How to Write an eCourse: Lesson 2

8/3/2019 How to Write an eCourse: Lesson 2

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©HowtoWriteane-Course:LessonTwo–WritingYourFirstLesson

www.ihaonlinecampus.com

LessonTwo:WritingYourFirstLesson

GoalsforLessonTwo:

• Youwillwritethefirstdraftofyourfirste-courselesson.• Youwillgainallyou’llneedtogoforwardtowriteyourremaininge-courselessons.

MaterialsNeededforLessonTwo:

• e-CourseGroundwork • Anynotesand/ortasksdoneonpaperfromlessonone.• NotebookpaperandpenORawordprocessingwindow• Referencematerialsyou’dliketousewithyourstudents

ApproximateTimeRequiredforLessonTwo:

• 3+hours

TASKONE:Gatherallmaterialsneeded





Welcomeback!

Duringourlastlessonwelaidallofthenecessarygroundworkforwritinganoutstanding

e-course.Inthislessonyou’llbeabletogetintothenitty-grittyofwritingyourfirstlesson

foryoure-course.Allsubsequentlessonpreparationswillfollowwhatyoulearnhere.If

yougetstuckinpreparingfuturelessons,comebackhereandwalkyourselfthroughthe

instructionthatfollows.

I’massumingthatthemajorityofstudentstakingthiscoursehaveaccesstoacomputer,

sincewe’retalkingaboute-courses.JInstructionsinthislessonwillbegivenasthough

completionwilltakeplaceonacomputer.Ifyourcomputerscreenisn’tlargeenoughto

simultaneouslyseeboththeinstructionhereandawordprocessingdocument,Iencourage

youtoprintthislessonsothatyoucanmoreeasilyuseyourcomputertocompletethis

lesson’stasks.

Duringourlastlessonwetalkedabouthowastudent’sunderstandingof objectivesand

purposesetsthemupforsuccessinyourlesson.Anotherstructurethatallowsforstudent

successispatterns.Inatraditionalclassroomthesepatternswouldlooklikeprotocols,or

procedures.Insecondaryclassroomsstudentswanttoknowwheretosit.Inuniversity

settingstheteacherdoesn’ttypicallyassignseating,howeverstudentsdoitontheirown.If

youregularlyattendagathering,thinkforamomentaboutwhereyoutendtosit.It’slikely

thatyousitingenerallythesamespot.Thereasonisbecausehumansarehard-wiredfor

patterns.Wedowellwithconsistency.We’llusethisunderstandingtoaidyourstudents

inlearning.





Thefirstpageofeachlessonoughttolookthesame.Thisisyourfirstpattern.Noticethat

thefirstpageoflessontwofromthise-coursematchesthelayoutandprovidesthesame

typeofinformationaslessonone.Thisisthepatternwe’retalkingabout.

Beforeyoumovetocreatingthisfirstpage,beawareofexactlywhatthisfirstpageisdoing.

Yes,it’spreparingyourstudentstolearn;it’salsothefirsttimeyourstudentswillseeyour

“face.”You’representingyourselftostudents.Howdoyouwantthemtoseeyou?Ifyou

wantthemtotrustyouasorganized,organizeyourpage.Ifyouwantthemtotrustthat

you’reconfident,layyourpageoutinaneasy-to-readmanner.Beawarethatyourfirst

pageisnotonlypreparingstudentstolearnfromthecourse,butyou’repreparingthemto

learnfrom you.Youwilleitherinspire

confidenceordistrustfromstudentsasthey

movethroughyourfirstpageoftext.Youcan

mostlikelyconfirmthistruthfromyourown

experience.Thoughyou’venevermetme,the

authorofthecourseyourparticipatinginnow,

you’velikelyformedopinionsaboutmy

competenceandwhetherI’mteachingyou

correctly.Yourstudentswillnaturallydothesameforyouastheyenterarelationship

withyoure-course.

Nopressure,huh?

