e-Tutor: Scaling Staff Development in the Area of e-Learning Competences

Abstract

Faculty development in the area of emerging technologies is demanding and resource intensive. This increases when aiming to qualify instructors to support their teaching virtually, e.g. in blended- and distance learning environments. Most elements of instructional design, delivery, and assessment require rethinking for technology integration. It is also a challenge to develop a sound instructional design model and corresponding teaching materials for courses aimed at developing the necessary skills and competences among staff. With "e-Tutor" a corresponding certificate course was developed at Ankara University, Turkey, a country for which, due to its geographical size and population, e-Learning is now highly popular. Under a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the course was translated into English, Russian, and Ukrainian, and then made accessible as an Open Educational Resource under Creative Commons Licence. Delivered in Turkish since 2011 with 350 participants, the course has also been successfully conducted with 300 participants from 11 countries in English, and with 320 participants in Ukrainian. This paper will briefly introduce the course design and its resources, before addressing to what extent it allows for scaling effects in staff development.