Faculty Preparation

The Pasadena Area Community College District Distance Education Administrative Procedure states that all new online and hybrid faculty must have previous online experience or training prior to teaching distance education courses.

Faculty members who wish to teach online should not only possess basic proficiency in computer skills but should also be acquainted with and feel comfortable using more advanced programs and applications. The following technical skills, listed from least to most complex, are examples of what would be needed to teach online and hybrid courses:

Basic Computer Skills

  • Keyboarding
  • Audio recording (microphone)

Database Management

  • Data entry
  • Data editing
  • Database creation

File Management

  • Create & name files
  • Understand file storage
  • Organize and manage files
  • Understand file formats (doc, .docx, rtf, text, JPEG, GIF, PDF, WAV, MPEG etc.)

Wordprocessing

  • Create, edit & save documents
  • Use formatting techniques (bulleted/numbered lists; page numbers, etc.)
  • Insert tables, graphs, and graphics into documents
  • Create Table of Contents (TOC) and Indexes

 Presentation Software

  • Create, edit & save presentations
  • Add multimedia to presentation
  • Record audio narration for presentation

Email

  • Send & receive email
  • Attach documents & pictures
  • Participate in email discussion groups/listservs
  • Create & manage contact groups
  • Create & manage discussion groups

Internet

  • Understand & use different browser types
  • Know how to do targeted searches
  • Understand how to use online databases
  • Be familiar with YouTube, Skype, podcasts, blogs, webinars & wikis