Professional development opportunities directly related to distance and online learning are available from a variety of organizations.
The following organizations provide professional development and support opportunities, some free of charge, to members and institutions to improve online education and to instruct educators about best practices in online higher education. These organizations hold annual conferences and group forums for educators to exchange ideas and communicate with peers from around the globe. Additionally, many organizations publish monthly newsletters that keep you up to date on the latest practices.
Texas State University is a Member in these Organizations
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association and the foremost community of IT leaders and professionals committed to advancing higher education. Members of EDUCAUSE include U.S. and international institutions of higher education, corporations serving the higher education information technology market, and other related associations and organizations.
Create a Profile with EDUCAUSE
If you are a Texas State faculty or staff member, visit EDUCAUSE's New User Creation page to create an EDUCAUSE profile. Once you've created your profile, EDUCAUSE will send you relevant content via email based on your areas of interest.
Professional Development with EDUCAUSE
EDUCAUSE provides professional development and networking opportunities for IT professionals. Through the Career Center, EDUCAUSE updates users on a variety of IT job opportunities in higher education, and provides a platform for employers to post job opportunities. EDUCAUSE also offers a number of opportunities for people in leadership and management positions in IT fields within higher education.
EDUCAUSE Conferences and Events
The EDUCAUSE Annual Conference convenes IT professionals and other technology providers from all areas of higher education. The conference brings professionals together to share ideas, create networking opportunities, and to explore new technology strategies in higher education. Learn more about the various opportunities that the conference provides on the conference's Programs and Tracks page.
Popular Resources
Other popular resources available from EDUCAUSE include the following:
EDUCAUSE Review - an award-winning publication looking at issues and trends in higher ed IT
EDUCAUSE Library - a large collection of information about higher education technology
Focus Areas
EDUCAUSE also lets you find content and connect with peers in specific Focus Areas, including leadership and management, enterprise IT, security, policy, and teaching and learning.
TheOnline Learning Consortium(OLC) is the leading professional organization devoted to advancing the quality of online learning. Texas State faculty and staff receive discounts for OLC workshops, training, and conferences. OLC offers a number of options for online faculty training and development, including options that satisfy the training for online and hybrid faculty required by PPS 02.03.01.
Set up an Account with OLC
If you are a Texas State faculty or staff member, visit OLC's Member Resources page to set up a free account with OLC and gain access to members' benefits, including discounts on conferences, free webinars, and additional resources.
Professional Development and Training with OLC
OLC offers a number of options for online faculty training and development, including the Online Teaching Certificate and Advanced Online Teaching Certificate, both of which satisfy the training for online and hybrid faculty required by PPS 02.03.01. OLC offers workshops on a variety of topics related to distance education, as well as the more intensive Mastery Series in mobile learning, instructional design, and many other areas. OLC also hosts the Online Learning Journal. Visit OLC's Learn web page for more information on workshops, the Online Learning Journal, and other professional development options through OLC.
OLC Conferences and Events
The annual OLC Accelerate Conference (previously the OLC International Conference) is devoted to driving quality online learning, advancing best practice guidance, and accelerating innovation in learning for academic leaders, educators, administrators, online learning professionals, and organizations around the world. The OLC Innovate Conference is a joint conference presented by OLC and MERLOT, which provides a path for innovators of all experience levels and backgrounds to share best practices, test new ideas, and collaborate on driving forward online, digital, and blended learning.
Quality Matters(QM) is an international organization that is dedicated to creating quality online and hybrid education. Texas State faculty and staff have access to QM resources including the QM Rubric and receive discounted QM professional development opportunities. QM offers extensive opportunities for online faculty and staff training and development, including approved training options for online and hybrid faculty, as required by PPS 02.03.01.
