How to Write an eCourse: Lesson 1

8/3/2019 How to Write an eCourse: Lesson 1

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How to Write an e-Course: Lesson One Laying Your e-Course Groundworkwww.ihaonlinecampus.com

Lesson One: Laying Your e-Course Groundwork

Welcome to your e-Course on how to write an e-Course! I assume youre here because you

have a fabulous idea for an e-Course of your own. Im pleased to join with you to guide you

through the process.

Goals for This e-Course: You will write a solid, effective first lesson of your e-course. You will construct the assignments that go with the first lesson of your e-course. You will have a clear understanding regarding how to go forward in writing the

remainder of your e-course.

Goals for Lesson One: Do the pre-work required for writing an e-Course Organize your thoughts Outline the e-Course

Materials Needed for Lesson One: e-Course Groundwork Notebook paper and pen OR a word processing window Reference materials youd like to use with your students If youre working on notebook paper : Tape

TASK ONE:Gather all materials needed

Approximate Time Required for Lesson One: 1-2 hours (Page Break)


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You may be an e-course expert, having taken many yourself, or you may be new to this

world. So that we begin with shared understanding, lets define what an e-course is, and, as

importantly, what it is not.

What an e-course is: A class or subject like the kind you took in school.Think of a math class. At the beginning

of the year you learned to add, then later you learned to

multiply. Your teacher, of course, knew more about math

than adding and multiplying, however, s/he taught you only

what you needed to know to accomplish the goals of the

course.

A series of mini-lessons with goals and assignments . In

your math class on day one you were introduced to the + sign.

The next day you learned what the sign could do and you

practiced with your teacher. The following day your teacher

assigned you to try adding on your own. By day three, your

teacher had taken you through three lessons. Thats what a typical e-course is. It is a

short series of lessons landmarked with tasks, or assignments , for the learner to

complete. Its through assignments that ask the student to apply the knowledge youre

teaching that learning is solidified.

What an e-course isnt: An essay or series of essays. You learned in math by doing. Thats what an e-course is too.

An instructor provides information and scaffolding so that the student can apply

learning on their own. A teacher teaches, then gives students tasks to complete

using what theyve just learned.

(Page Break)

Identifying Your Learners


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You have understanding surrounding a topic that others would also like to understand. As

you approach your e-course, its vital to be aware of the knowledge that your students

already posses in regards to your topic. The base knowledge of your students may be very

basic; or they may be coming to you with misconceptions and/or biases; or they may know

quite a bit about your topic; or they may teach your topic themselves. Before embarking on

this teaching journey, you have to identify your students. This step is crucial because it will

help you filter the information you plan to teach. If your students are novices, youll

necessarily need to set aside many of the more complex concepts you love. If your students

are more experienced, youll need to move quickly through any background information in

order to meet your students at their level.

TASK TWO:

1. Fill in rows 1 and 2 one-Course Groundwork . Be clear and specific. If you

need to come back and change anything later, you can.

Example:

Topic How to write an e-Course

Audience

Those who wish to write a successful e-Course on a specific topic Some with basic writing experience and confidence Some with very little formal writing experience nor confidence

Some with formal teaching experience Some with very little formal teaching experience

If you find that identifying your audience is hard, it may be because you feel that one

specific audience may limit the information youd like to share. For example, perhaps I feel

that Id like to include instruction in this course regarding specific educational protocols,

but that a more entry-level student may not be interested in, or ready for, this information.

Its good to be aware of this and account for it. Consider starting a list of potential e-

courses youd like to teach in the future. This will give you a place to put the more complextopics youd like to explore with students; save it for a future course. Teach entry-level

concepts to entry-level students. Reserve more heady elements of your expertise for a

course directed to those students.

(Page Break)


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The next step is imperative for your success as an e-course instructor. We must

acknowledge that organization is absolutely essential in writing an e-course . A teacher

may have knowledge, however if it isnt presented in an orderly, clear manner, learning will

not take place.

Imagine your home and then imagine a brand-new restaurant on the other side of town.

You may want to go to the restaurant, however if city planners constructed roads that go in

circles, are too narrow or unsafe for cars/bikes/people to pass through, and if the

restaurant doesn't have bike racks or a parking lot, chances are that you wont go to try out

this new menu. Having a destination isnt enough. Its essential that you, as the teacher, lay

roads that are wide, straight, open, and clearly marked so that your students can easily

travel to the destination. The two greatest factors in the success of your e-course will be

your organization and your knowledge.

With the import of organization in mind, the next step may seem daunting, but if we break

it into pieces and do it together, its not a big deal, yet its invaluable in helping you to

organize where youll go next.

TASK THREE: (Read these directions all the way through before beginning.)1. Set a timer for five (5) minutes.

2. On your notebook paper or your e-Course Groundwork document (if

youre typing into it), youre going to generate a list of all of the

elements of your topic that youd like to teach to the audience indicated

in your e-Course Groundwork document. Be as specific as you can and

allow your list to be as long as it needs to be.


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Hints: Dont worry about spelling/grammar. Dont worry about the order of the contents on your list. Write in fragments instead of complete sentences. Think about the background knowledge with which your audience is

coming. Once you begin writing, dont let your pen/fingers stop. If your ideas run dry, write, More ideas are coming. Write it 10 times if

you have to. Eventually more specific ideas will come. If you follow this

protocol, youll generate a fairly complete list. You may find it helpful to use bullet points or a numbered list.

Example: (The brainstorm section here contains only a short snippet of my full brainstorm.

The full brainstorm ended up being 1 pages in length.)

TASKTWO

Topic How to write an e-Course

Audience

Those who wish to write a successful e-Course on a specifictopic

Some with basic writing experience and confidence Some with very little formal writing experience nor confidence Some with formal teaching experience Some with very little formal teaching experience

TASKTHREE Brainstorm

1. Brainstorm2. Anticipate their questions3. List big topics and break them down into smaller pieces4. Teaching someone with zero expertise on something youve had

years to understand5. Scaffold every teachinga. Give them something to do6. Not an essay7. Lesson chunks are determined by skills. One skill = one lesson8. Make examples understandable by people from many

backgrounds and experiences9. Activate schema

a. Prepare for learningb. Present the learningc. Reinforce the learning

Ill see you in five minutes.J

(Page Break)


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Welcome back! How did it go? I wish I could hear your answer J


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Now youre ready to filter into individual lessons the information youd like to teach.

TASK FOUR:(If you created your brainstorming list on notebook paper . . . )

1. Cut (yes, with scissors) your list into strips, each

idea you wrote being on its own strip.

2. On another piece of paper write Lesson One,

Lesson Two, etc. up toLesson Eight . (It may not be that you end up needing

eight lessons. Thats okay. At this point youre giving yourself options.

Well whittle your e-course to the appropriate number of lessons later.)

3. Next to or under each lesson label, write the tentative title of this specific

lesson. For example: In this e-course I wrote,Lesson One: Groundwork .

Youll be able to change these titles as you need/want to.

4. Cut the lesson labels into strips.

5. Rub the little red spots on your fingers from your scissors if you need to.J

6. On the floor or on a large, clear table spread out your lesson labels.

7. Take each brainstorming strip and place it under a lesson label.

Hints:

Allow the lessons to grow in complexity, meaning, place the most basicinformation under Lesson One and the most complex information under

Lesson Eight . Place like-information together. For example, if youre teaching about

plant care, place all information about watering containers together.

Take your time .


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(If you created your brainstorming list on e-Course Groundwork . . . )

1. Open a new word processing window. Arrange the windows on your

computer so that you can see both your new document and your

brainstorm.

2. Save your new document as Lesson Organization .

3. On Lesson Organization create a table with eight boxes. Label each box,

Lesson One, Lesson Two, etc. up toLesson Eight . (It may not be that you end

up needing eight lessons. Thats okay. At this point youre giving yourself

options. Well whittle your e-course to the appropriate number of lessons

later.)

4. Next to or under each lesson label, write the tentative title of this specific

lesson. For example: In this e-course I wrote,Lesson One: Groundwork .

(Youll be able to change these titles as you need/want to.)

5. Drag each individual brainstorming bullet over to your table and place it

under the appropriate lesson label.

6. When youre done, copy and paste your lesson organization table intoyour e-Course Groundwork document.

Hints: If you want to keep your brainstorming list and create your lesson

organization, you may need to copy and paste instead of drag. Allow the lessons to grow in complexity, meaning, place the most basic

information under Lesson One and the most complex information under

Lesson Eight .

Place like-information together. For example, if youre teaching about

plant care, place all information about watering containers together.

Take your time . (Page Break)


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Youve now got a rough outline for tentative lessons. We need to make your lesson titles

and the information in that lesson more concrete and permanent. We also may need to

slim down the number of lessons in your e-course from eight to a more appropriate

number.

Go down the following task list in order. Do as many of these tasks as you need to. In

writing the e-course youre taking, I did them all. Allow yourself to be meticulous here .

Take your time .

TASK FIVE:

1. Read through the items in each list and move any that you need to.

2. Re-label the lesson titles.

3. Add additional lesson content that youve thought of since doing your brainstorm.

4. If you have two consecutive lessons with few items each, consider combining them

into one lesson.

