I disagree that the development of online courses take less time than that of traditional classroom delivery. It is much less time consuming to develop the on-the ground class.
In most cases the instructor could just show up in the classroom with the text book and basic syllabus. Students could open their books and follow along using the information presented in the chapters as a guide. Written notes can be made or the lectures taped with an audio recorder.
Online courses take much more time to develop the powerpoint lectures. Online learning environments may have 'ungraded learning events' like lectures and live chats that may not be attended or watched by students. This is because they do not receive points for attendance or participation. The instructor must take more time to restate and explain material already presented but not watched by the student.
The instructor should ask the following question: Is this material going to be learned by the student if the learning event is ungraded?
The time invested to develop an online course will take more time to develop than a traditional classroom. In most cases in an in classroom environment you will have more of an immediate reaction or response from students where you may be able to adjust or modify elements that might not work as well as planned. You can adjust online as well, but may take a little longer to read students reaction.
I think that both should or requires equal amount of time due to the content and information that you want to deliver to your students.
Jerome,
Good point. Preparation in an online course is just a bit different that face to face, however, the knowledge of the content should show through wherever you are teaching.
Shelly Crider
Patrick,
I can see that you like your classes clean and informative....good job!!
Shelly Crider
I've done both type of learning environments and I would say they require about the same amount of time and preparation. The difference between the two comes from how you prepare for one or the other, as either setting has its own unique challenges.
The time invested in on-line courses take way more time in my experience. As a traditional instructor I find the campus classes to be much easier for me to develop. The on-line format creates challenges for a instructor who is not very IT savvy. Like many of my students it took me several semesters to figure out how to even conduct a on-line format properly especially when some of the colleges that I work for have very bad IT/tech support. I have overseen the on-line and campus classes as a DOE over the years and have found that on-line still posses many challenges that I do not have in my campus class. I can fix a live campus problem on the fly while issues with IT and on-line formats still frustrate me to a degree as a professional educator. On campus I'm in charge but in on-line classes the technology seems to be in charge. It gets better and easier each time I develop a new on-line format.
The development of online course takes much more time. In the classroom - while everything still needs to be documented - there's more flexibility with assignments and structure that can be altered and adapted in the classroom. If any discrepancies or issues come up in the classroom - they can be addressed immediately.
In an online environment - the course is structured. Although errors should be fixed immediately, the process for changing content is more involved in regards to instructional designers and a curriculum team.
With that process in mind - the development of online content requires much more time, assessment and review as well.
Jay,
Ahhhh good question. I would have to agree with you that expectations from students are unclear as to what is needed for an online classroom. I have had students in the past who did not even have a computer to do their online classes with. I had to suggest their local library!!
Shelly Crider
Rakisha,
Thank you for adding the word "quality". As I have seen many classes built quickly, but missing some quality.
Shelly Crider
Zachary,
I find myself making adjustments each time the course is offered!
Shelly Crider
In some aspects online learning can be more time consuming compared to a traditional classroom setting. This is often the case where students are not self-disciplined and lose sight with time management. In order to be a successful online learner, one must be self-disciplined and have the desire to be a self-starter in their learning process. Do you feel that postsecondary institutions should do a better job in determining who is more suitable for an online environment? Explain your reasoning.
Jay Familant
Initially developing a quality online course will take some time. Once you have developed online courses and have a quality best practices guideline, checklist or rubric in place, it becomes less time consuming.
Actually, more time is required up front to develop an online course. Adjustments are usually easier to make in a traditional course, but an online course is typically set for the duration of the session once it starts. If something is changed, it is much more difficult to communicate and adjust thinking so that it the changes can successfully be implemented.
Actually, more time is required up front to develop an online course. Adjustments are usually easier to make in a traditional course, but an online course is typically set for the duration of the session once it starts. If something is changed, it is much more difficult to communicate and adjust thinking so that it the changes can successfully be implemented.
Richard ,
What we understand and think is clear, may be totally confusing to someone else. Good point.
Shelly Crider
Greg,
And then to make sure they are working!!!
Shelly Crider
Natasha,
Maintenance is very important to keep the information up to date.
Shelly Crider
I do not agree. Simply because we can lead by experience and use certain phrases that may not be in the online lesson and easy for the to comprehend.
I would think that you invest more time creating an online course as opposed to an onsite course because of various reasons. First, you have to have all the weeks prepared before the class even starts. This is so the content is available for students to look ahead at. Also, online classes usually have prerecorded lectures. These take time to create and record along with placing them up on the website.
