I disagree. It takes more time to develop an online course because you have to add to the course the type of e-learning tools and media learners will employ in the e-learning environment. In a strictly traditional course, the facilitator of the course may only use electronic slides in the classroom to interact with learners. This may take additional time to develop; but it will not be as much time as it takes to develop an online courseroom.
Belinda
That 'saving travel time,' not to mention being able to sip hop tea at home during class, is part of the 'payoff' for the extra time invested in the online course.
Not at all (do I agree)! From my experience so far, the time invested in both the act of teaching and in the 'developmental' work involved in online courses is greater than that for traditional or on-campus classes. Because of that investment, however, there is a certain 'efficiency' that can be realized on the online environment that isn't possible for the face-to-face course. Thus, there is a certain payoff . . . though that wasn't the question!
Salient point Carol, the management of the class "hubris" is important for learning in the onground setting. The class tone online is vastly different.
I have over 20 years experience in onground and 6 in online. Both take equal amounts of time. Onground is more labor intensive because of the time to get to the office, navigate the rooms, set-up, etc. But the same, except for getting to the office, goes to learning the ins and outs of the online platform that your university utilizes.
I definitely think there is more time invested in teaching online courses, especially in the beginning. After teaching several sections of the same course, it may help to speed up the process, as far as the "preparations" are concerned. But, "keeping up" on a daily basis may be more time-consuming than a regular class. Although, I don't have to travel to and from class, so that might make up for it! :)
Alan,
Great point about multimedia, that can significantly add to the time involved!
Best,
Jon
I think it takes longer to develop an online course. Often, you need to prepare more materials and have extra information in case student participation is low (for example). Naturally, you have to do that in a classroom setting as well, but typically in a classroom things take longer (students raise their hands, you ask them what they mean by something they said, etc.). I've found that one needs to be SUPER prepared for an online class.
Disagree. Why?
Well we have to add in additional factors. Flow is one. Also, what aspects of multimedia to use.
In general there are many supplementary design ativities that need to take place. Also, multimedia requires one to take into consideration factors that do not exist in a ground class.
Jill,
Good point - I believe it really depends on what you are developing, your experience, and how strong a team you have.
Thanks,
Jon
I Disagree. A classroom environment allows for more immediate assessment of what works and what doesn't, allowing me to develop the course more rapidly. It is far more difficult to assess the efficacy of your lesson plan without direct interaction. It would seem your only measure is quizzes, which involves more short term memory skills than actual retention of information. Additionally, every class has different personalities that require adapted teaching methods not available in an online course structure
Good point - it depends on what type of support you have! - Jon
I disagree with this. It is far more time consuming to develop an online course in terms of presenting, organizing and developing appropriate content and interactive activities.
Disagree. I think more time is needed because you have to design a website to accompany the text and instruction. With on the ground all you really need for a well designed course is the course, the teacher and a classroom. Online needs all the graphics, text visuals, sound etc. How you put it together makes all the difference in the success of the learning experience. If you are considering only the course objectives then both would require the same amount of time.
Jon, I disagree. I have created an online course for a Graduate program and a course for a traditional learning environment and I have to say that I spent a lot more time developing the online course. I feel that with an online course, you have to be more explicit in your expectations and create a program that someone can feel comfortable taking (and succeeding in) in their living room.
The course also needs to motivate the online student to be disciplined to keep up with the readings because they will not have a traditional classroom as a physical place to be one or two times a week to discuss the weeks readings and be afraid of looking unprepared in front (physically) of their peers.
--Joe Gilkerson
I do not agree at all, in fact it is much more time consuming to develop a course for online. Because you never have a face to face discussion with students, you have to make up for this in clear, comprehensive course materials and presentations.
Disagree the time is the same or more. Email and communication can make the preparation and presentation more . That is what I have found.
Good example - thanks for sharing! - Jon
Great perspective & example! - Jon
