What It's Like

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Designing Effective Online Courses
Lawrence C. Ragan, Director Instructional Design
and Development Penn States World Campus
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Goals

• To explain/highlight the instructional design
  development process for an effective on-line
  course
• Provide a framework for the IDD process
• QA

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Before You Start

• Goals, Guidelines, and a Few Principles

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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

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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!

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IDD 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.

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Pieces and Parts

• How do I get started?

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

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Pieces and Parts of TL Online
Content

• Content Presentation
• Instruction
• Interactions/dialog
• Student activities/assignments
• Assessment and Evaluation

Learner Support
Assessment Evaluation
Interactions
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Content Presentation Options

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

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Interactions Options

• Asynchronous
• Email
• Threaded discussion board
• Synchronous
• Chat
• Video/audio conferencing

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Student Activity/Assignments

• Low Tech
• Standard course activities
• Paper-based projects
• Hi-tech
• Web-based projects
• CBI/CBT

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Evaluation/Assessment Options

• Creative alternatives (projects, reports,
  research projects)
• Low-stake on-line methods
• Non-proctored online exams
• Proctored online exams
• Proctored exams

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IDD Process

• How do I get started?

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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)

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Examples

• AEE 413
• GIS 5121

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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)

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Interactions

• Who needs to be communicating with whom?
• How frequently?
• Whats optional, whats required?
• Whats the outcome of that interaction?
• Whats the duration of that activity?

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Assignments/Projects

• Whats the frequency/duration?
• How complex are assignments?
• Is there a mix of individual and group?

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Evaluation/Assessment

• How will you know when the students have
  successfully completed work?
• Whats the mix of low and high-stake testing?
• Where and how will exams be administered?
• Whats the grade weight?

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Whats Effective Whats Not?

• Dos and Donts

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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)

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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

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What Doesnt?

• 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
  whats instructionally sound (more)

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What Doesnt Work? (continued)

• Infrequent checking of e-mail
• Falling behind on responding to assignments
• Too much too fast-- assignments and or content
  material
• Inflexible pacing in cohort model

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Online Courses Whats 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

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Challenges and Rewards

• Why go through the hassle?

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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

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Rewards of On-line Learning

• Extending Universitys expertise to under-served
  audiences
• Invigorating TL 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

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Rewards of On-line Learning

• Global perspectives and dialogues
• 1 RewardI can advance my career without
  disengaging from life!

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Program Sampler

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

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Noise Control Engineering

• Content DeliveryTextbooks and CD-ROM delivered
  HTML
• Interactions Discussion - FirstClass,audio
  conferencing
  Projects - FirstClass, MatLab
• Evaluation/AssessmentNon-proctored exams,
  projects

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