SC State eFellows program enhances professional development for online teaching

South Carolina State University is preparing its educators to deliver high-quality online instruction with the continued success of its eFellows Program.

The program is a four-week professional development that is fully online and offered each semester to SC State faculty.

Bettina Mozie, executive director of the university’s Center for Online and Distance Education (CODE), leads the program, which equips instructors with proven strategies and best practices used to create engaging, student-centered online courses.

“Our mission at the Center for Online and Distance Education is to ensure faculty have the tools and confidence to deliver high-quality education,” Mozie said.

“We encourage faculty to apply the best practices learned in eFellows and invite those who completed the program in previous years to consider retaking it as a refresher to stay currentwith evolving standards and technologies,” she said.

Dr. Sumeyra Utku, an assistant professor of English at SC State, said the program equipped her with “valuable strategies to enhance student engagement and assessment in online learning environments.”

“I plan to apply these techniques in my future English and literature courses to create more interactive and inclusive virtual classrooms. I especially appreciated learning about innovative online tools, accessibility practices and ways to personalize instruction for diverse learners,” she said.

Dr. Bonita Mason, associate professor of Family and Consumer Sciences at SC State, said, “One of the concepts I plan to implement is a short weekly video message since I am not on campus.”

“This will give students an opportunity to see me and hear my voice. I will also add a rubric for discussion questions to increase social presence and make peer responses mandatory for full credit,” she said.

Through the program, Mason said she learned strategies for creating social presence, emphasizing higher order thinking skills and developing policies for attendance and participation in online classes.

She said she also gained insight on the development of active learning techniques such as polls and case studies.

 All faculty members who plan to teach online courses at the university are required to participate in the course.

Eleven faculty members have completed the eFellows program this semester, joining a growing community of educators committed to delivering quality online instruction.

The upcoming session will feature an updated and restructured course design to incorporate new best practices and emerging tools for online instruction.

Registration details will be announced through the Center for Online & Distance Education.