5. If you have a lesson with a lot more items in it than the

others, consider breaking it into two lessons. Create a

new lesson label with title as needed and slide the appropriate content into position.

6. Take your number of lessons from eight to whatever number is more appropriate.7. Go though each list and order the contents logically. So, take the most basic

information and put it at the top of the list. Structure the list so that it grows more

complex as it descends. If youre teaching a process or skill, order your content

according to what your student will do first, second, etc. As you do this, remove

anything content you decide you dont need or that is redundant.

8. *** If your lists are on the floor or table, either run a long strip of tape from the

lesson label to the last strip of content, or paperclip your list in order with the lessonlabel on top. This will help keep your list in order. Youll be referring to this list

again later.

(Page Break)


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How did it go? I hope that you have organized, fairly completed lists and that youre

beginning to see the first glimmers of your e-course taking shape. Before youre ready to

begin drafting your first lesson, there are a few more things to be done.

As a career educator, Ive spent many years in classrooms. During this time Ive learned

first-hand that what educational researchers say is true, students need to know both the

objective (what theyll learn) and purpose (why theyll learn it) of a lessonbefore they

begin. If you allow students to see the end from the beginning, your learning rate will be

much higher than if you go with the just-trust-me approach.

Objectives

If you think about the e-course youre taking now, we began on page one withGoals for This

e-Course and Goals for Lesson One. These goals are the objectives. Presenting you with the

goals/objectives before we began allowed you, the learner, to see exactly where we would

be going. It showed you what to expect. When you read those objectives, you most likely

had an emotional and logical reaction as you acknowledged either, Yes, this is what I want

to learn, or This may not be what Im looking for. Either way, it allowed you to

understand the direction and to become an active learner.

Purpose

At each point along the way youve been completing tasks, or steps in the process of writing

an e-course. Before each task I explained why the particular assignment was important

and what it accomplished. These explanations are the purposes. It allows the learner to

see the tasks as important in their learning. It shows them that their time and efforts will

take them closer to the objectives, or goals, they are moving toward. Presenting the

purpose to your students erases the possibility of the dreaded busy work label. Ugh.

The next step for you in writing your e-course is to define the objectives for each lesson

youve outlined. The easiest way to do this is to complete the sentence, By the end of this

lesson students will be able to . . . . Notice that the sentence says students willbe able


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to , which implies a new skill. Youre teaching knowledge. What do you want your

students to be able to do with their new knowledge?

There is not a set number of objectives that are appropriate for any given lesson. Most

lessons that Ive worked with have objectives ranging in number from about 3-7.

TASK SIX: (If youre working with notebook paper . . . )

1. Record the lesson title and objectives for each lesson on e-Course

Groundwork in the areas

indicated.

(If youre working with a computer . . . )

1. Either record the lesson title and objectives for each one on your e-Course

Groundwork document in the areas indicated, or add your objectives to your

table. Be sure to begin your objectives with Students will be able to . . . .

You should already have your lesson titles in place on your table.

(Page Break)


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You are laying a solid foundation for an outstanding e-course. The groundwork youre

placing will create success in your classroom.

The last thing to do is to return to the lists youve created one more time. This time, go

with the supplementary materials you want to reference, the stories you want to tell, the

analogies you want to share, etc. You wont be creating a comprehensive listyoull

always be able to add to or take from it later.

TASK SEVEN: (If youre working with notebook paper . . . )

1. On individual strips of paper write individual supplementary materials.

2. On the same strip record the source from which your information comes.

3. Include a page number or file name so that you can easily locate it later.

4. Tape the strip to the side of the content/objective with which youd like

to use it.

(If youre working with a computer . . . )

1. Either record the supplementary materials next to your lesson add your

supplementary materials to your table.

2. Record the source from which your information comes.3. Include a page number or file name so that you can easily locate the

supplementary material later when youre writing the lesson.


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Hints: Youre writing to an audience of very diverse backgrounds and

experience. Use stories and analogies to which a large majority of

people will relate. Steer clear of anything politically, religiously, or

sexually basedeven in jest. Keep supplementary materials g-rated. Having sources for your information will give you validity, as well as

protect you from copyright infringement. If you use a quote, statistic,

fact, etc. provide a citation. Common knowledge does not need to be

cited. (Examples of common knowledge: the barometer drops before

a storm; self-talk can drastically affect emotions; joints can be

affected by high-impact exercise.)

Congratulations! Youve laid the groundwork for a fabulous e-course!

Keep all of the documents youve created in this lesson. Well pick up with them in the next

lesson as you create the first lesson of your e-course.

End lesson one

Documents

How to Write an eCourse: Lesson 1