Designing Effective Online Courses Lawrence C. Ragan, Director Instructional Design and Development Penn State’s World Campus

Goals To explain/highlight the instructional design & development process for an effective on-line course Provide a framework for the ID&D process Q&A

Before You Start Goals, Guidelines, and a Few Principles

Goal of the Online Course Enables the students to reach the learning objectives of the course Supports the teaching process and... is cost efficient and learning effective Enables success for both teacher and student

Design Guidelines Consider the needs of your learner Use EACH technology appropriately to support the instructional system Consider new pedagogy (new relationships) Stay flexible Have fun!

ID&D Guiding Principles be efficient in the presentation of content, activate appropriate levels of interaction, and... be effective (and creative) in the use of measurement and evaluation techniques.

Pieces and Parts How do I get started?

Can you get there from here? Classroom Model Online Model Step 1

Where are you now? What materials do you already have developed? What pedagogy works for you in the classroom? What would you like to do differently online?

Content Learner Support Interactions Assessment Evaluation Pieces and Parts of T&L Online Content Presentation Instruction Interactions/dialog Student activities/assignments Assessment and Evaluation

Content Presentation Options Text materials (books, journals, study guides, reading packets) Audio/video (standard or streamed) Web-based communications systems

Interactions Options Asynchronous Threaded discussion board Synchronous Chat Video/audio conferencing

Student Activity/Assignments Low Tech –Standard course activities –Paper-based projects Hi-tech –Web-based projects –CBI/CBT

Evaluation/Assessment Options Creative alternatives (projects, reports, research projects) Low-stake on-line methods Non-proctored online exams Proctored online exams Proctored exams

ID&D Process How do I get started?

Define the ID Model Map out the sequence of instructional events including: – How will lesson content and instruction be delivered? –Where/when will interactions occur? –What will be the student activities? – What evaluation strategies will be used (freq/type)

Examples AEE 413 GIS 5121

Content Generate or locate content resources (no small task) Be creative (grad students, external sites-publishers, colleagues) Identify additional materials necessary Establish review process (if possible)

Interactions Who needs to be communicating with whom? How frequently? What’s optional, what’s required? What’s the outcome of that interaction? What’s the duration of that activity?

Assignments/Projects What’s the frequency/duration? How complex are assignments? Is there a mix of individual and group?

Evaluation/Assessment How will you know when the students have successfully completed work? What’s the mix of low and high-stake testing? Where and how will exams be administered? What’s the grade weight?

What’s Effective & What’s Not? Dos and Don’ts

What Works for Adult Learners? Application of theory (how can I use this in my work?) Immediate engagement Technical support Timely, personalized, meaningful feedback and interaction (more)

What Works? (continued) Flexible of content media Interaction w/peers and faculty Appropriate mix of individual and group assignments Clear and concise instructions Flexibility of assignments

What Doesn’t? Mismatch between audience technology access/ability & technology requirements Mismatch of faculty teaching style and technology selected for course Doing things because “it can be done” rather than what’s instructionally sound (more)

What Doesn’t Work? (continued) Infrequent checking of Falling behind on responding to assignments Too much too fast-- assignments and or content material Inflexible pacing in cohort model

Online Courses: What’s Different? “Classroom” not a place but a state of mind Resource-based rather than event-based Dynamics of the learning environment Role of instructor Diverse global audience Technology requirements and multiple media considerations

Challenges and Rewards Why go through the hassle?

Challenges of On-line Learning Learner expectations & barriers Getting started Bridging the distance (“the loneliness of the long-distance learner”) Self-motivation and stamina Time commitment for student and faculty

Rewards of On-line Learning Extending University’s expertise to under-served audiences Invigorating T&L experience Flexible study schedule Personal one-on-one relationships Access to previously unavailable programs and a “second chance” at academic success Global perspectives and dialogues

Rewards of On-line Learning Global perspectives and dialogues #1 Reward: “I can advance my career without disengaging from life!”

Program Sampler Noise Control Engineering Reliability Engineering Geographic Information Sciences/Systems Turf Grass Management Chemical Dependency Counseling Educational Technology

 Content Delivery: Textbooks and CD-ROM delivered HTML  Interactions: Discussion - FirstClass,audio conferencing Projects - FirstClass, MatLab  Evaluation/Assessment: Non-proctored exams, projects Noise Control Engineering