The focus of this short post is to highlight the essential role of faculty development and the role of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework in supporting faculty moving to online and blended learning. It has become apparent during the COVID pandemic that the success of online learning is strongly dependent upon approach and preparation. This point was made recently by O’Ceallaigh (2022) when he argued that “designing, navigating and nurturing purposeful and engaging virtual learning spaces for students” (p. 1) positively impacts online learning. Moreover, to achieve positive outcomes moving to online learning there must be clarity to pedagogical approach that provides rationale and commitment. This is where the CoI framework has become the theoretical foundation of choice in conceptualizing and guiding faculty through the intricacies of designing and delivering online and blended learning. The effectiveness of the CoI framework to structure and guide faculty in re-designing their courses was demonstrated early in its development (Vaughan & Garrison, 2006).

The evidence has continued to grow that the CoI framework is a viable conceptual guidance in designing and delivering online and blended learning. ...

The Private University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology UMIT TIROL (www.umit-tirol.at) offers high-quality academic education and advanced training in the fields that have turned out to be of increasing importance in modern health care and technology. For example, in the field of medical informatics, we offer a part-time continuing education program that provides in-depth knowledge in the area of digitization and information management in healthcare. The program is completely online and its course design is based on the Community of Inquiry Framework. This year, we have started a comprehensive project based on the CoI Framework: LACOI: Representation of a Community of Inquiry in Cooperative Online-based Courses through Learning Analytics.