Concerns: Developing materials for a hybrid or completely online course can be very time consuming. It has been suggested that every hour spent developing traditional course materials may be equal to over 2 hours spent developing those same materials for an online course. Additionally, teaching and learning in an online course tends to take more time than a traditional course, particularly when a lot of student interaction and discussion is involved. Therefore, instructors need to be realistic about the time needed for developing, teaching and learning.
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Planning to Teach Online
Things
to keep in mind when developing & teaching an online course
Time
Benefits: Online courses allow instructors
and students to access course materials, assignments and discussion boards
at anytime, and from anywhere. The ability for students to learn when their
schedule allows (whether it be 6:00 am or midnight) is especially important
for students who are busy with work and family obligations.
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Communication
Benefits: Studies have shown that online courses that are
designed to be learner-centered and provide interactive activities allow
for improved communication among students and the instructor. Such environments
contribute to community building and allow for increased student collaboration
outside the classroom. Additionally, online courses run through learning
management systems (such as Blackboard) help the instructor to track student
participation.
Concerns: An often-heard complaint from online students is that they do not get to interact with their instructor and other students enough. Often students feel like they are isolated and going through the course alone, particulalry when courses are not set up to take advantage of the reflective, collaborative nature of discussion boards, chat, etc.
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Student Access
Benefits: Well-designed online courses allow students to access
course documents and materials whenever they need them.
Course schedules can be updated as needed.
Additionally, instructors can post materials and
web links for students who may need to supplement their knowledge in the content
area.
Concerns: Poorly designed course interfaces leave students to search for content and resources, which is why the design of the online course content is so important. Additionally, occasional outages in the learning management system may require students and instructors to wait to get online.
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Managing Assignments and Grades
Benefits: Blackboard provides ways for students to submit assignments, and supplies a secure place for instructors to post student grades. Assignments are “time-stamped” when they are submitted, letting the student and instructor know when the assignment was turned in. Additionally, the student can check his/her grades at any time.
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Technology
- Instructors must decide whether they are technologically able to develop and manage an online course. Not only must an instructor have access to proper technology, he or she must be fairly computer literate in order to manage the course, as well as direct students who have difficulty. This website provides you with a self-assessment, a computer check, and a computer literacy survey to help you evaluate whether online teaching is currently right for you.
- Additionally, instructors should assess their prospective students in terms of computer literacy, technological access, and any possible supplemental software they may need. A proper assessment will help instructors decide how to effectively develop an online course that is learner-centered.
References:
http://teach.ucf.edu/begin/whyteach.html
http://www.edtech.neu.edu/workshops/materials/course/materials/goals/
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Copyright © 2005. Old Dominion University - Center for Learning Technologies. All rights reserved. Local: (757) 683-3172 · Fax: (757) 683-5492 · E-mail: clt@odu.edu Last updated: January 24, 2006 4:14 PM |