Instructional Innovation Center

IIC Events/Activities

The Instructional Innovation Center plans, coordinates, and implements professional development events each year to include the following.

• Professional Development Week, including Call to Conversation, is held each August and January.
• Employee Development Day is held each October.
• Fiesta of Teaching Technology
• Administrative Professionals Workshop
• Weekly Workshops
• Walk-in Technical Support

To see the latest details on these events, please visit https://alamo.instructure.com/courses/949896.

Canvas Training and Distance Learning Certification

Instructure Canvas is the St. Philip's College standard Learning Management System for online, hybrid, and web-enhanced classes. Training in Canvas is conducted by the Instructional Innovation Center.  The Canvas Training Course is fully online and will introduce you to the Canvas tools for your face-to-face and online/hybrid courses.  To use Canvas in your face-to-face classes, you only need to complete the Canvas Training course. To teach online or hybrid classes, you must complete the Certification program.

           Sign up for the Canvas Training course by contacting Jerryl Lowe, Instructional Designer at jlowe@alamo.edu.

The Distance Learning Certification Program is offered each calendar quarter for faculty who will be assigned an online or hybrid class the following semester. Approval by your respective department Chair is required. The program consists of an online course covering pedagogy and best practices for teaching online, as well as the development of a course that is then presented before a Course Readiness Review panel at the end of the program. Participants must also complete the Canvas Training course as part of this certification program. Earlier completion is acceptable.

          Sign up for the Distance Learning Certification Program course by contacting Jerryl Lowe, Instructional Designer at jlowe@alamo.edu.

          See the list of faculty who are Distance Learning Certified at https://alamo.instructure.com/courses/1134669.

The Distance Learning Certification Refresh Workshop consists of a review of online course design topics and partial development of a online course sandbox. It is arranged in modules starting with an orientation module. We want you to complete each module in sequence and to participate and complete the activities in each module. The activities include readings, videos, discussions assignments, and quizzes. The review topics consist of online pedagogy, accessibility, and an introduction to Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR). Participants will be involved in workshops that will guide them through a refreshment process of their individual course sandbox. The revised sandbox will be subjected to a course design review.  This workshop is recommended for SPC Faculty who have been certified to teach online/hybrid courses for 5 years or more. 

          Sign up for the Distance Learning Certification Refresh Workshop by contacting Jerryl Lowe, Instructional Designer at jlowe@alamo.edu.

The Advanced Distance Learning Certification Program consists of learning about advanced distance learning tools/processes and applying them using an individual course sandbox and a documented review of that sandbox.  The review topics consist of adopting an advanced online course template, introduction to the SAMR Model, using instructional technologies in online courses, and conducting an online course review using the OLC OSCQR Scorecard. Participants will be involved in assignments that will reinforce their learnings. They will apply what they learn to an individual course sandbox. The revised sandbox will be subject to a documented review.  Participants must already SPC Distance Learning Certified prior to participating in this certification program.

          Sign up for the Advanced Distance Learning Certification Program by contacting Jerryl Lowe, Instructional Designer at jlowe@alamo.edu.

Master Teacher Certification Program

Established in the Fall of 1998, the Master Teacher Certification program has helped many faculty members actively engage in reflective and creative exercises and dialogs to improve their own teaching. Through collaborative learning experiences, online and face-to-face discussions across disciplines, exploration of best practices including the use of technology, and the development of an e-portfolio, faculty are challenged to think differently about teaching and learning and to learn new tools for effective classroom practice.

The Master Teacher Certification program requires the completion of an online course with five content topics, two required face-to-face discussion sessions to bring participants together to reflect and discuss concepts and techniques introduced in the online topics, group activities, a reflection report, and a teaching philosophy statement. Other activities may also be scheduled to provide opportunities to expand on what is learned in the online course.

          The program is offered each Fall and Spring semesters. 

          See the list of currently certified Master Teachers at https://alamo.instructure.com/courses/1134669. 

          Master Teacher Certification must be renewed every two years. Contact the IIC for any questions regarding the renewal process.

IIC Resources

Look for more resources related to Canvas, Office 365, and more in the following Canvas course. These resources have been developed by IIC staff.

          https://alamo.instructure.com/courses/993162

For more information, please contact the IIC staff at spc-iic@alamo.edu.