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You are here: Home / Professional Development / The Essentials Course

The Essentials Course

The Essentials of Online Teaching and Content Delivery course (the “Essentials Course”) is self-paced, asynchronous and requires an average 4-6 hours completion time. The course covers course design topics, including instructor role adjustment based on course modality, Community of Inquiry, social presence — student engagement, and course management and learning guidance. While the content focuses on teaching in the online environment, these effective course design practices can be utilized when creating a course in any mode.

Instructors who complete the Essentials Course will be exempted from select aspects of the Online Teaching Endorsement, should they later develop a fully online course.

Essentials Course Enrollment

Option 1: Self-Enroll

Steps to self-enroll in the course on UM Blackboard:

  1. Login to UM Blackboard.
  2. Click on the Course tab, then type “Essentials of Online Teaching” in the search box or follow this link: Search for the Essentials Course for Online Teaching and Content Delivery. (Please note, the link only works after you login the Blackboard.)
  3. You should see the course name. Mouse-over the course name, click the menu option, and select “Enroll”.

Option 2: Request Enrollment from Academic Outreach

Please send an email to teachonline@olemiss.edu to request enrollment in the Essentials Course.

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