Avoiding The Unintended Consequences Of On Line Course Delivery
1 like197 views
This document provides tips for designing online courses to avoid unintended consequences. It recommends establishing an instructor presence through contact details. The course design should have a clear homepage, syllabus, content, assignments, tests, and communication tools. Discussions and assignments need clear formats and due dates to prevent issues. Tests should be frequent, timed, and protected from copying. Group work requires guidelines to avoid free-riding. Chats, calendars and documentation provide structure. Rubrics and dual grading tracks offer flexibility. Links, dates and instructions must be checked for accuracy. Gathering student feedback on the course design helps improve quality.
Avoiding The Unintended Consequences Of On Line Course Delivery
- 1. Avoiding the Unintended Consequences of On-line Course Delivery Richard A. Smith, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor and Instructional Technology Program Coordinator School of Education University of Houston-Clear Lake Caroline M. Crawford, Ed.D. Associate Professor, Instructional Technology School of Education University of Houston-Clear Lake Greater Houston Education Collaboration UH ATT Technology Lab April 13, 2007
- 2. Establish Your Presence Provide all your contact information Identify the best way to contact you email? Phone? Use your office phone cell phone- your “call” - I would buy a 2nd phone with a monthly contract-just for course contacts
- 3. Establish Your Presence Web course lack of good instructional design more obvious than in a f2f course, hence
- 4. Establish Your Presence Provide a guide to the course Explains how the course is designed location of topics content tests uploading assignments
- 5. Course Design Provide a homepage that is self-explanatory
- 6. Basic Course Design Read me-course directions Syllabus Content Assignment Tool or submit procedure Email
- 7. Intermediate Course Design Add Discussions Calendar Chat/white board Tests Student homepages
- 8. Advanced Course Design Add Custom instructor designed PPTs Camtasia/CamStudio custom instruction Video commentary Flash animation Units to lessons/classes
- 9. Appearance-Organization Keep it simple
- 10. Appearance-Organization Overview Assignments Rubrics
- 11. Assignments - Due Dates Set due dates Keep to your due dates Penalties for late submission This is can lead to complications
- 12. Discussions Free form discussions can be a problem Provide a format for your discussion
- 13. Discussions – Due Dates Set an initial post date Do not accept after that date The remaining time is for the response post
- 14. Discussions – Prevent Plagiarism Keep the discussion topics unique This causes the response posts to be unique
- 15. Tests For quick evaluation use true/false or multiple choice Use frequent tests Do not depend on mid-term and final exams only Randomize quiz questions Consider using textbook test databank
- 16. Tests Tests are in essence open book Severely limit test taking time Protect test from being copied Prevent print screens, or Simple copy and paste Do not allow students to return to a question once answered
- 17. Group Work Brings the same lazy student problem as in f2f classes Can have students grade their group members level of participation Can review the chat logs, assuming that they are using the chat feature
- 18. Chats Use chat tool for student initiated chats Do not set strict times and requirements for chats not all students can participate at set time if you participate, that will create a set of problems for you
- 19. Calendar If you have an Assignment Tool feature You can skip the calendar or, Provide minimal detail on the calendar
- 20. Course Documentation Provide detailed instructions for other teachers Provide additional resources Rubrics for downloading and grading students PowerPoint presentations
- 21. Rubrics Good for standardizing grading Allow room for your gut feeling about a submission Speeds up grading
- 22. Dual Track Choose your life style Track One Maximum Grade is a “B” Have an easy semester Track Two Maximum Grade is an “A” Gotta work Endorsed by my students
- 23. Look at Your Links Links to Internet Sources Die Change content, design etc. Check those links before the semester starts
- 24. Instructor Response Time Instructor evaluation is largely dependent upon speed of response to email, etc. Monitor email Respond on the same day of inquiry or within hours
- 25. Before You Release Your Course Make certain syllabus dates are current calendar dates are correct & match Assignment Tool dates Assignments have been released to students Quiz release dates & times are correct
- 26. Catch Those Mistakes You cannot instantly correct in an on-line course Unclear directions, typos, (broken links) produce Student resentment Angry emails Adult students wonder why they are paying for low quality
- 27. Ask Students to Evaluate Your Course Design Can call it a “Course Reflection” Emphasize they evaluate the course design, not you
- 29. end
Editor's Notes
- #23: An automated process I particularly appreciated was an Advanced Web Design class taught by Dr. Kidney in 2004 as an on-line course. Management of Computer Resources is my eighth and final on-line class at the University of Houston Clear Lake. I have enjoyed five face to face classes as well.What I particularly liked about his course was the rapid identification of learner characteristics and goals. By design, he created a dual track experience geared for either the typical student experience or the challenge student experience. Those choosing the typical assignments and completing the work could expect a B in the course, but those who wanted to put in extraordinary time and effort could pick the A plan. I personally liked the A plan because it directly applied to my job skills, and I preferred to spend the time and effort to get everything I could from it. One of my peers preferred the B plan due to schedule demands, and her desire to concentrate on other demands. We all enjoyed the class, custom designed for the needs of the students. The same core elements were required, but Dr. Kidney recognized not all students were looking for the same thing in his classes. A possible improvement could be to further define learner characteristics and goals prior to each class, to further refine content and practice, within the scope of the course.