Perception of Eswatini Teachers about Effectiveness of online course “Certificate in Online Teaching for Educators”

Abstract

This study evaluated the impact of a 6-week fully online Certificate in Online Teaching for Educators (COTE) program on graduates' teaching practices. A survey was distributed to 350 COTE graduates, with 24 respondents completing the questionnaire. Results showed that most participants applied learnings from COTE to their teaching including designing online lessons, creating multimedia resources, facilitating virtual classes, using new educational technologies, implementing authentic assessments and providing meaningful feedback. Over 70% of respondents felt more confident facilitating online learning, better able to engage students virtually, and expanded their knowledge of online pedagogy after completing COTE. The findings suggest that despite its short duration, COTE positively influenced graduates' preparedness and skills in key areas of online instruction. However, the low response rate limits generalizability. Further research with larger samples is needed to corroborate the impact of COTE on online teaching practices.