Instructor and computer programer
Do the instructor and computer programer have to work together?
Cindy,
It does make it easier. Do you feel it is a must for instructors to have?
Shelly Crider
I have found having computer programming background that it does make it easier for me to understand a lot of the online process.
There is no need for programming background to teach an online course.
Do the instructor and computer programer have to work together? I would say not necessarily.
Should they work together, yes! The programmer should work with the instructor to ensure the course application is productive for the students and meets the needs of the course.
Good point. Students who are online want a little more than just a book.
I don't believe you need computer programming skills. You do need to be technology savvy. You should be comfortable with the platform used (eCollege, BlackBoard, etc.) You should also be aware of how to use, create, or integrate multimedia course materials. Otherwise, you will have a tendency to use textbook reading only and not create an engaging course.
Hopefully the instructor as some computer skills and can provide input to the developer.
Byron,
Good points - thanks for sharing!
Jon
I do not believe one needs the skills of a programer; however, I do believe that one should posses competent computer skills in order to help those who are less skilled in computer navigation.
What if we throw YouTube into the instruction design? What skills are important to make an effective presentation ?
t
I feel instructors of an online teaching enviroment, at a minimum, should be able to navigate the online program being used. This is impariative so they can help students troubleshoot navigational issues. If the instructors are unable to use the program, how can we expect our students to use it?
Thank you Sheri, for sharing this situation with us. Personally, i believe that unless an institution is willing to offer adequate compensation for additional duties, they should avoid making additional demands on Instructors.
Satrohan
I agree. Instructors in many vocational areas are hard to find. Not only do instructors need to be educated and have experience in a particular field, know how to present a lecture, assist in a lab, grade assignments, but also they need to know how to manage a class! Then to add technical competence (unless they are interested in learning this) would make the pool even smaller.
Sheri
A tall list, Kathleen------one that can be intimidating for Instructors who are not to that level of competence. Neverthless, the list of competencies, particularly those related to the Course Delivery Platform is a "must have"; so institutions should develop those skills in their instructors in the most practical and convenient way.
Satrohan
I believe that in order to teach online, an instructor must embrace technolgy and take steps to learn the capabilities and limitations of the platform that they will be teaching their online classes in. They must also take the time to learn how to upload and retrieve files within their specific platforms, how to formate and work with electronic documents that will be posted online, how to prepare evaluation tools that can be used online (in other words, create electronic documents/rubrics that can be filled in electronically so they can be sent back electronically to students), learn how to use the track-changes and notes features for Word Documents so you can provide input on any papers students submit, how to use the electronic grade book and testing features that the online platform may support, etc.
Schools offering online courses need to provide training such as above to all it's instructors, regardless if an instructor teaches online courses or not, because often times traditional courses have the online portal tool available to them to use as an enhancement to a course. Online class tools are a great way to post student grades so they can track their own progress in their classes, even if the class is not an online one for them.
Nandan:
Your experience is somewhat unique. I have not encountered programmers who have adequate knowledge of how online design and development strategies to the extent that they can implement the course in an online environment. The Instructor has to storyboard the learning events before they can "upload" the content into the course delivery platform in an appropriate manner. While a specific Instructor may not be teamed with a specific programmer, my experience has been that a team environment is more effective and efficient.
Satrohan
In my experience, a specific instructor and a specific programmer almost never work together in the creation of any online course. Programmers have a general idea of what almost all instructors want in a certain course and they design the electronic environment accordingly. They make changes as they receive feedback from instructors. Basically, a programmer usually has no knowledge of teaching and/or the content area for which an online course is being designed, just as a teacher has no idea what t ypes of hardware and software limitations and resources affect the programmer.
Greg:
Let's assume that we are not dealing with off-the-shelf programs; and that we are dealing with developing an online course from scratch. What contributions do you see the programmer making? What contributions do you see the Instructor making? And at which stage of the development?
Satrohan
The work of the programmer is being performed up front in off-the-shelf programs (i.e., camtasia, etc) that utilize technology in an easy to use format. Instructors today are being asked to learn specific programs.
