The question was: "When authoring your own online course, what do you believe are the three most important things to consider?"
I have now taught online for a year and in my opinion the three most important parts to a successful online class are:
1. What do you want the student to know when they leave the course
2. How many tools are you given to work with to motivate the student and make the course interesting
3. How can you best connect with each and every student in a personal way.
I personally believe that number three is the most important. It is easy to lose a student who does not feel "connected" to the curriculum, their classmates, and most importantly the instructor. The times I have managed to develop a rapport with the student, they have always been very engaged and ultimately received very high marks. Sometimes just having a welcome video and a couple lessons recorded to share will work. Also, weekly test prep groups using a system like collaborate works wonders.
Tom Steinmetz
Christine,
Excellent questions. And, phrasing them as questions helps others think about what questions they should ask. We do have to think carefully about the students and how to present the material to all student and thinking carefully about their learning personalities.
Thanks!
When authoring an online course I feel the following are important:
1.What do I need to teach and/or what do I want the students to learn
2.Who am I teaching? What does the student experience and knowledge base consist of?
3.How long do I have to cover the material and what is the best way to present it?
teresa,
Like your nutshell. ;-) Thanks for elaborating on each of your important factor. Nice job.
In a nutshell three important factors for authoring an online course include content, style, and audience. By content I mean the template or structure, the course objectives, the various tools used to deliver the information, and lastly the methods used to determine if the objectives have been met. This last one would include things such as quizzes, tests and assessments. By style I am referring to repetition and consistency of the course. And finally who is taking the course is what I mean by audience.
Alfred,
Excellent list. We have to always consider our students and what they know so we can better know how to help them achieve the learning outcomes. Thanks for your input.
I believe the three most important things to consider are: the background knowledge of the students (what they have already learned in previous courses), the objective of the course (what they will learn), and structure (how they will learn).
Sarah,
Good list. We do have to understand our audience anytime we start something new or begin to teach. Then, we can take their learning to a higher level and connect everything to the learning outcomes. Thanks!
I believe when authoring your own course you need to consider any previous knowledge your students may or may not have of the subject matter as well as what prerequisites are expected of your audience prior to beginning the course. In addition, it is important to determine what end results you expect at the end of the course. Finally, it is important to determine what types of interactive material will be most appropriate to communicate the course objectives.
Agnes,
We definitely have to think about the course content in combination with the learning objectives. When we can connect everything we do in the course to the learning objectives -- even better for the students. Nice job.
I would think the primary aspect to consider is the course material (subject being taught)
Another key factor would be course objectives (learning outcomes).
Finally, the ways to reach students of different learning styles (effectiveness of the modules).
Shenita and Carl,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. The more we understand our audience, the more we can help them move toward the learning objective. Nice job.
Shenita,
Right on! The audience, the objectives, and the LMS. This is a good list when you have to pick three out of all of the things we have to think about. Thanks!
Hi Carl,
I think its great that you mention student ability. We always need to be mindful of our audience and their ability to interpret the information provided to them.
S. Jenkins
There are many things to consider when authoring a course; however, the three most important things to consider are: Who will be using the course, What do I want them to learn from the course, What platform will be used to deliver the course.
Ra'kia,
You are on target. It's important to test/retest everything. We have to keep an open dialogue with ourselves and revisit all we do and all we create. Consistency, as you stated, is key. Thanks!
When authoring my own online course the three most important things I would consider are:
1. creating and testing the course module template
2. course content and sequencing of the material to be taught
3. creating a learning objective database.
When considering these 3 things in the development process, I would also stick to being consistent with the way the material is presented to the student within the modules. I believe that consistency leads to a better learning experience and also facilitates the learning.
Ed,
Definitely. In all we do, we have to know our audience to be able to effectively get our message across and help them reach the goals we have set. Thanks!
It's always wise to consider who the audience is, the material to be taught and the medium that it's to be taught in (online v. traditional).
Tom,
Glad you brought up the point that there are many different level of objectives. It's goo to keep that road map in mind as you proceed through the course and help students work toward them. Nice job.
