The Certified Online Training Professional (COTP) certification program is a 2-day virtual instructor-led (vILT) class. Becoming a COTP represents that the facilitator of virtual events has completed the comprehensive COTP course and passed both a written exam and a live proficiency exam.
The COTP course has been crafted to ensure you receive the training needed to become effective virtual trainers and facilitators.
In the first section of the course, you will learn the basics of online course delivery. In subsequent sections, you will learn the details of setting up both the hardware and software required for online training delivery, how to convert existing classroom courses appropriate for virtual delivery and the essentials of public speaking for an online audience. You will also learn how to develop effective PowerPoint presentations for virtual delivery and how to create effective polls and quizzes.
Whether you are new to vILT or are an experienced online instructor, you will gain valuable knowledge and skills in this certification program. Once you complete the certification process, you will be considered a Certified Online Training Professional and can lead virtual programs, set up online training programs, or serve as a trainer/facilitator within a more extensive program.
Best Practices for Facilitating Live, Online Classes
This course is taught in a live, online format by multiple online instructors. Not only will you learn the best practices for live, online training, but you will also learn by example from some of the leading professionals in online course delivery.
- Learn how to get your online class started on the right foot, from student introductions through the presentation of the course agenda
- Learn how to manage the online classroom environment, regardless of which hosting platform is used
- Learn the definitions of often confused terms: eLearning, mLearning, webinars, and online training
- Learn to engage your students
- Learn some of the most common online training myths. They'll be examined and busted once and for all!
- Online training pros and cons
Introduction to hardware and software needed to host an online class
Computers, headsets, connections, and more—the setup for hosting an online class can be quite elaborate. In this course, you will get an introduction to the basics, so you can get up and running as soon as you complete your certification program.
- Learn the characteristics you should consider for your computer and your backup computer, as well as additional hardware you will need (or want).
- Learn how software such as PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, and Adobe Acrobat will help you prepare classroom courses or other training events.
- Become familiar with the basics of online platforms such as WebEx, GoToTraining, and Adobe Connect
Converting Courses for Online Delivery
Making the conversion from teaching in a live, face-to-face classroom to teaching online is not a seamless operation. Many aspects of the class need to change, including course handouts, PowerPoint slides, learning activities, and even your own communication style. In this section, you’ll learn how to make the conversion. You’ll evaluate course handouts, slides, and classroom learning activities to discover what needs to change. Everything you might do in the classroom has its parallel in the online classroom. Here you will discover what those parallels are and how to make them effective.
- Learn how to plan, create, and deliver your online course handouts and presentation
- Learn how to create online classroom activities paralleling the warm-ups, discussions, brainstorming, and small group work you might use in a live classroom.
Public Speaking for the Online Audience
Empathy, personality, confidence, informality. These are just some of the personal characteristics you want to project to your online audience, all while delivering content and creating a learning experience. In this section, we will address questions such as when does a class become an audience? How do I handle disruptive students? Is it ok to use humor—and how do I know how it is coming across? Giving an online class is part teaching, part public speaking, part classroom management—and by the end of this section, you will have techniques for delivering an online presentation that will give you confidence and your audience a positive online experience.
- Variety is the spice of life—and of online training audio engagement. Learn how to create variety in your online speaking.
- Learn when to use silence effectively
- Pick up some plain language concepts to use in speaking
- Discuss how to handle disruptive participants
- Pace your delivery
Quizzes and Polls for Online Delivery
Quizzes and polls can be delivered informally as part of the minute-by-minute interactivity of your online class. But more formal quizzes and polls can also be set up in your online classroom platform. What should the various quizzes and polls cover? That is what this section is about.
