Master Online Teacher Certificate: Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality (MVCR) Series

Program Information

Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality (MVCR) is a series of online faculty development courses designed to help students and faculty members acquire the skills and knowledge needed to teach and learn online, to help staff and administration support online education, to improve the quality of online education across the globe and to research the online teaching and learning context.

All MVCR courses are delivered entirely online and rely on asynchronous discussion and collaboration as the principle form of communication. Technically, there are no class times. Most courses will also have optional synchronous online chats or office hours, and said resource is available for students to meet as groups online. The courses take place wherever your computer is: at home, at work, on the road - anywhere you can connect to the Internet. No campus visits are ever required. Participants interact with one another and with the instructor extensively via a Web-based conferencing system.

Course content is broken into modules, each of which cover a specific topic. Most, if not all, of the materials you will use in your course are online. Your instructor may recommend books or additional paper-based resources.

The course instructors model the strategies that participants will eventually use in their own online courses, and the online format gives participants new to online teaching an opportunity to experience the virtual classroom from a student's perspective.

Because these online training courses are delivered asynchronously over an extended period, participants are able to interact with the content and with other participants at their convenience and dedicate as much time as they can afford to the process. This allows the instructor and participants to reflect on course content in far greater depth and more thoroughly than can be accomplished in a 3-hour face-to-face workshop. These courses are not self- paced, however. Participants work through the material in the course together and are expected to communicate frequently with others in the course.

Contact Information:

Register Now for MVCR, or for more information about the program, please contact:

Scott B. Johnson
Program Coordinator, Illinois Online Network
Phone: (217) 333-4393
E-mail: sbjhnsn@uillinois.edu

Degree/Certificate: Continuing Education

Cohort Starts:

For general planning purposes, MVCR courses mirror the University of Illinois at Springfield schedule, with five terms held per academic calendar year. There are two terms in the Fall, two terms in the Spring and one Summer term. MVCR core courses are offered every term.

Required Campus Visits: 0

Completion Schedules:

The entire Master Online Teacher (MOT) certificate may be completed in as little as 3 terms, with two classes per term. There are no formal cohorts, so you may begin during any term and take as much time as you require to complete the series.

Program Contact: Scott Johnson
Program Coordinator, Illinois Online Network
Phone: (217) 333-4393
E-mail: sbjhnsn@uillinois.edu