EFFECTIVE PRACTICES DATABASE
title	Training for academic staff in the use of WebCT and the facilitation of e-learning.
background	The University of Pretoria is a contact institution, which uses e-learning to support and enhance face-to-face sessions. Our department is a centralized support department, which assists lecturers to embrace education innovation, including the use of electronic learning environments. The university has a campus-wide licence for WebCT, which is the LMS currently in use. Although our team does the bulk of the instructional design and development in WebCT, we encourage lecturers not only to manage and facilitate their WebCT courses, but also (voluntarily) to become more self-sufficient in the use of WebCT, html, Front Page etc.
practice	We have developed five staff training courses at different levels of complexity: WebCT High Impact course (1 day: Basic tools in WebCT plus how to manage a WebCT course, including communication tools and student management tools.) Web Page Design for WebCT (1 day: a customised Front Page course specifically for uploading material into WebCT, optimizing graphics, etc.) WebCT Intermediate course (1 day: after this course, lecturers have access as WebCT Designers.) WebCT Designer course (2 days: all the advanced tools and functionality of WebCT, plus the full manual on CD-Rom.) Facilitation of e-learning (2 days: plus pre- and post-course online components in WebCT.) The theory is based on Salmon's books e-moderating and e-tivities. Our instructional design team attends the course in order to build up experience in facilitation of e-learning, so that we may take turns in future to facilitate this course for academic staff.
benefits	Since 2000, we have trained over 500 lecturers in the use of WebCT. Sometimes we customise the basic course and present it to a group of lecturers in a specific department. This works well since their specific needs can be addressed. Lecturers become aware of the possibilities offered by online learning and are enabled to manage and facilitate their own WebCT courses.
shortcomings	The majority of participants have taken only the Basic course. The uptake for lecturers to become their own WebCT developers has been far less than we had hoped. Therefore the load of course development and maintenance still rests with our central instructional design team. The budget for staff training has been reduced in 2004 and we have had to cancel several courses. This restricts our ability to promote the adoption of e-learning among academic staff.
future plans	Present our need for ongoing funding to management to ensure the provision of staff training in e-learning. Present more customised training courses in academic departments. Present more small-group "just-in-time" sessions, on request, at the lecturers' desks. Offer quick refresher lunch-time sessions focusing on one particular tool in WebCT.
other references	Salmon, G. (2000) E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online. London: Kogan Page. Salmon, G. (2002). E-tivities: the key to active online learning. London: Kogan Page. Our presentation on staff training from the 2002 WebCT Users forum is attached.
urls
costs	The subsidized cost to delegates attending the courses is approximately 50 Euro per person per day. The University subsidizes the time of the presenters. We do not work on a full cost approach, so costs in terms of person hours are not recorded.
replicability	4
effectiveness	4
notes
contact	Jill Fresen Project Manager Department of Telematic Learning and Education Innovation University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa   jill.fresen@up.ac.za>jill.fresen@up.ac.za

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