The Online Learning department believes that "One size doesn't fit all" regarding faculty development and support in terms of best practices in designing online learning courses or using various digital learning technologies and tools. Our team offers faculty development opportunities that meet their online teaching and learning needs. We offer various training opportunities, including face-to-face and virtual workshops or webinars. We also offer on-demand and one-to-one orientations and a faculty champion program, which allows the faculty to attend workshops from leaders in the online learning arena, such as the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) and the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA).

Students can find resources on becoming successful online learners in our Online Student Resource Center. We have sections on “Netiquette,” checking browsers, taking tests, submitting assignments, and many more options. The OSRC provides tips for reading, writing, and studying in the online environment, as well as tips on technical skills for navigating online courses and fixing common issues. All students at La Sierra are enrolled in the Online Student Resource Center when they are added to their standard courses and will find it listed among the other courses they are taking.

We regularly answer student questions and address issues via our Help Desk. Students can submit help tickets for any issue within online learning, and we will get back to them with the answers they need.

In addition to webinars and workshops focusing on best practices in designing online learning courses, the Online Learning department also offers workshops, webinars, and technical support one-to-one meetings focusing on the best use of digital learning technologies. These training opportunities include areas in learning management systems, lecture capture services, virtual classrooms, web conferencing technologies, flipped and blended courses, and many other 3rd party teaching/learning technologies.

The online learning department provides faculty training and course development opportunities for online courses. We lead our eager faculty through the development of the blueprint and online course syllabus to the design and creation of the course. After the course is completed, we are available for revisions and additional assistance. With this opportunity, our faculty learn about various instructional design methods like backward design, ADDIE, and, most notably, an approach to universal design for online learning.

In addition, our team assists faculty with their own course design so that functionality and accessibility can be built into the online portion of the course. Our trained personnel work alongside faculty to create their vision using best practices for online instruction.

We work closely with our faculty to understand their needs in terms of any new tools that can enhance the online learning and teaching experience for them and their students. In addition to our main pillars of digital learning technologies (i.e., The LMS, lecture capture systems, web conferencing tools, assessment and reporting services, etc.), our office has also helped in implementing a variety of digital learning tools, including online labs, telepresence robots, Zoom Rooms, Smart and interactive whiteboards, and virtual reality simulation training for educators, among other tools.