TASKTWO:

1. Inanewwordprocessingwindowopenablankdocumentandsaveitas“Lesson1.”

2. Atthetopofthedocumenttypethetitleofyourfirstlesson.(Refertoe-CourseGroundwork .)

3. Designateareasonyourfirstpageforthefollowinginformation:a. Goals/Objectivesofthelesson





b. Materialsneededc. Anythingelseyou’dlikestudentstoknoworhavebeforebeginningthelesson.Optionscouldinclude:

i. Agreetingii. Approximatetimerequirediii. Thepurposeofthelessoniv. Suggestionsforsuccessinthislessonv. Thetaskorassignmenttogatherallrequiredmaterials

4. Donotinclude:a. Anynewinformation.Atthispointyou’renotteaching.You’repreparingstudentstolearn.

Hints:

• Useyourformattingtohelpdelineateareasofinformation.Forexample,onthefirstpagesofthise-courseIindicatenewareasofinformationbycenteringandunderlining

thetext.Seebelow.

• Useyourformattingtohelp

delineatepiecesofinformation.For

example,onthefirstpagesofthise-course

Iindicatenewpiecesofinformationwith

bullets.Seeleft.

• Pickafontstyleandfontsizethat

youplantousethroughoutyoure-course.

Pickafontthat’seasytoread.

• Leaveplentyofwhitespace.Text

surroundedwithwhitespaceismuch

easiertoread.

• ThewayI’veformattedisnotthe

onlyrightway.Dowhatsuitsyou.

Considerusingtables,differentfontsforheadings,textboxes,etc.

LessonTwo:WritingYourFirstLesson

GoalsforLessonTwo:

• Writeyourfirste-courselesson

• Giveyouallyou’llneedtogoforwardtowriteyour

remaininge-courselessons

MaterialsNeededforLessonTwo:

• e-CourseGroundwork

• Anynotesand/ortasksdoneonpaperfromlessonone.

• NotebookpaperandpenORawordprocessingwindow

• Referencematerialsyou’dliketousewithyourstudents

ApproximateTimeRequiredforLessonTwo:

• 1-2hours

TASKONE:Gatherallmaterialsneeded





• (PageBreak)Theroughdraftofpageoneofyoure-courseisdone!Congratulations!

(Didyouthinkitwasyourfinaldraft?AsinyourI’m-donedraft?Noway!Allthingswell-

writtenneededitors!We’llgettothatlater.Fornow,patyourselfontheback.)

Forthenextstepsyou’llneede-CourseGroundwork handy,alongwithanysupplementary

materialstowhichyouwanttoreference.

Ane-courseisuniqueamongteachingformatsbecauseyouhavetowriteeverythingto

yourstudents:instruction(meaningbothinformationanddirections),conversation,

validation.Theon-linesettingisfunandchallenging.

Iwillleadyouthroughaseriesoftasksandquestionsthatwillgiveformtothecontentof

yourfirstlesson.Notalltasksandquestionswillapplytoalle-courseauthors.Movefrom

1-9inorderanddotheonesthatapplytoyou.Ifyou’renotsureifoneappliestoyou,go

aheadanddoit.Examplesareprovidedintextboxes.Theyareexamplesonlyandnotthe

onlyrightwaytodoit.Pleasesaveoften!!

Andlastly,somebasictruthstorememberaboutwritingane-course:

• Asmentionedinlessonone,use“g-rated”storiesandanalogiesthatamajorityofyouraudiencewillunderstand.

• Ifyouuseslang,useonlythatwhichwillbeunderstoodbyyouraudience.• It’sokaytobeplayful!!Butpleaseremember...

o Tonedoesn’tcarrywellinwriting.Forthisreason,stayawayfromsarcasm.Itwillcomeacrossasrudeinsteadoffunnyorplayful.

o Don’tputyourself,thelearner,orothersdown—eveninjest.o Beoptimistic.o Stayprofessional.





• Anysupplementarymaterialyouuseneedstobecited.Citingnotonlymakesyoumorereliableastheteacher,itprotectsyoufromcopyrightinfringement.Forhelponcitation

doanon-linesearchforhowtocite.Thereareaplethoraofsites.

