Date of Completion

4-25-2021

Document Type

Open Access Capstone

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

First Advisor

Carol Ann Sharicz

Abstract

The University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) eLearning and Instructional Design (eLID) team provides technical support to faculty and teaching assistants (TAs) as they teach online courses. There is currently a lack of support for TAs to properly train them to handle the technical tasks designated to them by faculty. This lack of education results in an increased workload on the eLID team in responding to TAs. Research was conducted to determine what the common duties of TAs are and what roles they should be able to fulfill at UMB. In addition, research was used to determine the best method of engaging TAs in an asynchronous format. Using the findings, it was determined to build an asynchronous course in the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) to train TAs for online courses. Seven main areas of focus were determined to be the most common issues encountered by TAs in their duties, both in Blackboard and in Zoom Video Conferencing: 1) the UMB course template, 2) announcements and discussions, 3) rubrics and assignments, 4) full grade center and needs grading, 5) grading discussion boards and assignments, 6) scheduling within Zoom, and 7) managing Zoom sessions. A series of microlearnings were developed, containing videos, webpages, and written documentation to teach TAs how to complete these common tasks autonomously. These lessons were implemented via a course within the UMB Blackboard LMS. A plan to evaluate the effectiveness of this course for the future is also discussed.

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