Distance Education Advisory Committee (DEAC)

Structured Training for Online Teaching (STOT) is offered by the San Mateo County Community College District for the district's faculty (full-time or part-time). Faculty interested in learning to teach online using our course management system, and interested in exchanging ideas and tips for more effective online pedagogy are welcome to participate. STOT Classes are arranged by the STOT Taskforce, a subcommittee of DEAC, with the assistance of the senate. Training is sponsored by the Office of Vice Chancellor, Educational Services and Planning and coordinated by the District Manager of Distance Education and Instructional Design. Faculty interested in attending STOT must apply through their campus dean. Faculty who complete the program receive a stipend.

Other training programs are not equal to STOT. While it’s true that other training programs have a number of the same components as STOT, they are not commensurate with STOT I or II training. The reason is that STOT I and STOT II have been specifically designed to meet the needs of SMCCCD faculty. So, for instance, we teach faculty how to use our CMS, WebAccess (generically known as Moodle), not Blackboard, and we tailor the pedagogical instruction to reflect our district’s stringent policies and best practices regarding online instruction. For example, whereas the State suggests responding to student inquiries within 48 hours to meet regular effective contact requirements, DEAC, the Distance Education Advisory Committee for the SMCCCD, voted to amend, and now recommends as procedure, a 24 hour response time to student inquiries.

So, too, other training programs such as @ONE use an abbreviated CMS feature set for training, whereas our district uses a robust feature configuration in WebAccess for STOT training, and therefore more fully exposes SMCCCD faculty to increased options for teaching effectively online.

For these and other reasons, we feel STOT training is most comprehensive and best suited for SMCCCD faculty.

* Prior STOT II graduates who have not already taken the revamped Spring 2012 STOT II training may apply.

STOT Program Graduates:
STOT Alumni   (through Spring 2015)