Text & Course Structure
How crucial is it to structure an online course to parallel the required text?
Satrohan,
If a high percentage of the instructional content is built into the course materials itself, text books can be selected that can parallel that material. It may be helpful depending on how content is published to the class, and give the instructor a greater ability in changing course materials, or simply keeping pace with new text editions.
Michael
Cynthia,
yes page numbers are cited. I recommend working with Microsoft Word, then go to Reference tab. This can help you cite your work. You can also use the Purdue Owl....https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/
Shelly Crider
Do you go so far as to reference actual page numbers where the student may find more information on that topic, or do you leave it up to the student to use the index, etc.?
I agree, when the student reading online content wants to access more information it needs to be a part of a logical structure to get there. It is stuctural integrity and navigational simplicity, we may think of navigational simplicity only in the online structure but it includes navigating to other instructional elements of the course.
If navigation to the text material from the online material is not clear students will be frustrated, waste time, and give up on fully using the textbook.
Great points - thanks for sharing! - Jon
Stephanie:
I do think it is important to structure an online course to parallel the required text but also like flexibility in being able to add additional subject matter that might not be explained in the text.
I know as an on-ground instructor that students would be frustrated if we did not use the book in which they bought for the course.
I am also finding this to be true in an online environment. We try to parallel the book as much as possible but also add additional content as needed to help our students.
As more and more "textbooks" become strictly e-books, this might help with the parallel issue.
Kim
I agree in most chases - but I think you can shift chapter order and exclude some chapters if it is very clear to the learner.
Jon
If your course is based on textbooks then the online course has to follow that according to the rule of structural integrity. If the textbook and course differ the learner will get confused and lose interest.
Nilda:
Please share with us osme ways in which we can adequately explain everything online.
Satrohan
It should be very close. You are teaching the same subject on line that you are teaching in the traditional school environment.
I have found that it can be hard to adequately explain everything in the online environment, but it can be done. We just have to figure out the best ways to do it.
Christine:
I am not sure I understand your first question; nevertheless, I will answer the best way I can. I do not see any problems arising from providing additional resources to enable students to complete assignments in a timely manner; providing that the assignment is not aimed at assessing students' abilities to conduct research using the internet as a tool. If time is theconstraint, I will, if I were the Instructor scope the Assignment to match the time available for completion. My preference is for students to exert their own efffort to complete thier assignments and that includes finding relevant materials for themselves.
I also have some difficulties comprehending the second question. The way I see it, hwen students are given Assignments to complete Instructors must provide the following information:
The purpose of the Assignment
Is it graded? If yes, how many points?
Does the grade con tribute to the student's final grade. If yes, what is the percentage point?
Completion time.
What will be considered satisfactory-----expectations plus the scoring Rubric. The Rubric is the key here. It maintains scorer reliability.
So to answer your question, students who choose to do more research should not be given better grades for the Assignment. Yes, they may end up learning more; but that is immaterial to fulfilling the criteria required for the Assignment. I have seen students do an excellent job in a seven page answer to an Assignment; and I have seen students who submitted 15 pages receive lower grades for the same Assignment
Satrohan
Well expressed, Suzanne. Far too often, I observe SMEs going overboard with the "spoon feeding". They do that for a number of reasons; but even when I alleviate their concerns, they hold stead-fast to thier approach. The results could be "talking-down" to the students.
Yes: Students must be active in their learning. Over three decades ago, an Educator by hthe nameof Rescorla Solomon mentioned that the more mental effort one expends in th elearning process, the higher the learning level as well as the retention level.
Satrohan
I believe that related websites are key to learning. In the Human Services programs that we have, students need to learn how to do research in finding resources for clients. Our in class students have become quite proficient at finding additional material on topics and servies. I would expect the same from online students. Direction can be given to keep the time requirements in mind, as to how many sites and specifics, but students need to be active in their learning and not have everything handed to them. They need to learn to be resourceful.
In comparing online instruction with in-class instruction, it seems we as instructors need to meet the needs presented and stated by the students as they work to achieve the objectives set by the course. Is it fair to students to offer related websites as optional resource material while requiring the completion of specific assignments, keeping the time requirements in mind? Does it work the same way as an in-class interaction where some students are open to learning more by doing more research?
Jeffrey:
Baance is important; so is "students seeing the Instructor emerging". The content domain should be driven by the learning outcomes; so by abiding with this principle, there should be no excessive content. The other factor that influences the quantity of content is the number of hours students are expected to devote to the online course; be it on a module by module basis or on a weekly basis.
Satrohan
I definitely agree that balance is a key point, in either format, online or on the ground. But with that in mind, I still strongly agree that material must be made available (through lecture, additional website assignments, critical thinking experiences, etc.) in addition to the text. The key is to make it not only balanced, but also supplementing the main areas of information.
I teach anthropology and linguistics. The texts often give a basic approach, but with few examples. Additional information, examples, case studies, etc, are very important in supplementing the ideas of the textbooks. These all also make the class YOUR class, instead of the author of the textbook's class. That is invaluable. Just as Satrohan points out...why take a class if you only learn what is already in the book?
My only concern would be the potentially greater impact and delay of instructors adding too much information to the program in an on line format. Spoken, words can just be sounds, but typed, they may be taken more seriously - and take up more time. Perhaps the issue is a balance unique to this learning environment?
I agree with Satrohan in this regard completely! We are educated instructors. If we have nothing new to add to the text for the student, then why are we bothering to teach the class? We are experts in our fields, and while the text can be a strong outline, our courses should be about the information we can impart IN ADDITION to the text. This is the way I have taught for the last 13 years, and will be the way I teach in an online forum as well.
Rebeca:
In the scenario you have described, the content of the coure seems to be driven by the content of the textbook.
Let us assume that 60% of the course content is driven by the textbook, do you foresee any problems if the textbook changes editions as a rsult of which a significant amount of its content has changed? Or the textbook goes out fo print or becomes outdated?
Satrohan
