NAHE starts four-week online teaching course
The National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) on Saturday launched a four-week course on Online teaching.
The purpose is to build the capacity of the faculty of both public and private sector higher education institutions for teaching online, said a statement.
Given the current Covid-19 pandemic and post-pandemic teaching in a blended or online environment, the academy is extending support to the higher education sector for the online delivery of courses, it added.
The NAHE has developed a foundational level course, Online Teaching Level 1, to facilitate the Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in the enhancement of online teaching pedagogies, engagement in the online learning environment, educational technology, and online evaluation strategies. The main purpose of online teaching course level 1 is to develop and enhance the probability of success of the participants in teaching online and blended courses at the HEIs in Pakistan, said the statement.
This course has been designed as a follow up to a high demand from universities in preparing and supporting faculty for online teaching and use of educational technology tools to enhance the instructional design of online content, increase engagement in online lectures, and develop formative and summative assessments in an online environment, it said.
"This is a 20-hour course comprised of both synchronous sessions containing live webinars lead by reputable and qualified instructors. The NAHE initiated a call to all higher education institutions for nominations on March 5, 2021, by reaching out to vice-chancellors of all private and public universities in Pakistan." Based on the nominations received over two weeks, it said 403 faculty members from academic disciplines ranging from social sciences to physical sciences, medicine, and arts registered for the course from all across Pakistan.
NAHE Rector Prof Shaheen Sardar Ali delivered the opening remarks and instructors introduced themselves before commencing the first module i.e. enhancing instructional design with educational technology using cognitive load theory.
Over the next four weeks, faculty members are expected to attend the live webinars, submit evaluations, complete assessments, and engage in discussion forums, creating an online community of practice that will lead to a certification by NAHE upon successful completion by April 1 2021.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 21st, 2021.