We are the Program for Online Teaching, a group of volunteer faculty helping other faculty teach better online.

Our focus is on pedagogy as the guiding force for using technologies for teaching.

Many of us are from MiraCosta College in Oceanside, California. MiraCostans may access the Teaching/Technology Innovations Center for technical help, resources, news and more.

The POT Network

  • POT Diigo group
    (see tutorial on how to save bookmarks)
  • POT Facebook group
  • POT Vimeo Channel (workshops)
  • POT YouTube Channel
  • Twittter (please use hashtag #potcomm)

Beginners’ All-Day Workshop: January 20

Start Here! Beginners All-Day Online Teaching Workshop

This workshop is closed due to full enrollment.

20 January 2011
9:00-4:00
Rooms: 4804 (lab) and 4809 (classroom)

Workshop description: You’ve been wanting to teach online for awhile, and have been meaning to get started for a couple of years. But every time you sit down to plan it out, you ask yourself the same question: “Where the hell do I start?” The answer is Start Here!, an all-day workshop for novices and beginners.

Goal: Provide novice and beginning online instructors with direction in creating their first online class, and an opportunity to focus on their own needs.

By the end of this workshop, beginning online workshop participants will:
1. be assisted in determining their own online pedagogy for one class
2. set up and storyboard a unit for an online class
3. set up Blackboard to match their own pedagogy as expressed on their storyboard
4. use the newly developed unit to determine which elements to add
5. review a road map of resources to learn how to add these elements

Certificate: this workshop counts toward one each of OT100, OT200, OT300 and OT400 requirements.

Cost: $20, payable by check to MiraCosta Academic Senate (put “PDP” in memo line) and sent to Louise McDermott at MS 8C. The fee is to cover materials and lunch, and is required to confirm your registration at the flex site.

Introductory screencasts:

Jill’s video recording
Lisa’s video recording
John Turbeville’s video recording
Janeen’s recording

Post-workshop survey

Pre-2011 newsletters

Please see earlier POT newsletters here.

Why I Like Moodle

Unable to display content. Adobe Flash is required.

by Lisa M Lane

Fall 2010 First Fridays

Recorded sessions:



Sept 3: Robert Kelley: Multimedia E-books (with Barbara McPherson)
Learn how to create an ebook that supports student learning through the integration of text, images (with alt text), video (closed captions or linked to images & text), and web-links to related online resources and/or demonstrations.  Depending upon how the ebook it setup, students can then highlight text, add sticky notes, quickly search for terms, and even free-hand draw on the pages.
Handout is here [pdf]
Recording is here (starts 10 minutes into session — sorry!)

Oct 1:  Jim Sullivan: Online Quizzes — Implications for On-site and Online Classes
Online quizzes offer valuable teaching / learning opportunities, provide convenient alternatives for faculty and students, and open up precious time for activities benefiting from class interaction. Learn how online quizzes can generate benefits and challenges when used in on-site as well as online classes.
Recording is here

Friday, November 5

On-campus f2f Get-Together (1:10-2:00 T-413)
Face-To-Face (F2F) Get-Together – Brainstorming About Online Teaching
Join Laura Paciorek for an open discussion about what is and isn’t working for you in teaching online.

Simul-learn workshop: Christine Moore: Teaching through Discussion (2:30-3:30 in 4610 or online)
Learn the process of creating full course content within a discussion based class. This can be done with  both online and on-site with social networking sites or any LMS. Meet in 4610 or online.
Recording will be posted soon

Friday, December 3

f2f Get-Together about Online Teaching: Showcase and Support
Time: 12:30-1:50 p.m. (1.5 hours of flex credit), Room TBA
We will start with showcasing a class as our jumping point for discussion. As always, faculty may bring their own questions and thoughts about online teaching to share with the group. If you are interested in showcasing your online class, please contact Laura Paciorek. You are welcome to bring your lunch!
Hosts: Claudia Faulk and Richard Ma
For more information contact Laura Paciorek

Jim Sullivan and Lisa M Lane: The Interactive Syllabus
Time: 2:30-3:30 pm in 4610 or online (a simul-learn workshop)
A syllabus can be pretty dull, and if it’s the same text document you do for a classroom,  it may not even be what you really want for an online class. This workshop will give you ideas on how your syllabus can provide high levels of interaction between the learner and the material, tasks, and assessments that are required for your course. (Download sample syllabus to play with | see Pilar’s tutorial)
Recording is available here!


Set-up instructions for simul-learn workshops

Great CLC Workshops

Workshop 1:  Publisher (for Syllabi, class newsletters, and instructional materials)
Thursday, October 7 4:30 – 6:30 PM

Workshop 2:  Make Online Exercises, Quizzes and Study Aides using online tools
Thursday, November 18 4:30 – 6:30 PM