I have to say that the design of the course is important, the look and feel of the course have to be user friendly. Next would be the course content. The content and assignments must be relevant to the objectives of the course. Last is feedback. Student appreciate constructive feedback that is timely.
1) Clear learning objectives - defining what should be learned, when each objective should be met, and learning modules created around each objective.
2) Assessing learning - how am I going to gauge student understanding? There should be a varied sample of formative assessments to gauge understanding and summative assessments to assign grades.
3) Learning community - creating opportunities for students to communicate with me and peers. Using different modes of communication, both public and private, to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of communication channels.
Richard,
Right on! I always give some type of diagnostic "test" to see where the students are at the beginning of the course. It is very helpful. And, then if you give a post-test over the same material you can see their growth. I typically give the exact pre- and post-test just for this reason. Thanks for your input.
Edward,
Good advice. Anything we can do to engage the students in the content and with each other is awesome. Thanks for your input.
My students are from all levels of eduction and I am glad to see that you acknowledge that. I hope to learn how to develope an online class that will be a learning tool for all levels.I usually start classes with an introductory quiz. This helps me know where each student is at. Thanks
More than hitting the target as I agree with I would also note the fact that it must be inspirational to keep the students engaged.
When authoring an online course since you are not directly with the students your course has to be tops. The three most important things are:
1) I would make sure it is inspirational content for the students.
2) The content should directly related to the learning objectives of the course.
3) It would be appropriately enhanced by visual aids "knitting together" if you will a consistent learning message.
I continued a conversation/thread that ended last year. That is an example of a minor administrative impairment.
Faith,
Good list! Knowing your audience in any situation is important, but especially important when you audience includes your students. Connecting their learning to the real world engages them even more. Nice job.
Ken and William,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. You are right on!
Three things I consider are:
*The target audience along with generational differences and learning style differences. It’s important to address each of these in the online classroom. I have found that students have different concerns and worries depending on their learning styles. Some of the older generation students can feel a little anxious returning back to school after being out for some time or having never attended.
*The subject matter and how it will apply to their program of study and future work. I feel that tying in the importance of what they are learning with how it will affect them in the work place gives validity to what they are learning.
*Clear communication along with having clear objectives and consistency helps reduce confusion. Keeping the syllabus detailed but not too wordy, clear directions, and using specific grade rubrics are ways I accomplish this.
William; I agree with your three points and I would like to add one more point: course objective. Every course has major and minor objectives to be accomplished by the students. The course must be designed to enable the students to complete and understand these objectives.
Dr. Kevin,
Yes, know your audience and provide the course content in a variety of ways to touch on all learning styles. Communication is essential for sure. Thanks!
Cynthia,
You are so right. An audience analysis when we do anything is so important.
When authoring an online course, there are a number of considerations that are important. I would say that 3 of them are having idea of the general knowledge level of students entering the course. This is no doubt something that can only be estimated due to differences across student groups. The second would be the overall objectives of the course. Finally, the third would be clarity in communicating information.
Know your audience, know your subject, and know the ins and outs of the technology you are using.
Cynthia Johnson
Pierre,
Right on. Thanks for continuing the conversation. Engaging the students and delivering content in a variety of ways is essential. Thanks.
The most important things to consider when authorizing your own online course is to keep your students engaged during the whole duration of the course through interactive learning. the second one will be to get at the beginning of the course a proper evaluation of your students' knowledge in order to keep them interested and motivated through the length of the course while creating a confortable leraning environment where progress will be made. The third will be to utilize all sources of develivery tools in order to reach all students, to incorporate technology to keep the learning thread going even outside of class and to mix Bloom's taxonomy in the students' evaluation.
Cynthia,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. When I give online quizzes/tests, I provide limited time so they do not have time to look things up in their notes. I also ask students to pose a question they do not know the answer to and have other students answer the questtions. I can see from that what the students know and don't know. Just a couple of suggestions. Thanks for your input.
cynthia,
You are right on. You have to determine what you want the students to learn, the learning outcomes and how to make sure everyone understands the expectations and how to achieve those expectations. Providing information to students in a variety of ways is very important. Thanks for your input.
