I think it is important to consider your audience, design, and assessment. Understanding your audience is the first step to knowing the way the course should be written. It is also important to know the type of assessments that fit the course. Not all courses need multiple choice quizzes as an assessment.
Having clear learning objectives
Knowing what resources and capabilities are present in the technology used.
Creating an aboject based learning database
Earle,
You are correct in discussing organization (content/flow). This affects how you provide information and how students receive information. Good point.
They must also, as you noted, understand the course outcomes and what is expected of them.
Thanks for your input.
1) Content & Flow - what information should be included and how will it be disseminated
2) How will the material be received by the students
3) What do I want them to be able to accomplish at then end of the class
Karen,
Thanks for your input. Starting off with communicating the course outcomes to the students is essential. Right on! Navigation and engaging the students are key components to online learning.
I like your statement: "bring the course content alive."
Thanks again.
When authoring an online course, the three most important things I think to consider are:
1. Who your audience is and their knowledge level
2. The objectives of the course and how best they content can be delivered
3. Methods to engage the learner and hold their interest in the subject matter.
Aaron,
Right on! The clear path is the key point in what you bring to this discussion board. Students need to know what is expected of them, how to get to assignments, how to communicate, etc. and this all leads back to good navigation.
Thanks!
When authoring on-line course content I would consider the following: 1) Make sure the students know what is expected and how they will be grading. 2) Layout is also critical, including accessibility and layout. Such that navigating through the course material should follow a logical sequence. 3) Since you are not meeting with the students face to face, I beleive it is important to engage the students through the use of technology in order to bring the course content alive. I think you need to use a good combination of text, audio and visual elelements as well as hand's on computer activities.
As was stated what you want to tell the student and what you want them to learn and how will you make it learnable to them. A clear path must be set so that the students may be able to navigate through and decipher information and accomplish the desired learning level.
Susan,
You are right that there are many things to consider, but you did a great job outlining three important aspects. With our learning outcomes, skill and clear expectations, learning will not occur.
Communication is a thread that runs through all of these aspects as well. Nice job.
Robert,
Thank you for your thoughtful response. You are right on target with your information and your writing structure intrigues others to read your postings. Thank you.
Important things others will learn from your posting:
Learning outcomes
Know where your students are coming from
Language and communication
Nice job.
Things I would consider, when authoring my own online course:
1. Course Objectives: I would have to be sure that the lessons within the course meet those objectives.
2. Skills required: I teach for a technical/vocational post-secondary school and our students must learn specific skills, according to our accreditation standards. I would need to be sure the lessons teach and assess those skills.
3. Clear expectations: Once I have outlined the lessons to meet the objectives and skills, I need to be sure that the expectations I have, as instructor, are clear to the students. If there is an assignment, they need to know what is expected of them when they do that assignment.
There are so many things that go into course design, but I believe that most of them would fit into one of the above categories.
I would begin with Stephen Covey’s sage advice to begin with the end in mind. As Zig Ziglar recounts in his often told story of the archer, “If you don’t have a target to shoot at, there’s a pretty good chance you won’t hit it.”
So, I would posit the most important first thing to consider is the learning objectives – what must students know and be able to do with the knowledge they are intended to attain. Knowledge is good, but knowledge without the ability to apply that knowledge is generally impotent.
I would assert the second most important thing to consider when authoring a course is to understand the student audience in terms of learning attained thus far, prerequisite knowledge and ability, possible learning styles, perhaps socio-economic demographics, etc., etc. Said another way metaphorically, “What is the raw material”.
I believe the third most important thing to consider would be what resources are available to process the “raw material”. Key amongst these resources would be communicative resources in terms of the “language” that speaks to the widest population of the audience. Generically speaking, this “language” would include architected and integrated learning modules that exhibit a standard for content organization, presentation consistency, and delivery modalities.
I think the same principles we can observe applied fundamentally in the process of mothers and fathers teaching and instructing their children the rudiments of life equally apply to teaching and instructing students online – it is simply a matter of a different communication medium we as a global society are only beginning to scratch the surface of its capability and potential.
Susan,
You bring up good points. You may have to follow the syllabut, but you are right that you have some flexibility in makeing sure the objectives are relevant, the student can achieve the objectives and they can understand what they need to accomplish.
Making the course easy to use and easy to navigate will help accomplish these goals. Thank you.
When I create an online course, I know that I have to follow the syllabus that the school has provided for that particular course. So I create material that is
1. relevant to the learning objectives from the syllabus
2. relevant to the student's frame of reference (they can understand it)
3. easy to use
This has helped me create courses that are "user friendly" so that the student can relax and enjoy the course while she/he is learning new material.
Shana,
Thanks for your input. You do need to think about the make up of your course. Each course is different and students come to the classroom with different knowledge and skills. Good point.
The navigation of the content and proper assessment/evaluation is essential as well. Nice job.
When authoring your own online course the three most important things to consider is 1. your class demographic, ensure that the curriculum is directed towards your students, 2. making sure that your content is easy to read and flows so that your student is comfortable, and 3. have proper testing in place to ensure that your student not only received the information, but understood it.
Students' knowledge base
Students' learning needs
Students' learning styles
Michelle,
Great input. Thank you. The course outcomes/objectives are typically the first place to start. What do you want your students to be able to do. . .and then. . .you can figure out how to get them there.
The interaction, feedback and communication are key components. Without these things instructors earn very poor teaching evaluations.
Thanks again for your input in this forum.
The three most important things I consider when authoring my own online course are:
1. Objectives – will the content facilitate the students understanding of the course objectives?
2. Ease of use – can the students find the materials I am asking them to use in the course?
3. Interaction – am I providing enough feedback, am I available to the students, are the students going to be able to interact with each other as they would in a ground class?
