Self-Paced Online Training (SPOT)

The Self-Paced Online Training (SPOT) program provides faculty with ongoing training opportunities to design and review online and hybrid courses at SDSU. Grounded in the same principles as the long-standing Course Design Institute (CDI), the SPOT program is available throughout the academic year to a wider audience and with greater autonomy. 

SPOT participants may include both faculty who are new to online course design and those who already have developed online or hybrid courses. The program includes a self-paced course, consultations with ITS coaches, and self-reviews using the CSU Quality Learning & Teaching (QLT) rubric. 

SPOT Program Expectations

Participants who wish to earn a Certificate of Completion and badge must:

  • Complete assigned SPOT Course modules based on survey, self-review, and consultation. This can take between 10 to 40 hours and up to 12 weeks, depending on where the participant is in their course design process. 
  • Receive feedback and consultations from their assigned coach 
  • Attend relevant workshops and office hours, as needed

Participants who do not wish to complete the entire SPOT course are welcome to work on modules that they find useful to their course design or redesign process. In this case, no Certificate of Completion will be awarded.

The SPOT Course

The SPOT course is a guided course design experience that allows participants to work through content on an as-needed basis relevant to what stage they are in, to design, redesign, or simply refresh their online or hybrid courses. Modules to be completed are determined based on an initial survey and, for those with already developed online courses, a course self-review. Participants desiring certification meet with an ITS coach for an initial consultation, at which time recommendations are made for modules to work on and course improvements to strive for. 

All SPOT course modules are based on three pillars of exemplary course design:

  • Quality Learning & Teaching (QLT) rubric: Guidelines for developing quality online or hybrid courses, developed by the California State University.
  • Community of Inquiry (CoI): Methodology to establish social, cognitive and teaching presence in online courses.
  • Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Framework to optimize instructional goals, assessments, methods and materials to meet the needs of all learners.

Each module focuses on criteria from a different section of the QLT rubric, with explanations, examples, and related learning activities to support participants in meeting those criteria in their online or hybrid courses. 

SPOT Pathways:

SPOT course participants move through the course through one of two pathways: a Design Pathway or a Review Pathway. Regardless of the pathway, the SPOT course content is the same for all participants.

Design Pathway:

  • For those who are developing a new hybrid or online course. 
  • Program certification requires an initial consultation with a coach, successful completion of assigned SPOT modules, course review by ITS coach based on the core 24 QLT objectives, and final consultation regarding any improvements suggested for the new online or hybrid course. 

Review Pathway:

  • For those who wish to review an existing online or hybrid course and receive feedback for making improvements to the course.
  • Program certification requires  an initial consultation with a coach, successful completion of assigned SPOT modules, and final consultation regarding any improvements suggested for the updated course. 

SPOT Course Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Design, develop and facilitate a course based on the Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT) Rubric core (24) objectives, Community of Inquiry (CoI) Methodology, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework.
  • Review and revise their course through the lens of QLT, CoI and UDL.

SPOT Badging & Certification

Upon completion of the SPOT program, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion and a digital badge. We also recommend listing SPOT completion under Professional Development on their CVs.

Note that while it is the goal of ITS to assist as many faculty as possible in developing high quality online and hybrid courses, it is up to the individual colleges to determine who will teach these courses for their departments, and when they will be on the schedule.

CSU Course Certification

Participants who would like to receive an official QLT Course Certification from the CSU undergo a separate course review and certification process from the CSU Chancellor’s office; use this link to find out more about this process: https://ocs.calstate.edu/certification/process.

Please direct questions about the SPOT Program to the SPOT Co-Lead and IT Faculty Fellow, Katie Hughes. <[email protected]>