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Case Study: DOTS Training

Background

Recognizing a critical need to expand and improve online learning, DePaul University launched a new training program in 2008 to prepare instructors to design and teach effective online courses. The program, the DePaul Online Teaching Series or “DOTS,” would require participants to complete 40 hours of online and in-person training in selective-admission cohorts offered three times each year. Key objectives included:
  • Increase buy-in and model an ideal online learning experience for skeptical faculty who, in many cases, had never taken an online course before.
  • Increase online course quality and consistency across the university, moving beyond the existing model of online students watching recordings of face-to-face classes.
  • Increase the number of students taking online courses.

Challenges 
The success of early trainings was mixed, with participant satisfaction ratings swinging dramatically from one group to the next. In 2010, shortly before I took over the design and facilitation of the program, participant satisfaction had dipped to an all-time low of 28% and buy-in from key stakeholders was in jeopardy. 

Solutions
After analyzing data from past trainings, I identified multiple solutions to improve participant satisfaction and program outcomes.
  • Provide more practical guides and templates. Participants felt the course placed too much emphasis on long, scholarly readings, so my team and I focused on developing concise tips, reusable examples, short videos, and other practical content while referencing relevant research to maintain credibility.
  • Increase opportunities for hands-on learning. Participants needed more time to practice using new technologies and applying new skills, so I restructured online resources and meeting agendas with this in mind. 
  • Leverage internal expertise. I added presentations and discussion panels with past DOTS graduates and current DePaul students to provide participants with key insights. I also increased trainee access to other instructors’ online courses to help them learn by example.
 
Results
  • 138% increase in students taking online courses. Students taking at least one online course at DePaul rose from 13% in 2010 to 31% in 2019.
  • 88% of trainees have received a perfect score in instructional-design reviews. Internal committees use a standardized rubric to evaluate training deliverables and nearly all trainees meet or exceed expectations. 
  • Consistently high participant approval. Overall satisfaction ratings have exceeded 90% since 2012. 
  • Increased stakeholder buy-in. Demand regularly exceeds available slots for each offering.
  • Over 800 faculty trained. From 2008 to 2019, 36 cohorts were offered resulting in 32,000 collective hours of professional development.
  • National recognition. DOTS won the highly competitive Online Learning Consortium Award for Excellence in Faculty Development in 2012.
 
To learn more, visit go.depaul.edu/dots. 

Featured Projects

Teaching Commons

The DePaul Teaching Commons is an extensive repository of instructional resources accessed by tens of thousands of educators worldwide every month. As Director of Faculty Development and Technology Innovation, I led the design and maintenance of the Teaching Commons site, which includes resources related to teaching with technology, active learning, assessment, and inclusive instruction. The Teaching Commons YouTube channel contains more than 200 videos with practical tips on effective instruction. The video shown here is one in a series created to increase awareness of the unique challenges faced by first-generation students—those who are the first in their families to obtain a college degree. 

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Global Learning Experience (GLE)

GLE training prepares DePaul University instructors to design and facilitate online collaborations between DePaul students and foreign students at universities abroad. The initiative was recognized with the Senator Paul Simon Spotlight Award for Campus Internationalization in 2020.

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Bio

Daniel Stanford has been creating innovative learning programs since 2003, and his work has received awards from the POD Network, the Online Learning Consortium, the Instructional Technology Council, the University of Wisconsin, and NAFSA. In 2023, he established an online community to foster collaboration around use of AI in education. Today, over 3,000 faculty and staff from institutions around the world use this community to collaborate and develop AI resources for educators. 

Daniel currently works as an instructional design consultant based in Atlanta. As a consultant, he’s supported learning and development initiatives for a variety of clients including:

  • Federal government agencies in the US and Norway
  • Community colleges and research universities
  • Corporate clients in industries ranging from fintech to retail
 
Daniel holds an MFA in Interactive Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design. From 2016 to 2021, he served as the Director of Faculty Development and Technology Innovation at DePaul University where he continues to teach courses in UI/UX design. 
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