Currently Available Workshops
| "The people at FutureU are creative thinkers and revolutionary educators, combining technological sophistication with highly developed people skills. A pleasure to work with, reliable, thorough and innovative." |
| - Lisa Faithorn, Ph.D. Cultural Anthropologist NASA Ames |
We are Gail Terry Grimes and Claude Whitmyer of FutureU and we love to teach! On this page, we'll briefly describe some of the workshops available to help you master the art of building a course space or team space online. This web site is about blended or virtual courses, how to design them, how to build them, how to teach them and, yes, even how to build a web site to sell your online courses. If you're someone who prefers individualized instruction to a wokshop format, you may want to check out our coaching page.
Using Technology to Improve Online Learning
Using information technology isn't like turning on the TV. It takes skills. But if you cultivate those skills, then technology becomes your servant, not your master.
Most people retain much more of what they learn in meetings or courses when they participate in them online, especially if the online content combines audio, video and text together. Every minute of every video or web conference, asynchronous discussion, and chat has real value. Claude Whitmyer and Gail Terry Grimes were among the first anywhere to identify and teach the skills of effective virtual communication and online learning. Clients such as the American Hospital Association, NASA, and the California Virtual Campus tell us we've brought significant improvements to the quality of their virtual interactions and the effectiveness of their online teaching or training. Ultimately, that saves them time and money while improving outcomes and morale.
With the launch of the Build Your Course Online membership site, we are now offering several workshops about online instruction and online learning. If you think you'd be interested in any of these workshop, we invite you to put your name on the waiting list. When enough folks have signed up, we'll send out an schedule and invitation to enroll.
Online Learning
- 201: Bargain Hunter's Guide to Building a Course Web Site
- 101: Help Your Learners Succeed Online
- 102: Make the Most of E-Learning
- 103: Make the Most of Learning Online
- 301: Plan and Create an Online Course
- 302: Make the Most of Online Course Spaces
- 303: Train the Trainer to Teach Online
- 304: Make the Most of the Real-Time Virtual Classroom
Web-based Meetings
Virtual Teaming
Online Learning
201: Bargain Hunter's Guide to Building Your Course Web Site
In our recently updated Bargain Hunter's Guide, we've collected links to dozens of free and low-cost resources for building your course Web site. We've personally tested every one of these products and selected only the best to share with you. More than 50 pages of guidelines and tips written by us to help you get started on the right foot, avoid wrong turns, and finish with a truly terrific course Web site. The material is easy to read, so the work is painless and even fun.
Two-week, instructor-led module delivered in an open-source online work space to maximize learning by doing.
Add your name to the waiting list.
101: Help Your Learners Succeed Online
Your first step to becoming a "power instructor" in the technology-enriched classroom is to understand the student experience of interactive/collaborative e-learning and the skills necessary for effective online communication and teaching. This FutureU e-course expands on the cursory introduction to e-learning provided by most course management software vendors and further addresses the common misconception that e-learning involves nothing more than simply putting course materials into a Web-readable format.
The focus of this course is on the two most important skills for
successful e-learning from a student's point of view: effective
Internet research (including how to search, how to tell good
information from bad, and how to cite what is found) and mastery of Web
technology for collaboration (including email, chat, and asynchronous
discussion forums). Our "textbook" is a special, annotated version of
FutureU's classic student Web book "Make the Most of E-Learning," which
is normally only available when purchased as part of the FutureU Faculty Web Book. The contents of this course are also available as Part 1 of FutureU's e-course for instructors, "Plan and Create a Technology-Enriched Course."
Two-week, instructor-led module delivered in an open-source online work space to maximize learning by doing. Includes self-paced learning materials equivalent to a 100+ page workbook.
Add your name to the waiting list.
102: Make the Most of E-Learning
| "Significant improvements in the quality of participation." |
| American Hospital Association's Health Forum |
A self-paced orientation to the online learning experience. Should be taken as a prerequisite to any training module that has an online component. Useful even for experienced e-learners, because everyone has gaps in their understanding of terms, concepts, practices.
Two-week online module. Self-paced learning materials with minimal instructor involvment. Combines the flexibility of anytime/anywhere participation with the actual practice of maintaining a disciplined, self-motivated completion within the framework of a calendar deadline. Self-paced learning materials equivalent to a 100+ page workbook.
Add your name to the waiting list.
103: Make the Most of Learning Online
An instructor-led orientation to the online learning experience. Covers study habits, online research, learning online in groups, effective use of email in communicating among participants and with instructors, and more. Serves to get the technology out of the way in preparation for engaging in other online courses. Useful even for experienced online learners, because everyone has gaps in their understanding of terms, concepts, practices.
Two-week online module. Significantly more instructor involvement than "Make the Most of E-Learning" above. Combines the flexibility of anytime/anywhere participation with the actual practice of group participation and interaction with fellow learners. Includes same self-paced learning materials as "Make the Most of E-Learning" above.
Add your name to the waiting list.
