Malone Center prepares faculty for remote teaching

January 5, 2021

In the months leading up to the fall 2020 semester, the Malone Center for Excellence in Teaching played a major role in equipping the University’s faculty to offer online delivery methods for courses.  

Because the effects of COVID-19 required a hybrid education model for the fall semester, the staff of five in the Malone Center performed thousands of consultations with UM faculty over a several-month period.  

“We performed 1,947 consultations from Aug. 1, 2019, through July 31, 2020, with approximately two-thirds of those happening since March,” said Malone Center Director Dr. Heather Tinsley. For comparison, we performed 850 consultations in the same time period the previous year. The Assistive Technology staff also fulfilled 128 requests for captioning of digital content.” 

The Malone Center has always been a strong asset for UM faculty, as it provides continuing support in the use of innovative technology and high-impact teaching practices, but its importance was amplified last spring and fall.  

In April 2020, the center created an accelerated training program for faculty to familiarize them with the mechanics of online instruction, particularly through Canvas. Combining the summer 2020 training with prior trainings, 91 percent of all faculty teaching at UM during the fall 2020 semester had received training in online instruction. 

The center also performed one-on-one and small group consultations, biweekly Zoom sessions, worked with the University’s Information Services and Technology department to address software and hardware needs for distance education and captioned faculty-developed digital media for use in online classes.