how to help faculty developing an online course

by Margaret Tillman 9 min read

Nine Online Course Development Tips.

  • 1. Take advantage of the opportunity to work with an instructional designer. Not all instructors will have access to an instructional designer. If you ...
  • 2. Collaborate with another instructor. Regardless of whether you have the opportunity to work with an instructional designer, look to peers for ideas ...
  • 3. Make sure you are addressing the learning objectives. Always have the course objectives in front of you and match each objective to elements of the ...
  • 4. Match the content to the appropriate format. For variety, workload considerations, and good design, be sure to consider how to best to engage ...

Full Answer

How should Faculty prepare to author an online course?

Faculty who agree to author an online course should be prepared to: Appreciate and use the instructional design process in creating an online course. Work within a schedule and meet stated deadlines. This means that fully half of the course (including assessments and activities) is complete during the first semester of development.

How do I create a successful online course?

Appreciate and use the instructional design process in creating an online course. Work within a schedule and meet stated deadlines. This means that fully half of the course (including assessments and activities) is complete during the first semester of development.

How can I improve the quality of my online courses?

Appreciate the time and energy required to produce online course materials. Be willing to learn and incorporate learning strategies to make content more engaging and effective. Effectively develop course objectives and explain concepts, principles, procedures, etc.

What is the online course development process?

The Online Course Development Process. In contrast to a traditional face-to-face course, the development of an online course in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences is a collaborative effort joining the content expertise of a course author (or several!) with the education expertise of a learning designer.

How do I train faculty to create quality online courses?

How to Train Faculty to Use New Video SoftwareMake training relatable with webcam. ... Explain the entire workflow across tools (not just each separate tool) ... Work with what you have (but plan to get integrated video) ... Skip all-university invites. ... Where do I host training? ... Plan for online-only training, too.More items...

How do you create an effective online course?

5 Tips for Designing Effective Online Courses in 2022Know Your Audience. ... Create Well-Organized Courses / Micro-Learning. ... Make Your Lessons Interactive. ... Incorporate Synchronous and Asynchronous e-Learning Styles. ... Make Content Accessible.

What are five design tips to improve online courses?

5 Tips for Engaging Online Course DesignDevelop Course and Module Learning Goals and Objectives. ... Use Multiple Media for Learning Materials. ... Choose Appropriate Learning Tasks. ... Humanize the Technology. ... Include Multiple Learning Assessments.

How do you structure an online course?

How to Structure Your Online Course?Group Similar Ideas into Modules.A progressive flow that depends on the order.A collection of tips – not dependent on order.Select Type of Content.Organize Online Course by Choosing a Format.Providing Supportive Content to Students.Consistency is Important.Add a Link for Discussions.More items...•

What are the key factors for making an online course effective?

Previous PPIC research has identified five key factors to help ensure student success in online programs:Use a systems approach to course design. ... Provide professional development. ... Set student expectations. ... Create community. ... Take advantage of the online environment.

What makes online courses successful?

Interactive, collaborative environment. Interaction between students, and between student and teacher are critical to promoting deeper learning. Be sure to include interactive lessons, group projects, hands-on labs, class discussions, and private chats that students can use to connect directly with their teacher.

How can we improve this course to make it more effective?

Tips To Improve Online Course EfficacyUse A Good Authoring Tool. ... Use Project Collaboration. ... Utilize Micro-Modules. ... Explain The Course Objective And Outcome. ... Keep The Course Structure Asynchronous. ... Ensure Easy Course Navigation. ... Utilize Multimedia. ... Get And Mention Inputs From Veteran Educationists.More items...•

How do you develop a course program?

To design an effective course, you need to:Consider timing and logistics.Recognize who your students are.Identify the situational constraints.Articulate your learning objectives.Identify potential assessments.Identify appropriate instructional strategies.Plan your course content and schedule.

How do you develop course content?

Here are a few points to be kept in mind while creating the content.Choose Main Topics. Refer to textbooks, research articles, and updated literature for course topics. ... Organize The Structure. ... Develop Content. ... Decide Teaching Methods. ... Develop Evaluation And Assessment Methods.

What is the Office of Digital Learning?

Share what you develop. The Office of Digital Learning team is charged with helping only those faculty members who deliver courses within UA Online. However, they'll also grant access to the online resources to all University of Arizona instructors outside of the program.

Does UA have a Google site?

UA Online's Office of Digital Learning recently launched a new Google Site where it shares guidance on how to build a primer for helping faculty and staff create online courses. While at least one of the resources requires Google permission to view, others are openly available, including the primer framework, samples of course design worksheets, course map templates and a course design inventory checklist for doing continuous improvement.

Do you have to go through the ODL before teaching?

The course modules are optional. No instructor is required to go through them before teaching online. However, there are a few required aspects that nobody involved with ODL can bypass.

It's a Brand New Age, Baby!

If you've been involved in education for any length of time, you may remember the olden days...the Dark Ages...back before students had access to online instruction. Heck, you may even remember the days when there was no such thing as 'online'! Even so, you have probably been well immersed in the world of online learning for a little while now.

I Need Support!

First, let's talk about support for online instructors. There are two types of support - technical, or 'tech' support, and instructional support.

Developing as an Online Instructor

It's interesting... many people believe that online course delivery is exactly like face-to-face delivery, except that it's done on a computer.

When students passively read or consume video or audio lectures they're not actively engaging with the content?

If students are actively involved in working with the content, they will learn more, be more satisfied, and be more successful.

How do people make decisions about credibility?

People make decisions about the credibility of a source based in large part on how the content looks. Whenever you take in information from any source, your brain evaluates that information based on the combination perceived meaning and perceived value. Human beings value things they perceive to be attractive and tend to evaluate them as more trustworthy, professional, and credible. Of all the aspects of visual design, the ones that faculty have control over are layout and graphics. For a good overview visual design basics, see Clean Up Your Mess - A guide to visual design for everyone.

How to be an effective online course instructor?

Appreciate the time and energy required to produce online course materials. Be willing to learn and incorporate learning strategies to make content more engaging and effective. Effectively develop course objectives and explain concepts, principles, procedures, etc. Be accepting of feedback, constructive criticism, and new ideas.

What is a course author?

The course author is a Penn State faculty member who has been selected by his/her academic college or department to serve as the content expert, bringing experience with the subject matter and effective learning strategies to the project. The learning designer, who serves as the faculty member's primary point of contact with ...

What is a learning designer?

The learning designer, who serves as the faculty member's primary point of contact with the learning design team, provides expertise in course design and development, as well as adult and distance education. Learning designers typically have a master's or doctoral degree in education. Faculty who agree to author an online course should be prepared ...

What degree do you need to be a learning designer?

Learning designers typically have a master's or doctoral degree in education. Faculty who agree to author an online course should be prepared to: Appreciate and use the instructional design process in creating an online course. Work within a schedule and meet stated deadlines.

What is the first semester used for?

The first semester is used to generate the raw content for the course, either half of the lessons with their corresponding activities and objectives, or all of the lessons without such activities or assessments.

When is half of a course completed?

This means that fully half of the course (including assessments and activities) is complete during the first semester of development. Alternatively, all of the content (not including the assessments and activities) will be complete by the end of the first semester of development. Partner effectively with a learning design team in the development ...

Why is team development important?

While many factors contribute to the success (or failure) of a project, a team development process requires excellent communication among all team members to ensure that things run smoothly. How that communication takes place will vary from team to team, based on the preferences of the group.

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