Designing Online Courses as a Team

2021 ◽  
pp. 119-132
Author(s):  
M'hammed Abdous
Keyword(s):  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Collective Intelligence ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Backward Design ◽  
Institutional Experience

Unlike the traditional “lone ranger” method for online course design—a method that hinges on individual faculty efforts, expertise, and knowledge—a team-based approach (TBA) harnesses the collective intelligence of several experts to design effective online learning experiences. Using learning design (LD) as a conceptual framework, this article describes the experience of a public institution in using a team-based approach to produce a large number of online courses for degree programs. After establishing the relevance of a team-based approach, the author discusses the premises that underpin the model, in terms of process, faculty relationship, and quality assurance. Building on these premises, a cyclical backward design process is described which is intended to (1) clarify course-learning outcomes and align course content, (2) determine acceptable evidence of students' learning, and (3) plan the learning experience. The article is concluded with a few insights and lessons learned from the institutional experience.

Designing Online Courses as a Team

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
M'hammed Abdous
Keyword(s):  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Collective Intelligence ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Institutional Experience

Unlike the traditional “lone ranger” method for online course design—a method that hinges on individual faculty efforts, expertise, and knowledge—a team-based approach (TBA) harnesses the collective intelligence of several experts to design effective online learning experiences. Using learning design (LD) as a conceptual framework, this article describes the experience of a public institution in using a team-based approach to produce a large number of online courses for degree programs. After establishing the relevance of a team-based approach, the author discusses the premises that underpin the model, in terms of process, faculty relationship, and quality assurance. Building on these premises, a cyclical backward design process is described which is intended to (1) clarify course-learning outcomes and align course content, (2) determine acceptable evidence of students' learning, and (3) plan the learning experience. The article is concluded with a few insights and lessons learned from the institutional experience.

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

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 ◽  
Online Course Development

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.

Getting Started

2011 ◽  
pp. 54-69
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Corbeil ◽  
Joseph Rene Corbeil
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Mobile Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Effective Use

Podcasting is an excellent way to engage students and to supplement the instructional materials used in face-to-face and online courses and in Mobile-Assisted Language Learning programs. A well-produced weekly podcast can enhance course content, learning activities, and student-teacher interactions, while enabling students to take their learning materials with them wherever they go, thus reinforcing and supporting language acquisition. While there are many resources that delineate how to create a podcast, few address the instructional, technological, and production factors that must be considered for the effective use of podcasting in instruction. This chapter includes a brief review of the literature that addresses the use of podcasts in language learning programs, and offers a simple guide for creating your first podcast, lessons learned, and the results of a student survey on the use of podcasts.

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

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 ◽  
Online Course Development

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.

Influences on User Engagement in Online Professional Learning: A Narrative Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 003465432199791
Author(s):  
Jane Lee ◽  
Taren Sanders ◽  
Devan Antczak ◽  
Rhiannon Parker ◽  
Michael Noetel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Narrative Synthesis

The internet has become the chosen medium for professional learning. Completing professional learning can improve work performance; however, many individuals who begin online courses do not complete them. It is not well understood which influences keep individuals engaged in online professional learning. We address these issues with a systematic review. Our review of 51 studies and 9,583 participants includes a narrative synthesis and a meta-analysis that examined influences on user engagement in online professional learning. We found that course design and employers’ provision of time to complete learning are key for engaging learners. Other important influences were learners’ reasons for learning (e.g., intrinsic value and perceived usefulness), access to learning support, and opportunities for interaction during the learning experience.

Effective Online Courses in Business Administration

2011 ◽  
pp. 237-246
Author(s):  
David L. Sturges
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Business School ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Traditional Course

Technologies used to enhance, augment, or replace traditional course content have been widely examined. With few exceptions, study of these technologies focuses on the effects of the technologies in isolation. Only a few discussions have attempted to evaluate multi-technologies and their contribution to effective learning for online students. This chapter looks at the traditional learning styles and creates a model for robust, multi-technology, student learning-centered approach to optimize student learning in online classes in a business school. It finds that a well-designed, multi-technology approach results in better student performance, more satisfied students, and greater cost-benefit for the business school. The results have been adapted into course design to create a new kind of resource for online course deployment.

