I could only imagine that designing online or hybrid courses take a lot of investigation, synthesis of information, and organization of educational materials to help learners achieve the goals and objectives of the courses. I have not had any personal experience in designing a course so; my expectation is that at the end of this course, I will have the confidence and competencies necessary to design a course on my own with all the key components that encompasses a complete online course design. From my previous course content learned from the introduction to online teaching (Nursing 650), and my personal experience with online learning as a student over the past six years, I know that designing an online course will entail solid thinking, creativity, and innovation from the instructor stance. The major focus of concentration is on the course content, student expectations, technology, methods of assessment, and a medium for support and communication for learners and the instructor.
My personal experience with online learning and having seen so many online courses as a student, I know with great certainty that there are certain components important to an online course that must be present. An online course must entail information such as:
1. The type of class whether it is hybrid or online
2. The meeting times and dates
3. The learning objectives and learning outcomes through displaying it in a syllabus and in the course modules
4.Design modules to breakdown course content
5. Presentation of the course materials in an organized, orderly, and logical manner for clarity
6. Ensure that the course material is available to all students, keeping in mind accessibility and students with disabilities
7. The utilization of technology to deliver course content internally and externally
8. The utilization of technology to enhance the course content and stimulate learning
9. The use of blackboard, chalkboard, webCT, video, and other forms of auditory and visual stimulation to meet the needs of a diverse learning community
10. Designing the course content to have the same level
of demands that is comparable to face to face course designs
11. Design course evaluations at midpoint and end of term to gain feedback from learners to promote change, improve teaching strategies, and enhance the learning environment
I find that the instructor includes in the course material information about the expectations for the learners such as participation, methods of grading, methods of feedback and timeframe to offer feedback. The instructor includes assignments such as group projects to build group cooperation and cohesiveness, and enhance learning, presents the course materials in a variety of formats to meet the learning styles of a diverse learning community, and use multiple technologies to stimulate interest and inquiry.
I also noticed that there is alignment of the course assignments with the course objectives, which provide opportunities for learners to utilize concepts learned in the course. The instructor provides the learner with specific websites, clearly communicates the assignments with requirements, and provides access or direction to the resources needed to complete the assignments. I find that in every course taken online the instructor provides the various methods of communication in the course, identify where resources for the course are located, provide resource links, and communicate contact information in an accessible place in the course materials such as the syllabus.
From personal experience as an online student, the expectation is that the learners will use some form of technology to participate in the learning environment, therefore, the use of technology for completion of individual and group project is necessary and important. If an assignment requires the use of technology or a specific technology or software such as “Wimba” or “Wetpaint”, information and instruction, or even demonstration of how the technology works help to support learning and usage.
Designing a course for online instruction is different from face- to-face course instruction because in the online environment, the instructor is not physically present and therefore, ensuring that all the information learners will need is available and at hand is important. Making sure that the online environment has the same opportunity to access the instructor and complete the same course content equivalent to face-to-face learning is highly important in an online learning environment. The instructor utilizes technology as the main vehicle to deliver the course content and therefore clear, organized, and orderly information in an online course room is a mandatory requirement. The instructor also has to pay attention to the form of communication medium for ongoing dialogue for instructor-learner and learner-learner interaction.
I expect the design process for an online course to be different from face to face and more complex because the designer will need to use a variety of technology to deliver course content and the designer must pay attention to the need and demands of a diverse learning group. The experience will be more of a technology challenge because sometimes there will be a need to use certain technology that the designer is not familiar with and hence require learning the use of the technology in order to launch it out to the learners. However, I believe that an instructor can construct an online course by utilizing a face-to-face course design and then converting it to online but seriously paying attention to ensure complete inclusion of course materials and special attention to the individualized learning style of the learning community. There will also be a challenge to ensure an optimal learning environment with ongoing communication online.
Upon completion of this course (Designing Online/Hybrid Courses), I am hoping to achieve all the objectives of the course listed in the course materials. I will use past knowledge of online learning, observation of how online courses are presented by the instructor, utilize learning theorist, consider the diverse learning styles and teaching styles to assist in the experience of designing online course.
The course learning objectives are as follows: The learner will…
1. Identify curriculum design consideration d constraints unique to the online environment
2. Address learning styles and other student variables when designing an online course
3. Design community-building strategies to improve student retention and enhance learning outcomes
4. Select strategies for content deliver to support learning objectives
5. Design student-content interaction that will engage students more deeply with course content
6. Incorporate student-faculty interaction into online course design
7. Design student-student interactions and collaborative experiences for online courses
8. Select appropriate strategies for assessing student learning in online courses
9. Use reflective learning strategies to integrate learning into personal knowledge bases
10. Apply best practice standards to the design and evaluation of online courses
I am hoping to demonstrate achievement of the ten objectives in this course through formative and summative assessment that takes the form of individual and group projects, assignments, and discussions focusing on designing online courses.
I will put forth all the effort necessary to master all of the learning objectives in this course and will unselfishly utilize the knowledge and competencies gained to improve the quality of education for learners in the online learning community.
I am nervous but excited. I am nervous because everything in this course is new and an entire new learning experience and excited because I will learn something new that I will cherish the rest of my life.
Bernadette
Thursday, September 2, 2010
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