At CITT, we aim to help subject matter experts (SMEs) create courses they will be proud of. We spend up to a full semester working with each SME, meeting regularly to review materials, provide feedback, schedule recordings, and coordinate building the site in Canvas. It’s not unusual for an ID to spend up to 80 hours on one course, but this is often dwarfed by the time many SMEs invest when bringing a course to life.

Given that so much effort goes into creating a course, it’s important to take time to pause, reflect, and celebrate these accomplishments. Each year, the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) encourages faculty to nominate courses for Exemplary Online Awards. To be eligible, a course must have been taught at least once during the previous academic year and must be submitted for a UF+QM review through CTE. Courses that are reviewed and earn an Exemplary Online Course designation (indicating that 95% or more of the UF+QM standards have been met) are eligible to earn an award.

While our design process at CITT ensures that SMEs are able to meet all UF+QM standards during course development, it is quite an accomplishment to earn the Exemplary designation because this requires SMEs to continue their commitment to their course and students throughout the semester the course is taught, adapting and improving content as necessary. Those who earn this designation are some of the most dedicated faculty at UF.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the hard work and dedication our IDs and SMEs put into the following CITT courses that earned Exemplary Online Course designations and/or Awards for 2020

• CGS2531 Problem Solving Using Computer Software
• EGS4034 Engineering Ethics and Professionalism - UF Online Program
• EGS6039 Engineering Leadership - EDGE Program
• PCB4674 Evolution

Image: Colorful confetti falling down with a teal background by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Tags: Canvas, Course Design, CTE, Online Teaching, Teaching