Intentional Connection

2022 ◽  
pp. 202-230
Author(s):  
Romana Hughes ◽  
Kate Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Educational Technologies ◽  
Instructional Designers ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Professional Lives ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Backward Design ◽  
Course Experience ◽  
Feedback Data

This chapter details how learning-based course design promotes meaningful student connections with course content, course goals, and connections with peers, faculty, and student self-awareness. No matter the modality, the learning-based course design model provides a pathway for faculty and instructional designers to use backward design to create courses that embrace significant learning, valuable practice, and feedback opportunities. With an emphasis on authentic activities that are aligned to learning outcomes, learning-based course design avoids busywork and reduces rote memorization of facts and figures. Educational technologies can strengthen the faculty and student course experience, provided that these are purposefully integrated into the course. Courses designed with close attention to student learning provide skill growth that strengthens students' professional lives. Course feedback data allows faculty to refine the course and programs and institutions to develop stronger alignment to their stated goals.

Lessons Learned from Semiotics

2011 ◽  
pp. 352-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Gannon Cook
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Appreciative Inquiry ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Course Completion ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Positive Experience ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Study Support

The primary purpose of this study is to see if graphic enhancements and navigation could enhance learning and reduce cognitive load to make it easier for at-risk, lower socio-economic, and ethnic self-identity groups of students to have a positive experience in online courses and increase the likelihood they will succeed in online degree programs. Using metaphors, signage, such as parietal art, and icons to provide congruency in the design and navigation of these programs could help students break down inhibitions and mediate new content and technology experiences with their existing knowledge. The study uses appreciative inquiry and development design methodologies to examine whether embedded semiotics and carefully designed metaphors could help students in the online courses feel more comfortable and increase the likelihood of their course completion. The findings of the study support the use of icons, metaphors and other forms of semiotics to transfer and mediate prior knowledge with new content knowledge, particularly in elearning.

MOOCs

2015 ◽  
pp. 1282-1300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Camilleri ◽  
Leonard Busuttil ◽  
Matthew Montebello
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Collective Intelligence ◽  
International Markets ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Social Applications

MOOCs have become a new trend in education, taking the world by storm in 2012. Is this just a fad or is it because of their nature in opening education to the masses? In this chapter, the authors explore how Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) use networks that connect people across the globe to foster education that cannot be replicated in any walled classroom. They illustrate case studies, emphasizing best practice strategies employed as well as lessons learned, in an attempt to understand what makes these courses the new cry in higher education. The authors ask whether the local, European, and international markets are ready to accept these massive, open learning environments and how the transfer and transformation of information occurs during exploits of massive collective intelligence. They address learning that is manifested inside social networks and this can be augmented through the sharing of knowledge within the global community. In this digital economy, the authors look at capturing and harvesting “open knowledge” using means that are accessible to all. Is academia ready for all of this? The authors propose an outline of a journey from the birth of MOOCs to their indicative future directions. The scope of this chapter is that of discussing the role of social networks and social applications in these massive courses, as the authors describe why they think this lies at the root of the courses' success.

Delivering Online Asynchronous IT Courses to High School Students

2011 ◽  
pp. 282-294
Author(s):  
Amy B. Woszczynski
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Asynchronous Learning ◽  
High School Level ◽  
School Students ◽  
Course Content ◽  
The University

As high schools begin to offer more distance learning courses, universities have an opportunity to establish partnerships to deliver online IT courses. Delivering online courses at the high school level, however, means overcoming obstacles that may not be faced at the university level. In particular, establishing partnerships with high schools requires politically savvy navigations of bureaucratic roadblocks while ensuring the integrity of course content and delivery. This chapter provides a primer on establishing relationships with high schools to deliver college-level IT curriculum to high school students in an asynchronous learning environment. We describe the curriculum introduced and discuss some of the challenges faced and the lessons learned.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document