Building Quality Online Courses

And Training

The authors have personally experienced the burdens of creating online courses without the assistance of trained instructional designers. Many faculty are employed in conditions where they develop online courses without the proper knowledge and training of many essential aspects that should accompany the development of an online course (e.g., design, development, learning styles, copyright, design principles, accessibility, incorporating technology, and technical skills) (Singleton et al., 2013; Speck, 2000; Wickersham et al., 2007). The authors propose and describe the use of a detailed online course development and delivery model (Outlaw & Rice, 2015) that was created to provide distance education units with a systematic approach to course development. The proposed model nourishes the partnerships between faculty and designers to improve the quality of online courses, while providing the support faculty need to successfully create online courses. The authors discuss a model that provides consistency in efforts to create efficient workflows to develop online courses.

Handbook of Research on Virtual Training and Mentoring of Online Instructors - Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design ◽

Preparing Part-Time Instructors for Success in Online Course Development and Teaching

10.4018/978-1-5225-6322-8.ch012 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 250-297

Author(s):

Dan Piedra

Keyword(s):

Continuing Education ◽

Course Design ◽

Online Courses ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Real Life ◽

Online Course ◽

Course Development ◽

Education Theory ◽

Part Time ◽

Part-time instructors are at the heart of each continuing education operation throughout the world. They bring a wealth of industry experience which adds real-life undertones to classes. However, many lack foundational training in areas of instructional strategies and adult education theory, learning management systems (LMS) and their use in online courses, and course design and development. This chapter will provide an overview of how McMaster University's Centre for Continuing Education has addressed all three of the above areas with a view towards better equipping their part-time instructors in providing a better-quality learning experience. Central to the above is the use of online training and a thorough and highly structured approach to online course development.

Preparing Part-Time Instructors for Success in Online Course Development and Teaching

Research Anthology on Developing Effective Online Learning Courses ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-8047-9.ch029 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 554-598

Author(s):

Dan Piedra

Keyword(s):

Continuing Education ◽

Course Design ◽

Online Courses ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Real Life ◽

Online Course ◽

Course Development ◽

Education Theory ◽

Part Time ◽

Part-time instructors are at the heart of each continuing education operation throughout the world. They bring a wealth of industry experience which adds real-life undertones to classes. However, many lack foundational training in areas of instructional strategies and adult education theory, learning management systems (LMS) and their use in online courses, and course design and development. This chapter will provide an overview of how McMaster University's Centre for Continuing Education has addressed all three of the above areas with a view towards better equipping their part-time instructors in providing a better-quality learning experience. Central to the above is the use of online training and a thorough and highly structured approach to online course development.

Enquiry-Based Learning Online: Course Development and Student Experience of a First-Year Enquiry-Based Learning Seminar

Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching ◽

10.22329/celt.v10i0.4738 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 129-142

Author(s):

Jacqueline Murray ◽

Nathan John Lachowsky ◽

Natalie Green

Keyword(s):

Online Courses ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Online Course ◽

First Year ◽

Course Development ◽

Online Distance Education ◽

Online Distance ◽

The University ◽

First Year Seminar

Online courses are increasing in popularity while universities are using first-year seminars to address the challenges of large impersonal classes, lack of student engagement, and increased skills development. Could the learning experience and benefits of an in-person first-year seminar be achieved through an online distance education (DE) format? How would students’ experience benefit from an online DE first-year seminar? At the University of Guelph, an online interdisciplinary first-year seminar was developed and offered four times. This essay includes reflections from the faculty instructor and educational developer who co-designed the course, results from pre- and post-course surveys completed by students, and interviews conducted with students.

From face-to-face to online and back again: How Mason’s Online Course Development Institute Can Help You!

Innovations in Teaching & Learning Conference Proceedings ◽

10.13021/g8pk6z ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Constance Harris ◽

Larisa Olesova ◽

Stephen Brown

Keyword(s):

Online Teaching ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Online Course ◽

Course Development ◽

Instructional Designers ◽

Face To Face ◽

Development Institute ◽

Online Format

Over the last decade many faculty members have taken their traditional face-to-face class and created a version that is offered in a purely on-line environment. This practice has created a need to implement faculty development initiatives that help develop the skills, experience, and confidence to successfully teach online. In response, George Mason University has implemented a multifaceted approach to support faculty members’ online teaching practice. One component of Mason’s approach is the Online Course Development Institute (OCDI), a cohort-based program implemented by the Mason instructional design team. The OCDI incorporates evidence-based practices for technology-enhanced teaching and focuses on helping faculty members’ build competencies that enable them to enhance the quality and delivery of their courses. During this session, a faculty member and two instructional designers will outline the best practices for online teaching and discuss how the OCDI can help support faculty in implementing these practices. Creative strategies for effectively using these practices in blended or traditional face-to-face courses will also be discussed. The target audience for this presentation are faculty, and others, who want to learn about using online elements in their teaching and how OCDI can help them in online teaching--whether they intend to transition their class to a 100% online format, or to adapt online techniques to their traditional face-to-face class.

