Zoom, Panopto, and engaging in Blendflex hybrid teaching. For more information about these modules, visit their professional development page.
Interactive Techniques and Resources for the Online Environment
For a list of interactive techniques you can adapt to teaching in an online environment, please download our Interactive Techniques for the Online Environment handout. Many of these are adaptations of our Interactive Techniques Handout.
If you’re using both synchronous online and face-to-face presentation modes in a course, take a look at our BlendFlex Course Mapping Template to help you organize your course.
Other Resources about Online and Blended Teaching
We’ve also gathered some helpful resources from other institutions here:
- Instructional Strategies Adapted for Virtual and Online Classes (Texas Wesleyan University)
- Asynchronous Strategies for Inclusive Teaching (Brown University)
- Active Learning in Hybrid and Physically Distanced Classrooms (Vanderbilt University)
- “6 Models for Blended Synchronous and Asynchronous Online Course Delivery” (Educause)
The following PDF resources are provided under a Creative Commons CC BY SA NC 4.0 License. They were created by Torrey Trust, Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and have not been modified from their original forms: