Online Course Development: From an Art to a Craft John Morris Coordinator: Academic Technology...

Online Course Development:From an Art to a Craft

John MorrisCoordinator: Academic Technology

Drexel University – john.morris@drexel.edu

Mike ScheuermannAdjunct Assistant Professor

Drexel University – michael.scheuermann@drexel.edu

Copyright Drexel University, 2001 This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

The Developer’s View

John MorrisCoordinator: Academic Technology

Drexel University – john.morris@drexel.edu

What we AREN’T going to talk about! Course Management

Systems (Feature / Function lists)

Motivating Faculty toward web-based delivery

Educating the administrators about the realities of web-based education

Learning Styles Copyright and

Intellectual Property issues

American Disabilities Act (ADA – access for the challenged)

What we ARE going to talk about! Why “From an Art to a Craft” Background – the “Drexel Experience” Best Practices From an Instructor’s Perspective

Why the Title?

Art – Style, Aesthetics

the creation of beautiful or thought-provoking works, for example, in painting, music, or writing

the techniques used by somebody in a particular field, or the use of those techniques

Craft – Style, Utilitariana profession or activity …,

involving the skillful making of decorative or practical objects by hand

profession or activity that requires skill and training, or experience, or specialized knowledge

A Comparison to Architecture

Frank Lloyd WrightArt: to be admired from afar

Craft: to be useable

Often art isn’t utilitarian and crafts aren’t beautiful

The Bottom Line

We would rather have a well crafted, albeit less aesthetic looking course than have a course that looks great but doesn’t meet expectations in supporting the elearning process.

Course development is typically evolutionary not revolutionary

In the beginning when man In the beginning when man created web-based education, created web-based education, the pedagogy was a formless the pedagogy was a formless void and darkness covered the void and darkness covered the face of the instructor …face of the instructor …

The Formless Void

The exemplars are F2F and interactive CD’s

No Bob Villa, No “Hometime”

No motivation for faculty Too much motivation for

administrations

Lots of technology but not much knowledge about how to use it effectively

No Best Practices Most faculty teach the

way their mentor taught … and many more

The “Drexel Experience” (bce) 1994 - 2000 No centralize support (helpdesk, ID,

development…) Instructional units chose their own CMS (by 2000,

TopClass, Lotus Notes, eCollege and Blackboard were all being used to deliver courses

Various hosting conditions – 3rd party, departmental, CMS Vendors

No consistancy! Pedagogical, Structural, GUI, Quality, Assessment, Best Practices, …

Approximately 85 courses available

The “Drexel Experience” (ce)2000 - Present WebCT established as the platform of choice Support infrastructure established (WebGroup,

helpdesk, hosting, ID, development, mentoring, outreach, training…)

Best Practices established Courses beginning to migrate from other CMS

platforms to WebCT Over 130 courses under WebCT in 12 months Supporting 3 institutions

The Four Basic “Best Practices” Support Content Creation, Navigation and “Look

and Feel”, and Project Management Pedagogy for elearning Course Management

Supporting Content Providers and Instructors Need to have a strong sense of support

Training – WebCT “Boot Camp”, and advanced training sessions

WebGroup mentor program WebGroup development support

Need to have a strong sense of community Online “Designer’s Forum” User Groups

“How To …” and CMS Documentation

Supporting Students

Need to have a strong sense of procedural and technical support Helpdesk (Phone and Online)

Passwords/Logins Procedural Support (access, technology, …) Enrollment Support

Online FAQ’s Example Courses “How to take an Online Course” Help!

Supporting Instructors and Students Need to have a strong sense that the

infrastructure (hardware and software systems such as the network, CMS, email, …) is available 24 x 7 with minimal downtime

Minimal interference from external technology (such as firewalls) that would prevent access to all content.

IT needs to act like an ASP (Service Level Agreements)

Content Creation, Navigation, “Look and Feel” and Project Management Assignment of WebGroup mentor,

SME and Instructor training (e.g. Boot Camp)

Recommendations for organization of content (CMS dependent) Splash page (Instructor & Course Info) New course templates (content

organization based to the type of course being developed)

The “Splash” Page

Instructor Information Address Phone Email Office hours …

Course Information Description Enrollment info Important dates

New Course Templates

Recommended Content Elements (Tools) Syllabus, Calendar, Tech Overview, Discussion,

Email, …, EoC Survey

Recommended Ordering Recommended Naming Direct the “Creative Juices” toward the

content development rather than the Navigation (link to Section 1 of BP doc)

Recommendations – Why?

Nuts and Bolts

When content is placed on the web (within a CMS), file type DOES matter. Not everyone has Word, PowerPoint or

Excel (link to Section 3 of BP doc) Not everyone is on a high speed cable

modem Not everyone is on the outside of a firewall Not everyone is using the same browser Many think AOL IS the Internet

Every decision I make concerning the formatting of content will tend to eliminate some segment of the potential users from being able to access that content.

eLearning Pedagogy

You don’t have to go from completely F2F to completely web-based in one move There are numerous intermediate positions

Choice depends on “final” product We have 4 somewhat loosely bounded categories that

we put courses into

New pedagogical constructs don’t have to be reinvented for each new course (crafted)

Map CMS “Tools” to elements of high quality online instruction

Four Developmental Categories Online Support for F2F Hybrid 1

Simultaneous Synchronous (F2F) and Asynchronous (Remote – web enabled) sections

F2F captured, broadcast and archived No major changes to F2F delivery (except

those that would be normal with online support)

Four Developmental Categories Hybrid 2

Simultaneous Synchronous (F2F) and Asynchronous (Remote – web enabled) sections

F2F captured, broadcast and archived Major changes to F2F delivery

Web Delivered

A Simple PedagogyContent / Context / Practice / Assess

Review content

& context

Practice

Assess

Read, view, listen, interact

Self assessments, interactive exercises, practice problems, case study evaluations, …

Quizzes, Essays, Discussion, Critiques, …

Pedagogies for Web-based CoursesLink to Section 8 of BP doc

Mapping CMS Tools to Elements of InstructionLink to Section 5 of BP doc

Meaningful AssessmentsLink to Section 10 of BP doc

Course ManagementLink to Section 6 of BP doc

Best Practices – a Summary

Evolutionary not revolutionary Not every course should go directly from F2F to the

completely web-based Not every course is suitable for completely web-

based, but most if not all can benefit from web-based support

Not every course has to have a different “look and feel”.

Consistency IS important! Treat your Faculty and Students as Customers –

Support, Support, Support

An Instructor’s View

Mike ScheuermannAdjunct Assistant Professor

Distributed Learning …

will be what we make it – will open up new avenues for student learning – will challenge students from multiple directions – will excite learners when orchestrated properly – will fulfill students in their quest for knowledge – will reward their academic pursuits – will enhance their career development – if students

and educators are dedicated to the effort!

Distributed Learning …

will be what we make it – will open up new avenues for student learning – will challenge students from multiple directions – will excite learners when orchestrated properly – will fulfill students in their quest for knowledge – will reward their academic pursuits – will enhance their career development – if students

and educators are dedicated to the effort!

As Educators We Need to Craft:

learning experiences that are exciting, fresh, and interactive

learning that comes from a number of new directions

approaches that will enhance, broaden, and facilitate student learning and instructor pedagogy

courses that result from significant amounts of work, beyond traditional course delivery methods

challenges that come from students’ heightened self-management component

As Educators We Need to Craft:

learning experiences that are exciting, fresh, and interactive

learning that comes from a number of new directions

approaches that will enhance, broaden, and facilitate student learning and instructor pedagogy

courses that result from significant amounts of work, beyond traditional course delivery methods

challenges that come from students’ heightened self-management component

“Crafter” Skills and Abilities

What will we need to be able to do?

What will we need to be good at?

What challenges await us?

How can we educate effectively?

E-Learning Educators Need to Be Able to:

Communicate Manage time Integrate Be flexible Collaborate Plan Organize Seek feedback

Build learning communities Embrace the tools Utilize technology Use multiple methodologies Network Mentor colleagues Appreciate both the content

and the context

E-Learning Educators Need to Be Able to:

Communicate Manage time Integrate Be flexible Collaborate Plan Organize Seek feedback

Build learning communities Embrace the tools Utilize technology Use multiple methodologies Network Mentor colleagues Appreciate both the content

and the context

We Will Need to Be Good At:

Technology Accepting multi-faceted challenges Dealing with advanced learning approaches Encouraging self-directed learning Thinking quickly / solving problems Dedicating ourselves to the course at hand Utilizing all of the available course features

We Will Need to Be Good At:

Technology Accepting multi-faceted challenges Dealing with advanced learning approaches Encouraging self-directed learning Thinking quickly / solving problems Dedicating ourselves to the course at hand Utilizing all of the available course features

The Challenges We Face:

Participating in the learning community Enabling self-direction and self-motivation Utilizing various courseware components Preparing to do significant amounts of work Crafting meaningful courses for students Interfacing with others Educating in an asynchronous environment

The Challenges We Face:

Participating in the learning community Enabling self-direction and self-motivation Utilizing various courseware components Preparing to do significant amounts of work Crafting meaningful courses for students Interfacing with others Educating in an asynchronous environment

We Can Be Effective by Being:

Multi-dimensional Effective time managers Highly organized, good planners Committed to the content and new approaches Willing to dedicate ourselves to the effort Dedicated to overcome “the separation” Convinced that learning will result

We Can Be Effective by Being:

Multi-dimensional Effective time managers Highly organized, good planners Committed to the content and new approaches Willing to dedicate ourselves to the effort Dedicated to overcome “the separation” Convinced that learning will result

E-Learning Features:

Orientation Courses Electronic Syllabus Synchronous chatroom sessions Asynchronous threaded discussions Electronic resource lists Document Sharing Audio clips / video clips Email capabilities Archived components / printed lectures

E-Learning Features:

Orientation Courses Electronic Syllabus Synchronous chatroom sessions Asynchronous threaded discussions Electronic resource lists Document Sharing Audio clips / video clips Email capabilities Archived components / printed lectures

Start Your ChecklistTake any available orientation course(s) Introduce yourself as the instructorCraft the course electronic syllabusDetail a significant course bibliographyPrepare / record audio clips and video clips Include printable lectures / hyperlinksExamine courseware e-mail capabilitiesPlan your availability / asynchronous threaded

discussionsSchedule your online synchronous chatroom sessionsBecome your institution’s “educator behind the course”

The End

Of a GOOD YEAR!

Q & A