Professional Development
Innovation in Online Design and Teaching
馃棑锔 Application deadline: Monday, December 7, 2026
The 2027 Innovation in Online Design and Teaching (IODT) Award celebrates excellence in online education by recognizing faculty who demonstrate innovative online teaching supported by intentional, high-quality course design. This award honors faculty whose creativity and student-centered teaching practices lead to deep learning, meaningful engagement, and satisfaction in the online environment.
The final award recipient will receive $3,000, a commemorative plaque, and recognition at the USF Faculty Honors and Awards Reception. The recipient will also be recognized as USF鈥檚 recipient of the SUS President鈥檚 Award and featured in an Innovative Education story highlighting their online teaching and course design. Two finalists will each receive $1,000.
PURPOSE OF AWARD
The IODT Award recognizes faculty who advance online learning through creative, student-centered teaching and thoughtful course design. Strong candidates demonstrate how innovative teaching practices and intentional design choices work together to create engaging, high-impact online learning experiences that support student success.
AWARD Eligibility
Eligible nominees must be full-time continuing faculty or instructors on any USF campus and must:
- Be certified to teach online through a USF online instructor certification program.
- Be the instructor of record for the nominated course.
The nominated course must:
- Be fully online and have been developed or substantially refreshed and taught within the past five academic years.
- Have completed a recognized online course quality review based on established quality standards, such as the USF Quality Review or Quality Matters, that reflects the current design of the nominated course.
Faculty may nominate only one course per award cycle. Self-nominations are encouraged. Previous IODT Award recipients and visiting faculty are not eligible.
What does innovation look like?
Innovation in online teaching can take many forms and does not necessarily require the use of new or emerging technology. It may involve introducing a new approach, creatively adapting an existing practice, or addressing a teaching or learning challenge in a new way.
Innovation might include creative approaches to student engagement and community-building; authentic or experiential learning; assignments and assessment; instructor presence, feedback, or student support; multimedia and interactive learning; accessibility and learner choice; or the purposeful use of AI and other technologies.
These examples illustrate possibilities and are not intended to define or limit what qualifies as innovative. Strong applications demonstrate why an approach was selected, how it is implemented, and how it contributes to the student learning experience.
Submission Requirements
All materials must be submitted by December 7, 2026, through this .
Required Materials:
1. Innovation Narrative - Explain (max 2 pages)
Describe your approach to innovative online teaching and the context and rationale behind it. Please address:
- What challenge, opportunity, or goal inspired your approach?
- What innovative or creative approaches do you use in your online teaching, and why?
- How does the design of your course support or enable these approaches?
2. Online Course Tour - Show (max 5 minutes)
Provide a narrated screen-recorded tour of the nominated online course in Canvas. Using examples from the course, highlight the features, activities, interactions, or instructional approaches that best demonstrate your innovative online teaching and how the course design supports it.
You are not expected to provide a comprehensive tour of the course. Focus on the examples that best illustrate the approaches described in your Innovation Narrative, and briefly explain what reviewers are seeing and why it is significant. Video production quality will not be considered in the evaluation.
3. Supporting Evidence - Demonstrate (max 3 pages)
Provide at least two forms of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness or impact of
the teaching practices highlighted in your application. At least one form should provide
evidence of student learning or performance, such as assessment results, achievement
of learning outcomes, or examples of student work. Additional evidence may include
student feedback or satisfaction, course evaluation results, another measure of student
learning or performance, or other evidence of meaningful student outcomes.
Evidence may be presented as screenshots, excerpts, brief summaries, or other concise
formats. Formal research or statistical analysis is not expected. Briefly identify
what each form of evidence demonstrates and how it relates to the teaching practices
described.
Eligibility Verification
Applicants must also provide the following documentation to verify eligibility:
- Documentation of completion of a USF online instructor certification program.
- Documentation that the nominated course has completed a recognized online course quality review based on established quality standards, such as the USF Quality Review or Quality Matters.
Eligibility verification materials are used to confirm eligibility and are not evaluated as part of the award criteria.
Selection Process
Applications will be reviewed in two stages. The Learning Design Committee will review all eligible submissions and recommend up to five finalists. The Faculty Selection Committee, which includes online faculty representatives and past award recipients, will review the finalists and select the award recipient and two finalists. Committee members may not serve as applicants.
Submissions will be reviewed according to the following rubric categories:
- Innovation and Creativity 鈥 Creativity, purpose, and distinctiveness of the online teaching approaches and strategies.
- Online Learning Experience 鈥 Quality and intentionality of teaching practices that create an engaging, active, and supportive online learning experience.
- Impact on Student Learning 鈥 Strength of evidence demonstrating positive impact on student learning, performance, or other meaningful learning outcomes.
- Integration of Teaching and Course Design 鈥 Intentional alignment between teaching practices and course design, including how design choices enable or strengthen the approaches described.
Download the
Applications must be complete, clearly organized, and adhere to all submission requirements, including page and video limits.
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Submission Deadline |
December 7, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Review Period | Dec. 2026 - Jan. 2027 |
| Award Recipient Announced | February 2027 |
Questions
Contact Dr. Christie Nicholas, Director of Learning Design & Research at cwnicholas@usf.edu with any questions about eligibility or submission.