• Ifyouuseafact,stat,orquote,besureit’s100%truebeforeyouuseit.And,ofcourse,citeit.

TASKTHREE:(Movethroughthesestepsoneatatime.Don’treadthemallatonce.Read

step1,stop,thendostep1.Readstep2,stop,thendostep2.Etc.)

1. Reviewtheformattingnotesabove.2. Atthebottomofyourfirstpagetypeandhighlight pagebreak .(Youre-coursewillbeuploadedbyawebmasterwhowillneedtoknowwhereyou’dlikeyourfirst

screentoend.)3. Typeagreetingtoyourstudents,amessagethatremindsthemofwhat

theylearnedinthelastlesson,and

noteaboutwhatthey’lllearninthislesson.Onyourfirstlesson,obviously,you

won’thaveanoteaboutwhatstudentslearnedlasttime.

4. Typeanacknowledgementofyouraudience.Whoareyourstudents?Whatdotheyknow/notknow?Whyarethey

there?(Thisisyourfirst

stepinestablishingthepurposeof

youre-course.)

Welcometoyoure-courseonhowtowriteane-course!I

assumeyou’reherebecauseyouhaveafabulousideafor

ane-courseofyourown.I’mpleasedtojoinwithyouto

guideyouthroughtheprocess.

Youmaybeane-Courseexpert,havingtakenmany

yourself,oryoumaybenewtothisworld.

FormattingNotes

Becausethisisanon-linecourse,formattingmustmeetthatsupportedbythehost.Pleasebe

suretofollowtheguidelinesbelow.(Ifyou’renotsubmittingyoure-coursetoIHAon-line

campus,checkwithyourwebmasteronspecificformattingrequirement.)

• Nowordart

• Usetraditionalfontstyles

• (MoretocomefromIHAwebmasters)





5. Refertoe-CourseGroundwork .LookatyourlistforChapterOne.You’vealreadydecidedonthespecificinformationyouwillpresentandtheorderinwhichyou’ll

presentit.(Yeah!Hardpart’sdone,right?!)Writeanybackgroundinformation

yourstudentsneedtorememberbeforeyouteachthemtheirfirstnewconcept.

Thisiscalledschema.Schemaisthebackgroundagainstwhichwecanlearn

somethingnew.Forexample,ifIwantedtoteachyouabouthomeremediesthat

curesicknesses,Iwouldfirstaskyoutothinkbackonyourownchildhood.Didyour

parentrequireyoutosleepwith ahumidifierwhenyouhadastuffy

nose?Wereearachescuredwith warmoliveoil?Inaskingthis

question,I’veactivatedyourschema.You’reabletobringforwardknowledgeand

opinionsyouhaveaboutthetopicbeforeItellyousomethingnew.

Byactivatingyourstudents’schema,you’rehelpingthembringforwardanything

theyalreadyknowaboutyourtopic.Soagain,writebackgroundinformationyour

studentsneedtorememberbeforeyouteachthemsomethingnew.

• Usingquestionsisreallygoodhere.We’renottalkingaboutrhetoricalquestions,butrealquestionsthatyouwantyourstudentstoreallyanswer,likethe

examplesgivenabove.

• Breakyourwritingintoparagraphs.Youmayhavelearnedinschoolthataparagraphisincompleteifithasfewerthanfour(4)sentences.Trueinmany

cases,butnotine-courses.You’renotwritinganessay.You’rewritinga

conversation.Letyoursentencesflowlikeaconversation.Somesentenceswill

belong,someshort.Someparagraphwillhaveonesentence,othersthree.Go

withit.Remember,thisisaroughdraft.It’snotexpectedtobeperfect—infact,

we’reacknowledgingthatitwon’tbe.





6. Scaffoldingisacrucialcomponentofsuccessfulteaching.Whenanewbuildingisunder

construction,scaffoldingiserectedbeforethe

actualbuildingis.Thescaffoldingonabuildingis

atemporarystructurethatprovidessupportuntil

it’snolongerneeded.Scaffoldinginteachingdoes

thesamething.You,astheinstructor,supportthe

studentatfirst.You’rescaffoldingthem

towardindependencewithyourconcept.

