The Advancing Online Teaching Summer Book Club Guide: Join the Discussion!

📘 Advancing Online Teaching – Summer Book Club

The Advancing Online Teaching Summer Book Club builds on the success of the Teaching with AI faculty learning model, offering a fresh opportunity for instructors to explore, reflect, and innovate together. Centered around a carefully selected book that highlights evidence-based strategies for effective online instruction, this new series invites faculty to engage in thoughtful conversation and practical experimentation.

Using the same collaborative format—weekly reading discussions paired with optional hands-on sandbox sessions—participants will co-create resources, share course design ideas, and explore ways to enhance student engagement in digital environments. This summer initiative supports faculty in strengthening their online teaching practices while fostering a cross-disciplinary community rooted in curiosity, creativity, and shared growth.

📅 Week 1: Get Started on Your Own

• Introduction to the topic and book by Paepin Starr
• 🎧 Listen to co-author Todd Zakrajsek discuss the book

📅 Week 2: HyFlex Meeting

Attend online or at Highland Campus

• Part I: Designing a Distance Learning Experience
• 1.1 Equity, Connections, and Inclusion
• 1.2 (Re)Writing Learning Outcomes for Your Online Course
• 1.3 Developing Your Online Course Structure
• 1.4 Finding, Creating, and Sharing Course Content
• 1.5 Aligning Activities and Assessment Strategies With Course Outcomes
• 1.6 Making Your Online Course Accessible

📅 Week 3: HyFlex Meeting

Attend online or at Highland Campus

• Part II: Guiding Learners from a Distance
• 2.1 Supporting Online Learners + Appendix
• 2.1 Sample Syllabus Policies
• 2.2 Creating and Maintaining Your "Instructor Presence"
• 2.3 Facilitating Engaging and Meaningful Online Course Activities
• 2.4 Managing Your Workload When Teaching Online

📅 Week 4: HyFlex Meeting

Attend online or at Highland Campus

• Part III: Making Adjustments to Your Online Course
• 3.1 Assessing Teaching Online
• 3.2 Assessing Learning Online

📅 Week 5: Asynchronous Online

• Use Blackboard asynchronously to make modifications to your course content
• Receive peer feedback
• Discuss new teaching ideas and solutions

🍂 Fall 2025: Conclusion & Cross-Cohort Networking

Join your colleagues in an afternoon of networking as we discuss your experiences in the Book Club (Cohorts I & II). We’ll share your implementation plans, offer final reflections, and highlight next steps for sustaining this community of practice.

Professional Development: 6 hours (To self-report credits, go to Workday > Profile icon > View Profile > Career > Training > Add Training)

Registration Cap: Minimum: 6 Faculty / Maximum: 15 Faculty

DEADLINE TO APPLY:  Noon on Friday, June 6th, 2025
Participants will receive an acceptance letter from the Faculty Center for Learning Innovation.

Contact: For any questions, please email fcli@austincc.edu.

REGISTER: https://forms.gle/12HtkYbRm8WKqTu9A

Zoom recordings here