Introduction to Online Course Design
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Transcript Introduction to Online Course Design
Introduction to
Online Course Design
Sharon Roushdy and Deborah Mateik
OIT Learning Technologies Group
April 6, 2011
Main Topics
Introduction: Benefits, Challenges, Environments,
Resources, Media Selection, and Planning
Content Delivery Considerations
Communication and Collaboration
Assessment and Evaluation
Getting Started
Benefits of a Well Designed Online
Course
Flexibility
Time
Location
Improved Interaction
Facilitates successful student engagement, learning, and
course retention with well designed:
student student interaction.
student instructor interaction.
student content interaction.
So, how do we get there? What are the challenges?
Guidelines/Checklist
See
Basic Online Course Components
Guidelines
(at http://otal.umd.edu/ID-process, under Designing
Your Course)
More Guidelines
Components of Good Online Course Design
(http://www.4faculty.org/includes/digdeeper/online/lc_outco
mes_based_instruc.htm)
A Quality Scorecard for the Administration of
Online Education Programs
(http://sloanconsortium.org/quality_scoreboard_online_prog
ram)
Challenges
Design (time; iterative process)
Identifying outcomes and creating assessments
Replacing f2f lecture with appropriate online interactions and
activities
Adapting and developing materials to the online environment
Developing a cohesive and organized online presence and
community.
Learning to use and feel comfortable with the online tools
Teaching
Keeping students engaged
Keeping students on track
Managing workload
Planning Your Course
Initial standard instructional design questions (the
“Ws” that steer you towards “how”)
Who are your students?
Undergraduates, graduates, working adults, residents, or
geographically dispersed, special needs?
What are your course goals and objectives?
Can objectives be stated in terms of outcomes?
When is the term and what is length of your course?
Standard term (Fall, Spring) or compressed (Summer, Winter)
Online Teaching Environments
Live/Synchronous
When you need:
Increased personal interaction
and community
Immediacy
Spontaneity
Online Teaching Environments, cont.
Not Live/Asynchronous
When you want:
To post content/lecture/notes
Recorded information and interactions
A flexible location and/or time
Reflection and response time for students
Ongoing discussion
Participation tracking
Central content distribution
Selecting Tools or Media
Which tool(s)?
Several tools to choose from, some share
common features
Select the best fit for what you want to
accomplish
Weigh the advantages and disadvantages and
cost/benefits.
Not sure?
Consult with LT instructional designer
Visit otal.umd.edu
Take training workshops
Experiment
Content Delivery
How can the content most effectively (or
efficiently) be delivered?
Synchronously or Asynchronously?
Content Delivery Considerations, cont.
Online Formats
Electronic text
Pre-recorded lectures
Live online lectures that are recorded
Content Delivery Considerations,
cont.
Materials Development and Organization
Length (especially audio, video)
Modularity, chunking
Consistency
Size (smaller is better)
Common File formats
Text: (e.g., .pdf, .doc/docx, .rtf)
PowerPoint (e.g., .ppt/.pptx)
Images (e.g., .jpg, .gif, .png)
Media: (various)
Accessibility
ELMS Sample Course
UTAP Course (Sample)
Example: ECON 200
recorded video)
(pre-
Wimba Live Classroom Environment Example Screenshot
Communication &
Collaboration
Communication and Interaction
between
1
2
3
students and
content
students and
their peers
students and
instructor
Guiding Principles
Establishing a community is strategic to the
success of an online course
The collaborative activities and products are
useful tools for promoting community
Size of class, level of students (e.g., undergrad
vs. grad), course discipline will impact choices
made for creating communities and developing
activities to foster collaboration and community
Communication Tools
Available in ELMS
Asynchronous (“anytime”)
Discussion Board
Wikis
Blogs
E-Mail
Wimba Voice Board
Synchronous (“same time”)
Live Chats
Wimba Classroom
Wimba Pronto
Examples of Collaborative
Online Activities
Group discussion
Guest speakers
Case studies
Collaborative
writing/presentation
Debates
Panels and studentmoderated discussion
Role playing
Games
Student-led support
Demonstrations
Peer review
Brainstorming
Nonverbal
communication
Assessment and
Evaluation
Assessment and Evaluation
Considerations
What will be different when you are fully
online?
Face-to-face:
Proctored, secure
No technical issues
Must be scheduled, time restriction
Online:
If un-proctored, less secure (especially for objective tests/quizzes)
Possible technical issues
Flexible scheduling, although can have time restriction
Assessment and Evaluation
Considerations
Consider more frequent, formative assessments and
evaluations:
Periodic low-stakes quizzes
Pre and post tests
Peer assessments (group work)
Mid-course evaluation
CATs/Formative Assessment/Self-assessments
Student reactions and understanding
Checkpoint, feedback for instructor
Grading strategy: Use rubrics
One Minute Paper,
Muddiest Point
Example questions:
What was the most important (useful, significant, crucial)
thing you learned in today’s class?
In what areas did you understand the most? The least?
What was the muddiest point in today’s lecture?
Tip: Plan to follow-up with individuals or as a group.
Example Tool strategies:
ELMS Discussions
ELMS Quiz or Survey
Examples: KNES 370 and UTAP
Release of certain elements of content or assessment tools is made based
on student access or completion of other content or assessments.
Selective release criteria
Summary
Good online course design involves:
Selecting the most appropriate activities and
environments to meet the requirements of your students
and course goals and objectives.
Consistent and coherent organization of online
materials
Clear and detailed instructions and expectations
Regular instructor communication
Instructor feedback on student activities
Summary, cont.
Planning begins with key considerations
regarding:
Student characteristics
Goals and objectives/outcomes
Constraints (e.g., number of weeks, available technologies,
etc.)
Characteristics of live and asynchrononous environments
Content delivery options
Communication, collaboration, and interaction possibilities
Assessment and evaluation strategies
Course management and student support
Development of syllabus that incorporates elements of the
online environment.
Begin: Getting Started Activity
Start with a Single Course Module
1. Identify a learning unit or module in your course.
2. Identify a learning outcome associated with this module that
supports the course outcomes and goals as a whole. (i.e., I want
the students to …..”).
3. What work will students do in this module? (e.g., individual
assignment, discussion, group work, quizzes, etc.)
4. Design for online:
If have already taught this module f2f, how might you modify or
enhance the content delivery, lecture, and student work components
using online environment options?
If this is a new topic, how might you design it to make the best use of
online environments for content, lecture, and student work?
Online Tools and Design Resources
See the companion ELMS site (login to
elms.umd.edu)
See http://otal.umd.edu
(Your Campus Resource for Online Teaching and Learning)
Supported Tools
Consultations (Online and Blended Course Design)
Training
Materials and Resources
See Sloan-C workshops (www.training.umd.edu)
See Creating an Effective Online Syllabus