301: Plan and Create an Online Course
There's a whole lot more to planning and creating a technology-enriched course than learning how to use course management software. After all, you didn't learn how to teach just by mastering the use of chalk on a blackboard or the light switches in a classroom! The electronic classroom represents a whole new way of communicating and learning, with its own set of challenges and opportunities. Even the best vendor training only scratches the surface. Until now, the only other alternative was to enroll in an expensive graduate or certificate program that might take a year or more to complete.
This workshop helps you achieve real competence with the skills, tools and processes involved in technology-enriched education—in just six weeks. You will work online with an experienced FutureU facilitator and other course designers as you move step by step through the four phases of online course development and then unfold your course in a way that truly encourages interactive, collaborative learning. This is the training program for instructors who are serious about e-learning and want an easy, low-cost way to prepare for success.
Six-week, instructor-led module delivered in an open-source online work space to maximize learning by doing. Includes self-paced learning materials equivalent to a 100+ page workbook.
Add your name to the waiting list.
302: Make the Most of Online Course Spaces
Training for trainers in the use of "online course" software, also known as course management software or virtual learning environments. Covers the use of discussion forums, blogs, wikis, and other learning activity tools, including chat, break-out groups, glossary, assignment "drop box," and more. Workshop is held in an open-source online course space equivalent to commercial packages such as Blackboard, WebCT, e-College, and so forth.
Two-week, instructor-led module delivered in an open-source online work space to maximize learning by doing. Includes self-paced learning materials equivalent to a 100+ page workbook.
Add your name to the waiting list.
304: Make the Most of the Real-Time Virtual Classroom
Training for trainers in the use of web conferencing software as an online course space. Covers use of chat, desktop
video conferencing, application sharing, large-audience presentations, polling, real-time file sharing, break-out rooms and more. Workshop is held in an open-source online work space that includes open-source web conferencing software equivalent to commercial packages such as Centra, GoToMeeting, LiveMeeting, WebEx, Wimba, and so forth.
Two-week, instructor-led module delivered online to maximize learning by doing. Includes self-paced learning materials equivalent to a 100+ page workbook.
Add your name to the waiting list.
303: Train the Trainer to Teach Online
There's a whole lot more to delivering a technology-enriched learning experience than operating the software. After all, you didn't learn how to be a trainer or teacher just by mastering the use of marker pens on a chart pad or the light switches in a meeting or class room! Online learning represents a whole new way of communicating and learning, with its own set of challenges and opportunities. Even the best software vendor's instructions only scratch the surface.
This workshop involves a rigorous approach to mastering the art of training online, taking participants through the gradually unfolding process of building an online learning community in order to maximize learning outcomes and minimize instructor overload. The focus is on learning facilitation and course space management.
Move step by step through the four phases of online course development and then unfold your course in a way that truly encourages interactive, collaborative learning. This is the program for trainers who are serious about online learning and want an easy, low-cost way to prepare for success.
Six-week, instructor-led module delivered in an open-source online work space to maximize learning by doing. Includes self-paced learning materials equivalent to a 100+ page workbook.
Add your name to the waiting list.
Web-based Meetings
403: Make the Most of Real-Time Online Meetings
Training for teams in the use of "online meeting" software, also known as Web conferencing. Covers
use of chat, desktop video conferencing, application sharing, and the difference between small-group interactions and larger-audience presentations. Workshop is held in an open-source online work space that includes open-source web conferencing software equivalent to commercial packages such as Centra, GoToMeeting, LiveMeeting, WebEx, Wimba, and so forth.
Two-week, instructor-led module delivered online to maximize learning by doing. Includes self-paced learning materials equivalent to a 100+ page workbook.
Add your name to the waiting list.
Virtual Teaming
401: Make the Most of Online Work Spaces
Learn how to create a secure space for sharing ideas, solving problems, facilitating interaction among multiple organizational functions, keeping everyone in the team informed. Also, guidelines for communicating with email, voice mail, conference calls and video or web conferences.
Two-week, instructor-led module delivered in an open-source online work space to maximize learning by doing. Includes self-paced learning materials equivalent to a 100+ page workbook.
Add your name to the waiting list.
402: Make the Most of Virtual Teaming
The potential of virtual teams is just as great as the potential for digital communication itself. This workshop explores issues of information and time management, working in groups, learning to compete less and collaborate more among team members. What can we expect from mastering the art of virtual teaming?
- More efficient use of time.
- Better internal communication.
- More fully informed decisions.
- "Smaller" thinking. As teams become even more virtual, look for increasingly smaller business units and smaller project units with shorter completion timelines. Small, after all, is beautiful.
- Greater "permeability." Specialists can easily pop in and out of a virtual team.
- Greater overall efficiency. A virtual team can easily handle and track multiple projects simultaneously.
- Efficient use of training dollars.
- Increased sales.
- Better employee morale
- Greater autonomy for virtual team members.
- Better use of individual time.
- Greater sense of connectedness.
- Greater sense of equality.
- Greater sense of accomplishment.
- Greater accountability.
- A vehicle for activism and a way to reduce individual impact on the environment.
Two-week, instructor-led module delivered in an open-source online work space to maximize learning by doing. Includes self-paced learning materials equivalent to a 100+ page workbook.
Add your name to the waiting list.