- Learn how to use formal and informal polls to engage your audience and gather useful information for yourself
- Use informal quizzing to assess learning and encourage both engagement and effort on the part of your learners
- Understand the basics of creating formal quizzes for use during or after your online training delivery
PowerPoint Design for Online Presentation
You know that people complain about death by PowerPoint when in-person presenters deliver bullet point after bullet point, reading each slide to the audience. Think how much more deadly boring this type of presentation would be online! Nevertheless, PowerPoint may play a major part in your online training. If you are teaching soft skills or conceptual skills, it may be your main visual communication tool. If you are teaching software, PowerPoint will still play a role in framing your lessons with agendas and supplemental information.
In this section, a professional graphic designer will coach you through the fundamentals of designing effective PowerPoint slides for online training. You’ll learn some basic design concepts and specific techniques for designing slides that will effectively illustrate and support your online training.
- Learn basic design best practices for creating effective online PowerPoint presentations
- Get the specifics on how to set up your slide show for smooth presentations online
- Learn some PowerPoint tricks and where to find clip art and other resources
Live Proficiency Exam
During the afternoon of Day 2 of the certification program, you will prepare and deliver a segment of online training on a topic of your choice. One or more of our certified trainers will evaluate your presentation. If all goes as planned, you will leave this two-day training with the live proficiency exam passed.
Written Certification Exam
The COTP is not just a “certificate” stating that you attended a class. Instead, it is a certification: a credential certifying that you have mastered the content and achieved proficiency in delivering high-quality online course material. As part of that certification, you must pass a written exam covering the content you learn during the certification class. You have 60 days after the two-day online program to complete and pass the certification exam. We recommend that you attempt the exam as soon as you possibly can after the two-day session. That way, the material is fresh in your mind, and you very likely will pass the exam on your first try. However, if at first, you don’t succeed, you have a free retake.
Certified Online Training Professional
Once you have taken the two-day training, successfully completed the live proficiency exam, and passed the written exam, you will be officially listed in the ICCOTP online registry of certified online training professionals. You will receive a certification document suitable for printing, and you are authorized to use the phrase Certified Online Training Professional, or COTP, on resumes and other documents.
About Your Instructors
Kevin Siegel has been delivering live, online training since 2000. He is the founder and president of IconLogic, Inc. and has written hundreds of step-by-step computer training books on applications such as Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Adobe RoboHelp, Adobe Presenter, Adobe Technical Communication Suite, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Office, Microsoft PowerPoint, QuarkXPress, and TechSmith Camtasia.
Kevin spent five years in the U.S. Coast Guard as an award-winning photojournalist and has nearly three decades experience as a technical writer, instructional designer, and eLearning developer. He is a certified technical trainer with years of experience in the classroom and as a speaker at trade shows and conventions.
Jennie Ruby has been delivering online training since 2001. She is the president of EditorialTraining.Net and delivers both classroom and online training on writing, editing, eLearning development, and eLearning software. She teaches courses on how to write voiceover scripts, how to write step-by-step instructions, and how to create effective quizzes and tests. She is a published author and co-author of numerous training books, including Essentials of Adobe Presenter, Editing with Microsoft Word and Writing for Curriculum Development. She does instructional design and courseware development for clients ranging from financial institutions to healthcare and insurance to professional training organizations. But her first love is online and classroom course delivery. She has more than 20 years of experience in training delivery, and is much loved for her enthusiasm and energy in the classroom setting, whether online or in person.
AJ Walther is the Chief Creative Officer of a training company that delivers online training to a worldwide audience. She was selected as one of Elliot Masie’s 30 Under 30 for 2014. She specializes in graphic design for eLearning and has completed design projects for clients from a wide range of industries, including Hagerty Insurance, Heineken, ADP, KLA Tencor, the DC Taxi Commission, Vantage Systems, Canadian Natural Resources, and the World Bank. She has been delivering online training since 2012. She is a skilled online instructor, teaching design and eLearning-related courses on Microsoft PowerPoint, design concepts for eLearning, and how to manage the online classroom. She also delivers in-person fitness classes. She is the author of PowerPoint 2007: The Essentials,PowerPoint 2008 for the Macintosh: The Essentials.