Quality of Online Courses

Universitas Tarraconensis Revista de Ciències de l Educació ◽

10.17345/ute.2014.2.461 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 97

Author(s):

Afsaneh Sharif

Keyword(s):

Course Design ◽

Online Courses ◽

Online Course ◽

Instructional Designers

Instructional designers strive to create quality online courses by using different methods and strategies; however, they rarely find the time to reflect on their work and evaluate their final course design. There are three main challenges that instructional designers face while developing online course. First, instructional designers have ambiguity around their roles, and their skills and expertise are often not used as they fulfill their responsibilities.

Faculty Perspectives on Narrowing the Success Gap Between Online and Onsite Learning

Research Journal of Education ◽

10.32861/rje.58.128.142 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 128-142

Author(s):

Abour H. Cherif ◽

Farahnaz Movahedzadeh ◽

Gerald Adams ◽

Margaret Martyn ◽

Jennifer D. Harris ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Student Success ◽

Time Management ◽

Online Courses ◽

Online Course ◽

Blended Courses ◽

University Level ◽

The University ◽

First Time ◽

And Training

With growth in enrollment in online courses at the university level, the quality of those courses is coming under increased scrutiny. This study surveyed faculty with experience in online, onsite, and blended courses to identify factors most likely to impede student success in online courses as well as strategies to improve online courses. The most common responses for why students might find online courses more challenging focus in the areas time management, student-teacher interaction, and motivation. The strategies for improving student success in online courses fall into the categories of assignments, teaching strategies, and training for both faculty and students. Steps for students to take before enrolling in an online course and tips for faculty who want to teach online courses for the first time are also included as appendices.

Cases on Critical and Qualitative Perspectives in Online Higher Education - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

Efficiency and Quality Improvement in Online Course Development

10.4018/978-1-4666-5051-0.ch022 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 435-451

Author(s):

Erick Hilbert ◽

Kim Mierau

Keyword(s):

Quality Improvement ◽

Instructional Design ◽

Work Groups ◽

Online Course ◽

Course Development ◽

Design Team ◽

Team Processes ◽

Quality Matters ◽

This chapter addresses the inefficiencies and quality concerns in online course development at a university and specifically the steps taken by the Instructional Design Team (ID Team) to improve the situation. Initial issues and organizational changes are identified, as well as the effects these had on the ID Team, processes, and overall function. Specifically, this chapter discusses how known issues were attempted to be solved, as well as the incorporation of Quality Matters, the creation of work groups, the standardization of documents and processes, and the promotion and creation of buy-in. Areas of difficulty and setbacks are also discussed. In addition, the chapter provides ideas and insights for organizations that might find themselves in similar situations of needing to improve the quality of online course development from initial offerings while also needing to change systems, procedures, and functionalities to facilitate that improvement.

Integrating UDL Strategies into the Online Course Development Process: Instructional Designers' Perspectives

Online Learning ◽

10.24059/olj.v23i1.1407 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Korey Jerome Singleton ◽

Anna Evmenova ◽

Marci Kinas Jerome ◽

Kevin Clark

Keyword(s):

Development Process ◽

The United States ◽

Instructional Designer ◽

Online Course ◽

Course Development ◽

Instructional Designers ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Classroom Accommodations ◽

Research Institution ◽

This qualitative case study design examined the perspectives that instructional designers at a 4-year research institution in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States have about integrating UDL strategies into the online course development process. The participants were six individuals involved in the online course development process: four of the participants were instructional designers working for the Instructional Design Team, one participant was an assistant program manager in the Office of Distance Education, and the other was an instructional designer working in the College of Health and Human Services. The interviews focused on the participant’s perspectives on the integration of UDL strategies and how they believe faculty perceived such practices. Using a series of semi-structured interviews and document analysis, three distinct themes emerged: (a) the importance of the instructional designer/faculty member partnership, (b) the number of factors impacting faculty adoption of UDL strategies in their online courses, and (c) faculty resistance to changes in how classroom accommodations are addressed in the higher education classroom. In addition to highlighting factors impacting the integration of UDL strategies, the findings also revealed techniques that could be useful in improving faculty adoption of such practices.

Web-Based Course Development Tools

Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-198-8.ch343 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 2324-2330

Author(s):

Hui-Ling Wu

Keyword(s):

Online Courses ◽

Online Course ◽

Course Development ◽

Web Based ◽

Development Tool ◽

Development Tools ◽

Range Of Functions ◽

E Learning ◽

The Many

Web-based course development tools are software programs that facilitate the creation of online instructional material. These tools have become increasingly important in recent years; advances in technology have made e-learning more popular, but have done so without a parallel rise in the technological proficiency of educators attempting to design online courses. The conveniences of many web-based course development tools remove this problem, and the many types of applications currently in use have broadened the range of functions available to designers. This entry will discuss the major online course development tool innovations that have occurred in the recent years, the types of tools that are in common use among developers today, and the ways in which these tools may be utilized.