The ION Professional eLearning Program provides professional development programs and support to advance the practice and innovation of online learning for faculty, staff, and online leaders. ION also offers courses in accessibility and open educational resources that can be used by traditional faculty, staff, and education leaders.

Universities, community colleges, secondary schools, businesses, and agencies will all find something to help in their professional development. Learn about ION certificate programs below or browse the course catalog to register for a course.

Master Online Teacher Certificate (MOT)

This professional certificate prepares you with knowledge related to online course design, online instruction, and other issues related to online teaching and learning. These competencies make a master online teacher.

In order to earn the Master Online Teaching professional certificate, you must successfully complete:

  • Three core courses
  • Two electives
  • The Master Online Teacher Practicum

You should take all courses before the Practicum, although the elective course may be taken concurrently. All courses in the Master Online Teacher professional certificate program are 8 weeks.

Through the Master Online Teacher coursework, you will create an electronic portfolio that demonstrates knowledge in the areas identified as most important to quality online teaching.

Required Courses

Each participant must complete the following courses to be eligible for the Master Online Teacher professional certificate:

In addition, the student must successfully complete two of the following electives:

Suggested Paths

These are suggested paths, but not required. Required courses are in bold.

Instruction

  • Overview of Online Instruction
  • Instructional Design for Online Course Development
  • Student Assessment in Online Courses
  • Hybrid, Blended, and HyFlex Course Design, Technology Tools for Online Learning, or Universal Design
  • Cultural Responsiveness for the Online Classroom or Encouraging Communication in Online Course
  • Practicum

Technology

  • Overview of Online Instruction
  • Instructional Design for Online Course Development
  • Student Assessment in Online Courses
  • Hybrid, Blended and HyFlex Design and Delivery Approaches
  • Interactive & Immersive Technologies In Online Learning
  • Practicum

Support Professional

  • Overview of Online Instruction
  • Instructional Design for Online Course Development
  • Student Assessment in Online Courses
  • Hybrid, Blended and HyFlex Design and Delivery Approaches
  • Universal Design or Technology Tools
  • Practicum

Master Online Leader & Administrator Certificate (MOLA)

This professional certificate program prepares online leaders, aspiring leaders, and administrators to lead online.

It is a comprehensive professional development program based on the Hallmarks of Excellence in the Online Leadership from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association and provides researched best practices and practical insights from recognized leaders. The courses vary in length from 4 to 8 weeks.

Through the Master Online Leader & Administrator coursework, you will create an electronic portfolio that demonstrates knowledge in the areas identified as most important to quality online leadership.

Required Courses

4 Week Courses

8 Week Courses

 

Open Educational Resources for Instruction Certificate (OER)

The OER professional certificate prepares participants to harness the power of high-quality, free educational resources to support student learning. This professional development certificate is offered completely online and is comprised of three 4-week courses and one 8-week course elective.   

Required Courses

Each participant must complete the following courses to be eligible for the OER professional certificate:

In addition, the student must successfully complete one of the following electives:

Digital Accessibility for Educators Certificate (DAE)

This professional certificate program focuses on foundational information and specific skills for educators, instructional designers, and other staff who develop digital resources for courses.

The courses provide skills that satisfy the current WCAG standards upon which U.S., Canadian, and European Union accessibility guidelines, policies, and laws are based.

Those who complete the professional certificate will:

  • Understand the legal and historical background of accessibility, universal design for learning, and applying these to course design.
  • Develop accessible Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and PDF files
  • Create accessible videos

The courses were developed with educators in mind. The courses explain why and how to make common course materials accessible with free or inexpensive software that is commonly available at many institutions. Technical IT jargon is not used.

Required Courses

4-Week Courses

8-Week Course

 

For U.S. Institutions

An important question to ask is why do our digital materials need to be accessible? The answer is two-fold.

Four federal laws require accessibility of all digital resources. Some states, including Illinois, also have laws mandating the accessibility of digital resources for institutions of higher education.

Secondly, courses that are made accessible to students with disabilities also prove useful students without any document disabilities. For instance, video captioning helps students who are English language learners or consume content in noisy (or quiet) locations.

Digital Accessibility for Businesses and Agencies Certificate (DABA)

This professional certificate introduces the legal landscape of accessibility and universal design to businesses and agencies. Participants will discover and discuss issues regarding accessibility and the gains that can be made from a universal design for learning approach. All courses are online and instructor led.

Required Courses

 

Outcomes:

As a result of completing course activities and interacting in discussion forums, participants will be able to:

  • Discuss disability, disability activism, and the laws, rulings, and policies that govern accessibility.
  • Explain the importance of web accessibility and understand the history behind it.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of basic web accessibility supports, such as alt text, keyboard navigation, captions, etc.
  • Create a plan for implementing accessibility, universal design, and other inclusive teaching strategies in future courses.

 

Micro Certificates

Propel your career in online learning with our professional micro certificates, badges, and CEUs. Micro certificates are short, focused credentials that validate specific skills or knowledge. All courses required for the micro certificates are 8 weeks except for where noted. 

Foundations in Online Teaching

Building an Inclusive Classroom

Building an Online Classroom

Building an Interactive Learning Environment

Reach out to ion@uis.edu to learn more about stacking these micro certificates to earn the full Master Online Teacher Certificate (MOT)!