Hi again, Jai,
The blueprint to which you refer is crucial to successful online course design and development. I wouldn't travel to California (I am in Pittsburgh, PA) without a roadmap and I wouldn't build an online course without an online course specification document.
How would you go about evaluating and analyzing the course once it has been developed? Would you seek input from your students?
Thanks,
Jane
Great post!! a blue print is all that it takes to cover the concepts and outcomes through the course design for outcome assessment.
Jai
Whether I am developing or outsourcing the course development, I will make sure that the course developer must contain the instructional,media and presentation strategies of the course content; activities that will not only promote the desired achievement of the course objectives and goals, but to meet the institution educational standards; and finally, the different outcome assessment measurement for measuring the intended learning outcomes.
In addition, I will also make sure that the FOUR main phases of the ISD are met: design; development; evaluation and anlysis simply because through these four paradigms, students and instructors will have a clear blue print of the intentions of the course; it goals, objectives and students intended outcomes.
Jai
Paula,
Good point! A course design specification document is terrific for evaluating a course prior to enrolling students.
It is useful for the planning and development processes also. Your comparison of this document to a blueprint is accurate.
Thanks for your comments.
:)
Jane
A course design specification would give me the necessary blue print to be able to evaluate the instructual integrity and other components such as appropriate media forms,proper seuencing of the learning modules and other benefiting factors before the course is release to the learner
Brad,
You make a good point about the charter (design specification document) keeping the job on task. It is a very useful communication tool, at every step of the project.
Thanks for your input :)
Jane
I could not agree more. I relate the design document to a project charter for any project. It helps establish all of the necessary milestones, objectives, pitfalls, needed resources, etc... You can certainly make a project happen without it, but having the charter to help organize everyone involved and establish clear communication is critical to delivering the final product on time.
Hi again Sylvia!
I agree... some things are best left to the experts! That is where a design specification comes in handy for all of the parties involved. If you are the teacher or the learning institution, this document is your means of communication your requirements to the designer and developer.
If you are part of the design team, this document functions as your 'to-do' list. It ensures that your final product will meet the needs of your customer.
Although some perceive this process as time-consuming and costly, as you indicated, it could save both time and money if it minimizes revisions.
:)
Jane
Outsourcing is very beneficial for those that are just beginning to develope an online course. It is always beneficial to have a guide for any new venture. Companies that are experienced in developing online courses are able to save you money and complete the online course in a timely manor. The navus is inevitably going to make mistakes that will cost additional money to correct. If you have outsourced your production project, the producing company will make every effort to make sure those costly mistakes do not occur. Even after you have experience in the development of online courses you should always have consultants at your disposal for their input. There is, in my life's experiences, always someone who knows more than I do. If you have questions go to someone who can give you answers.
Excellent point! So often, the online instructor is not a participant in the designing of the course.
:)
Jane
The design specifications are always a must in my opinions even if a "canned approach" is used. We all have our own style of teaching and it should be represented in our online course. I don't want my class to look like any other online class. Students myst be kept interested and we need to make sure that nothing is left out.
It would be a great way to identify and control the inputs to the process. If you have good design specifications, and can provide a check list, or other control plan to the vendor, the likelihood of getting what you expect is enahnced. This is a good form of quality control over the process.
Excellent points! It seems that the more detailed you are with your vision for the course, the more useful a course design specification document will be.
Thanks for your input :) Jane
I think a prototype is very effective when you're trying to convey the essence of a course to others, there's nothing like seeing something 'real'. It's also a very useful approach when you aren't quite sure what you want the end product to look like and in this case, the prototype becomes a discovery exercise.
Peter,
You bring up some terrific points in your post. The misunderstandings to which you refer can also happen with a poorly prepared Course Design Specification.
An alternative method would be for the developers to create a prototype, which would be improved upon through iterations. What do you think of this method as opposed to creating the specification document. Would it save time?
:)
Jane
The Course Design Specification is the blueprint used by courseware developers to create the course. It represents a statement of requirements and a standard to which a developed course can be compared to. In the absence of the design specification, it is easy to have misunderstandings regarding course deliverables and will inevitably lead to frustration, wasted time, and extra costs.
Hi Paul,
It is refreshing to hear that you are against the template design style. Although it is simple and meets the needs of most courses, it can become boring to students who take a lot of online courses. However, I must qualify that by saying that consistency does breed familiarity, which may be important to some students. Especially to students with limited computer skills.
You also bring up a good point about regular course evaluation and critique. This is important during development as well as after development.
Good post!
Jane
This is a great discussion question!
I think that clear requirements and expectations should be communicated to any course developer. This must include a clear concept of the course and the steps or modules you envision for the course. I am very much against the template design style of many courses and would encourage the course developer to explore new and innovative methods.
The key to any successful course development is open communication with the design team. Regular course evaluation/critique during the course design can ensure the course is developed just as your envisionit (and perhaps, even better).
I think the most important part of the course is the instructor's ability to be comfortable with the presentation of the material. Therefore, if I was comfortable with the Vendor, I would let them create a prototype and improve it through versions. However, if I was not comfortable with the vendor, I would spend the time and effort to create the CDS so that I would be comfortable in its delivery.
Hi James,
You make a great point about the vendor being able to adjust their template to your needs. This flexibility is very important.
Creating a Course Design Specification can be a time-consuming and costly process. An alternative would be to have your course vendor create a prototype from your initial description of the course and improve it through iterations (versions). Which method would you prefer?
I am interested in your thoughts :)
Jane
