Conestoga has partnered with eCampusOntario to develop a pathway for the advancement of digital teaching skills. The partnership will enable educators with an Ontario Extend digital fluency micro-credential to stack the achievement as a credit towards the college’s certificate in Post-secondary Teaching.
Ontario Extend is offered as a professional learning opportunity for educators to gain expertise in developing, designing and teaching online. eCampusOntario is partnering with post-secondary institutions to endorse the program as a professional learning achievement. Conestoga is the first college in Ontario to provide an endorsement and pathway.
“We are pleased to provide an endorsement of Ontario Extend, which provides important professional development opportunities for post-secondary educators engaged in technology-enabled and online teaching,” said Conestoga President John Tibbits. “Supporting educators to deliver quality learning experiences and achieve course outcomes across a variety of delivery modes is an important contributor in our efforts to meet the needs of adult learners and prepare them for successful futures.”
Ontario Extend participants will be eligible to apply the program’s Empowered Educator micro-credential as a credit towards Conestoga’s recently launched Post-secondary Teaching certificate, which prepares educators to teach college, university, apprenticeship and other program courses for adult learners.
“Where the pandemic forced us into emergency remote teaching, we are now building the future of virtual teaching and learning, helping Ontario educators to realize global leadership in online post-secondary education,” said Dr. Robert Luke, CEO, eCampusOntario. “Conestoga College’s endorsement and recognition of the Ontario Extend program emphasizes the importance of supporting Ontario’s post-secondary educators with relevant, recognizable and foundational digital fluency programming as they work tirelessly to improve the virtual learning experience with every semester.”
Since 2017, eCampusOntario has engaged over 900 educators to enhance digital fluency for teaching through the Ontario Extend program. To date, Conestoga educators have collectively been awarded 110 badges, and eight have obtained the full Empowered Educator micro-credential -- the highest number for any post-secondary institution in the province.
Read the full eCampusOntario release.