SET UP AN ACCOUNT WITH QM
If you are a Texas State faculty or staff member, create an individual My QM account associated with Texas State University. If asked who Texas State's institutional representative is, enter “Joshua Book” in that field.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT THROUGH QM
QM offers extensive opportunities for online faculty and staff training and development. The QM courses Improving Your Online Course, Designing Your Online Course and Designing Your Hybrid Course are approved training options for online and hybrid faculty, as required by PPS 02.03.01. Visit QM's Professional Development page for more information on all QM workshops, courses, and other training opportunities available through QM. In addition, since Texas State is a QM member, Texas State instructional designers and course developers can join QM’s Instructional Designer Association at no cost and enjoy the benefit of collaboration, professional development, and resource sharing.
QM DATABASE
The Research Library is a free and open repository of research related to online and blended learning that has a relationship with QM. The library is searchable by QM standard and by keyword.
QM CONFERENCES
QM sponsors regional conferences and an Annual QM Conference. Visit the QM website for further information.
TheTexas Digital Learning Association(TxDLA) is the leading Texas membership association for distance learning professionals. Members of TxDLA are provided with access to resources including information exchange, professional development opportunities, workshops and leadership opportunities, regional group meetings, and the annual conference. In addition, TxDLA Central Texas-Alamo Regional Group meetings, which take place several times a year at alternating educational settings around the Central Texas-Alamo region, provide an opportunity for TxDLA members and non-members alike to share information and discuss distance learning issues important to the region. TxDLA also sponsors the TxDLA Journal of Digital Learning. For more information on the resources and services available through TxDLA, visit the TxDLA website.
WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies(WCET)is a membership-based organization whose mission is to accelerate the adoption of effective practices and policies, advancing excellence in technology-enhanced teaching and learning in higher education. WCET also has online resources and discounted pricing on events for members.
WCET LISTSERVS AND FORUMS
Texas State faculty and staff are welcome to subscribe to WCET’s member-only e-mail lists. WCETNews provides weekly digests of national news related to higher education and technology. The weekly Article Digests are organized by academic, technology, and policy issues. WCETDiscuss, WCET’s moderated list for discussions, is a forum for exchanges over a wide range of issues—from how instructional design is organized, to online instruction and faculty matters, to integration of web collaboration tools and more. Subscribe to these resources by e-mailing Sherri Artz Gilbert with your name, title, department or unit, and Texas State e-mail address.
WCET’s Frontiers Blog features valuable updates on federal policies and accreditation, guest blogs on academic integrity, innovation postings, discussions on student retention strategies, and more.
ONLINE WCET RESOURCES
The WCET website provides resources under the focus areas of Faculty Success, Student Success, Emerging Technologies, Managing e-Learning, and Policy and Regulations. WCET also has a YouTube channel, and you can follow WCET on X @wcet_info.
WCET WEBCASTS
WCET webcasts address topics such as teaching competencies for 21-century learners, identity authentication and proctoring systems, accessibility laws and compliance strategies, and video captioning. Archives of past webcasts are available as well.
WCET EVENTS
Texas State staff and faculty receive discounted registrations to in-person events, including the WCET Annual Meeting and Virtual Summits.
Additional Professional Organizations
Texas State University does not have an institutional membership in the following organizations, but these organizations can also provide opportunities to faculty and staff involved with distance and online learning.
UPCEA is a leading association for professional, continuing, and online education. Founded in 1915, UPCEA now serves most of the leading public and private colleges and universities in North America. For 100 years, the association has served its members with innovative conferences and specialty seminars, research and benchmarking information, professional networking opportunities and timely publications. Based in Washington, D.C., UPCEA also builds greater awareness of the vital link between contemporary learners and public policy issues.
United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) is the first nonprofit organization dedicated to creating quality in the development of online and distance education through research and training of educators. USDLA holds conferences and webinars, and produces publications and podcasts on the importance of providing quality education for online courses.
Magnais dedicated to producing newsletters, journals, conferences, and discussion forums that provide advice and insight for instructors who are passionate about teaching and want to improve their pedagogy for online education.
The Association for Distance Education and Independent Learning (ADEIL) is an organization for professionals working in distance education. ADEIL’s mission is to provide distance educators with collaboration with other members and to provide professional development opportunities. ADEIL has a “primary emphasis of furthering the cause and understanding of independent study and providing service to the membership.”
