Greg Marks Michigan Virtual School & Michigan LearnPort Virtual Challenge: Creating Quality E-Courses

Improved student rates of completion, achievement Credit recovery students are especially important Quality?

A context that works for the student Related to real or desired experience Or at least interesting Show respect for the individual student Pre-assess, allow student to opt-out of some material Offer multiple, alternative approaches (choice) Motivational Framing (Crucial)

The student manipulates the ideas, concepts This is active engagement, review, rehearsal Applying what they have started learning Experiences trial, error, and learning – via feedback Often an ideal place for use of technology Hands-on Practice

Basics of presentation – multiple representations Text Audio Visualizations Different reading levels, conceptualization demands Good instructional design, UDL, differentiation If the learner feels puzzled or confused, that should be a deliberate intention of the instructional design Learner Finds a Fit

Pre-assess to see if the student knows enough – At unit or module level, not entire course – Student then has choice of taking or skipping – Within module, require mastery before allowing advance Throughout: automated variations in questions – Allows the student to take again, with different but equivalent questions – formative use – Minimizes copying answers, cheating Assessment Processes

Highly qualified teachers, but role may vary – As an online instructor: discussing, answering, observing – As a blended instructor: both online and face-to-face time in the school – As a mentor for online students in the school: the local eyes and ears for the online instructor Different instructional skill needed: more diagnostic, individualized, with communication via computer Instructor Presence

Students and schools have strong preference for: – Starting when they want to – Completing when they want to (early or late) – Being able to learn anywhere That flexibility can mean disaster for students without strong study skills and motivation Essential to have pacing guides, and instructor (and on-site mentor) watching Flexibility has a downside for student discussion Pacing

Similar to Units Often 4 or 5 Modules per semester Use pre-assessment to allow student to test out Modules might be ‘independent’, allowing use in any order (not possible with some subjects) Summative assessment within and at end of module – and perhaps little or none at course end Modularization

Alignment with state and national standards Common Core Standards Instructors and other subject matter experts Content input, plus consideration of workload Students Get input on design choices ahead of time Observe workload, other reactions Track completion rate, achievement Guiding Inputs

A deliberate design process Refined based on student outcomes May later update, replace or add modules Increasing flexibility, opportunity to customize Opportunity for more contributors to a course As a Whole

Contact: Key instructional design literature M. David Merrill paper on First Principles of Instruction: Wiggins and McTighe on Understanding by Design: design/ design/ John Bransford, et. al. on How People Learn: URL for PowerPoint, links, and samples Further Information