The ever-increasing strategic importance of technology-enhanced learning, together with an increased growth trend in life-long learning, has resulted in contested learning spaces where traditional hierarchies and relationships between teachers and learners are in a state of flux. Online delivery represents a challenge to academics, many of whom do not have experience of online environments, as either a student or teacher. This module meets the need to provide an effective continuous professional development solution to both consolidate and develop new skills in creating, managing and promoting student engagement and learning online. This module, designed with educators in mind, seeks to establish and share best practice in moderation for online environments. This requires consideration to how the activities, delivery methods, technologies, learning spaces and assessments are integrated. Working within an authentic, supportive and interactive environment, participants will explore beliefs, practices and values needed to fulfil their supportive and facultative functions afforded by online teaching and learning spaces. The Moderating for Online Environments course offers a sound fit with the University Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Strategy 2014-18, which articulates several priorities which this module speaks to, most notably the importance of engagement for optimising both student and teacher experience. This course will provide a practical guide to developing e-moderating skills and competencies, "providing aligned, appropriate, quality assessment for those staff that wish to obtain recognition" (Gregory et al 2013). For University staff already teaching online, this course provides the opportunity to both consolidate and develop new delivery and (design) skills.

The course comprises a number of short e-tivities (Salmon, 2013), this is, learning events that participants in the module will complete in a guided fashion using an online environment; complemented with reflective practice exercises. E-tivities are also used to pace learner engagement through the stages in achievement of a greater understanding of e-moderation as both e-moderators and as participants on the course. Each week, the course will focus on a concrete aspect of online moderation as follows: Week 1. Initially, the module will concentrate on access, motivation, on-line socialization and information exchange from a practical perspective, thus modeling best practice in e-moderation (Salmon, 2011). Participants will review an e-moderator competency framework and will reflect on the competencies they wish to focus on developing during the course. Week 2. Secondly, the module will explore the dynamics that are likely to appear in online environments, and the importance of the role of the e-moderator in weaving through discussion forums in order to guarantee the achievement of the learning outcomes. Week 3. The third block focuses on knowledge construction and personal skill development through group work, including exposure to collaborative writing tools. E-moderator competencies are revisited in order to inform final summative reflections. This section also showcases in practice some of the synchronous communication tools available to us as educators and some interactive activities that can be facilitated using these tools. Week 4. Finally, participants are required to develop their personal development plan so as to transfer new moderating competencies into their teaching practice.

• LO 1: Be able to reflect on, and analyse, their experiences as an online student • LO 2: Be able to monitor understanding and misunderstanding, identify what constitutes good and unacceptable behaviour online • LO 3: Be able to apply e-moderating skills successfully to impact on purposeful learner motivation. • LO 4: Be able to analyse and reflect on the process and outcome of online collaborative activity • LO 5: Identify and critically evaluate skills and competencies needed to moderate and facilitate participation in an online environment. • LO 6: Formulate a development plan for the application of e-moderating skills and competencies within their own institution and teaching practice.

• LO 7: Value the role that technology and online interaction can play in teaching and learning. • LO 8: Appreciate the role the online moderator plays in facilitating learning.

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This module is delivered through an online format, emphasizing the exploration and use of a diversity of learning environments through both collaborative and individual learning tasks. Participants will gain understanding of some of the current technological possibilities for their teaching practice (GA 'Knowledgeable'), while experiencing this from a students' perspective. During the module, participants will experiment with a range of media for communication and for learning and will engage with a range of conceptual areas important to research and practice in online education. As participants progress through the module and engage with e-tivities that encourage them to experience different roles. As a 'participant', they will have an opportunity to experience online learning as a student, and reflect on the interactivity with peers and the skilled moderator. As a 'moderator', they will have to test in action the skills they have learned, explore beliefs and practices within a supportive environment, and reflect on skills learned (GA 'Articulate'). And finally, as a 'virtual group member', participants will have to work with peers to restructure their understanding and knowledge of concepts, recognise gaps in their understanding and promote social modelling of effective problem solving strategies (GA 'Collaborative'). The module will be facilitated by a team of expert e-moderators who will facilitate the learning process and model excellent e-moderation practice.