The Mechanics of Putting Your Courses Online Summer Institute 2003 Lesley Blicker, Office of Instructional Technology

Most Common Myths of Online Courses That extreme amounts of streamed video is required That teaching online is similar as teaching in the traditional class Minimal amount of time is required to facilitate a course That you can put as much information as possible online, or upload Power Point slides and think it is enough That online courses have limited activities. Some material adapted from Jeffrey Feldberg’s presentation at Iteach, 2003 (Embanet)

More Myths of Online Courses That nothing can replace the in-person experience Online education is so impersonal; we’ll create a society of socially inept individuals Online’s effectiveness is yet to be determine That online courses cannot have the same quality of interaction among students and instructor

Learning online pedagogy requires a certain openness for change, because the functions of an online teacher are quite different than a face-to-face teacher. Online teaching is no more appropriate for every instructor than it is for every student.

Considerations in Developing an Online Course Who are my students? What do I want to accomplish through this course? How do I successfully transfer it to the online environment? What guidelines, rules, roles, and norms need to be established for course completion? How is course material best delivered? Adapted from Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom, Palloff and Pratt, Jossey-Bass, 2001

Considerations in Developing an Online Course – cont’d How comfortable am I creating a student-centered environment/letting go of control? How is the course site best organized? How will I assess student performance? How will I address attendance requirements? How do I define learning and what do I want to see as the learning outcomes? Adapted from Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom, Palloff and Pratt, Jossey-Bass, 2001

Expectations of Students The course is easy to access All technologies work Instructor feedback is turned around rapidly Not much synchronous time is required Learning is non-linear Grades can be accessed 24x7 They don’t want to sit in front of a computer reading the equivalent of another text book Some students like to work ahead Some material adapted from Jeffrey Feldberg’s presentation at Iteach, 2003 (Embanet)

Course Design Mechanics of Putting Your Materials Online Course Management The Basic Elements of Learning How to Develop and Teach a Course Online The Pedagogy of Online Teaching

Instructional design (storyboarding your content) Syllabus, course policies and guidelines as applied to online learning Web site design (layout, navigation, usability, accessibility) Technology know-how (some multi-media, html files, etc.) Copyright law applied to Internet Course Design

The Pedagogy of Online Teaching Knowledge of best pedagogical practices that most effectively engage learners (with instructor, with material and with each other) Instructional role as differentiated from f2f (instructor as facilitator) Active learning strategies (constructivist theory) Development of effective online content Creation of effective online activities Learner Assessment

Mechanics of Putting Your Materials Online Knowledge of the IMS system (features you want to use such as quizzes, assignment drop box, etc.) Converting files to web-ready documents Creating multi-media files or other new files File management

Course Management Preparing students for online learning Pacing yourself Tracking students Rhythm of the semester or course Prompt and rich feedback to students Course evaluation and feedback from students

A Step-Wise Approach to Putting Your Courses Online

A Simple Course Design Best for a blended model Syllabus and course schedule are uploaded function is utilized Grade book is used Power points or other class materials are uploaded (maybe go paperless)

An Intermediate Course Design Deeper use of the tools in the Simple Design – now includes discussion board File management – most materials have been created and uploaded Presence of Content Modules Student group feature is utilized Site design more fully developed Addition of self-test, assignment drop box, and online quizzes Evidence of learner interaction

An Advanced Course Design Advanced use of Content Module Advanced use of the Quiz and Survey Module or uploading question sets from Respondus Implementing different uses of the Discussions Tool Student Presentations taken up a notch (link to Content Module and Glossary) Adding video and audio to your course

The Facilitator as the Success Coach Facilitator has many roles, none more important than that of the ‘ Success Coach ’ Learners need positive encouragement and feedback Online can be an isolated and ‘ scary ’ experience for learners Effective online facilitators build communication and outcomes that are stronger and better than traditional courses Source: Jeffrey Feldberg’s presentation at Iteach, 2003 (Embanet)

Plan out your course before you build it Always focus on learning outcomes Encourage significant interactivity through discussions and team based activities Interactive media that is sensitive to the learner’s environment significantly enhances the learning experience Keep navigation simple with information easy to find Summary Source: Jeffrey Feldberg’s presentation at Iteach, 2003 (Embanet)

Re-fresh your courses at the end of each term to incorporate collected feedback from students and facilitators. Ensure learners and Instructors have professional 24/7 support Be an e-Learning Success Coach Summary - continued Source: Jeffrey Feldberg’s presentation at Iteach, 2003 (Embanet)

Lesley Blicker, IMS Faculty Expert Office of Instructional Technology