Scaffoldingisaccomplishedthroughagradualreleaseofresponsibility.Here’swhat

itlookslike:First,teachtheconcept.Second,showanexample.Third,doan

examplewiththestudent.Fourth,letthestudentdoitwithoutyou.Inane-world,

someoftheseinteractionsarelimited.Whatyouneedtodoastheinstructorof

youre-courseis:First,teachtheconcept.Second,showanexample.Third,let

thestudentdoitwithoutyou.Ifyoucansomehowincludethestepswhereyoudo

itwiththestudents,thenincludeit.Stepthreeiswhereanassignmentortask

comesin.

7. StartwiththeveryfirstitemyouwroteunderChapterOneone-CourseGroundwork.Teachthisprinciplethenstop.Thenshowanexample.Considerusingastory,a

picture,avideoclip,etc.Thenshop.Thenindicateataskyou’dlikeyourstudentsto

completethatwillallowthemtousewhatyou’vejusttaught.(You’llactuallycreate

thetasks/assignmentsinlessonthree.Fornow,justindicatewhatyou’dlike

studentstodo.It’smorelikeanotetoyourselfatthispoint.)**Notethatyoumay

combinethefirstfewprinciplesonyourlist.That’sjustfine.Forexample:ifthefirstthreeitemsonmylistabouthowtomaketoastare:removebreadfromfridge,

putonepieceofbreadinthetoaster,pushleverontoaster;thenImaywanttotalk

abouttheimportanceofallthreeofthesestepsinoneplacesothatmytask

becomesdo-able.

http://studio3music.com/child-development/scaffolding-your-little-buildings/





8. Afterthetask/assignmenttypeandhighlight pagebreak .

9. Insertapagebreak.(InWordgotoInsert ,Break ,Page)

10. Nowteachyoursecondconceptfollowingthesamepatternofscaffolding:teachtheconcept,showanexample,provideanassignment/task,insertyour pagebreak

reference.

11. ContinueonteachingeachitemunderChapterOne.Foreachitemteachtheconcept ,showanexample,andindicatethetask thatstudentswilldowiththeir

newinformation.

12. WhenyouhavetaughtalloftheconceptsinyourLessonOnelistfrome-CourseGroundwork ,theinstructionpieceofLessonOneisdone.Onyourlastpage,include

thefollowing:

a. Validateyourstudentsfortheirwork.

b. Tellthemwhattheylearnedduringthislesson.

c. Givethemanyhomeworkyou’dlikethemtodobeforethenextlesson.(Notalllessonswillincludethispiece.)

d. Tellthemwhatthey’lllearninthenextlesson.

13. Atthebottomofyourlastpageincludeyour pagebreakreference,buttypeendlessononeinstead.

(PageBreak)

Congratulations!You’velaidthegroundworkforafabulouse-course!

Keepallofthedocumentsyou’vecreatedinthislesson.We’llpickupwiththem

inthenextlessonasyoucreatethefirstlessonofyoure-course.





Congratulationsoncompletingyourroughdraftofyourfirste-courselesson!It’salotof

workandthere’sagoodchancethatyou’vebeensittinginfrontofyourcomputerfor

hours!Itwillbeworthitintheend.

Inthenextlessonwe’lladdresshowtocreateassignmentsforyourstudents.The

assignmentswe’retalkingaboutarealongthelinesofe-CourseGroundwork thatyou

receivedinourfirstlessonANDthetaskswithdirectionsinsertedrightintothelesson,

suchastheonesinthislesson.Youre-coursemayuseoneorbothofthesemethods.

Eitherway,thenextlessonwillhelpyouconstructpowerfulandeffectiveassignmentsfor

yourstudents.

Homework:Goforwardboldlyandconfidentlyasyoudraftyourremaininglessons!

Roughdraftsarenotfinaldrafts,soanythingthatneedstobecleanedup

beforeitmeetsyourstudents,willbe.

Endlessontwo

Documents

How to Write an eCourse: Lesson 2