Teaching Writing Intensive Online Courses Microcredential Overview
Partnering with First Year Writing, eCampus has developed this microcredential to help faculty who teach online courses that involve writing to do so more strategically and effectively. This microcredential will guide you to better design writing assignments so that your students become more effective and flexible writers within your discipline. You will also learn to strategies for formative and summative feedback. By time you complete this microcredential, you’ll be able to:
- Identify the functions of writing in online courses (writing to learn, writing to engage, etc.).
- Identify effective strategies for teaching writing online, including asynchronous and synchronous methods.
- Recognize the importance of building a supportive and engaging online learning community for writers.
- Assess student writing and provide constructive and meaningful feedback on student writing in an online environment.
- Utilize online tools and technologies to enhance writing instruction.
- Recognize writing as a series of processes.
Below you will learn more about how to enroll in the microcredential activities.
Overview of Microcredential Requirements
The Teaching Writing Intensive Online Courses Microcredential requires the completion of the following:
- Why are They Writing? Defining Goals for Student Writing in Your Online Course Seminar (Offered in Fall)
- Teaching Writing as a Process Webinar (Offered in Fall)
- Helping Students to Become Flexible Writers Webinar (Offered in Spring)
- Effective Feedback Strategies for Writing Assignments Webinar (Offered in Spring)
- One of the following electives:
-
- AI “Proofing” Your Writing Assignments Webinar (Offered in Spring)
- Designing Effective Online Writing Assignments Webinar (Offered in Fall)
-
Read below to learn more about each of the requirements.
Enroll in Faculty Development Offerings
You can enroll in any certificate or microcredential offered by eCampus through CampusGroups. To do so, go to the eCampus group page in CampusGroups (be sure to log in) and then scroll down to the section titled “To Enroll In a Certificate or Microcredential” for instructions.
You can enroll in currently scheduled offerings (as described below) on our eCampus Faculty Development Event page in CampusGroups.
If a course described below is not listed, that means it has already been offered this semester. You can contact onlinefacultydevelopment@boisestate.edu to learn when the next offering will be.
Important Note. Be sure that you are logged in to CampusGroups in order to fully view all of our event offerings.
Double Dip! Seminars and webinars that you participate in for a microcredential count towards elective requirements for eCampus online teaching and online course design certificates as well.
Why are They Writing? Defining Goals for Student Writing in Your Online Course Seminar
Required
In the age of AI, it is more important than ever for online instructors to be intentional about the use of writing in our courses. Reflecting on what we want from assignments that use writing to learn, explain, argue, reflect, and analyze, allows us to more clearly set expectations for how students use writing throughout the course. This asynchronous seminar dives into the strategic implementation of writing in online courses, inviting you to examine your current practices and set goals for your writing assignments. As an asynchronous seminar, there are no live sessions; however, there are due dates throughout the week.
The time commitment for this 1-week asynchronous seminar is approximately 5 hours. The seminar will be facilitated by First Year Writing faculty. Successful completion of this seminar is required for this microcredential.
Participants who complete the seminar will receive 2 credits towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 2 credits for the microcredential.
Teaching Writing as a Process Webinar
Required
Unlock the full potential of your students’ writing! In this webinar, we will dive into the different types of writing that can elevate your course, and discover innovative ways to give students multiple chances to refine their work. You’ll also explore how prioritizing the writing process over the final product can transform your teaching and empower your students to become confident, skilled writers.
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
Helping Students to Become Flexible Writers Webinar
Required
TBD
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
Effective Feedback Strategies for Writing Assignments Webinar
Required
TBD
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
Effective Feedback Strategies for Writing Assignments Webinar
Required
TBD
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
AI “Proofing” Your Writing Assignments Webinar
Elective
TBD
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
Designing Effective Online Writing Assignments Webinar
Elective
TBD
Participants who attend the live 1-hour Zoom session will receive 1 credit towards eCampus Online Teaching or Online Course Design certificates as well as 1 credit for the microcredential.
Microcredential Final Reflection
Required
TBD
Participants will receive credit for the microcredential only for this activity.
Tracking Your Progress
After you complete a required or elective activity for the microcredential, your progress will be reflected in CampusGroups. You can view your progress by logging into CampusGroups and clicking on “My Activity” and then “My Checklists” on the Home screen (make sure that you are logged in to CampusGroups when checking). Updates to your progress can take up to one week to be reflected after completing an activity. If you have a question about your progress, you can email onlinefacultydevelopment@boisestate.edu.
View an Example Image of a Progress Page
Completing a Microcredential
Once you complete the final reflection activity for the microcredential, you will be notified by the eCampus Faculty Development team. You will then receive an email with a microcredential certificate of completion as an attachment. Your achievement of the microcredential will then be announced in an upcoming eCampus Update Newsletter. Prior to announcing it in the newsletter, you will be offered the opportunity to opt-out of the announcement.
In addition to your achievement being recognized with a microcredential certificate and the announcement in the eCampus Update newsletter, your completion of courses and activities will also be reported to Faculty 180, where appropriate, a tool at Boise State for faculty to collect, organize, and display their research, teaching and service data for the purposes of annual reviews, promotion and tenure.
Continuing Your Learning
Once you complete the Teaching Writing Intensive Online Courses Microcredential, consider taking part in other certificates and microcredentials offered by eCampus.