| Structure |
| Grading |
| Technical Requirements |
| Credits |
The development and increasing growth of the Internet has provided new opportunities for delivering instruction and has allowed educators to offer courses in a more convenient and flexible environment. In countries around the world, the widespread penetration of the Internet has increased the demand for courses to be offered online, and many organizations and institutions are now offering entire educational programs over the web in a variety of fields
Experience has shown that online courses can provide the same opportunities for the teaching and learning process as those associated with traditional classrooms but only if teachers learn and apply new teaching skills and if their courses are designed with online delivery in mind. Online teachers need a variety of talents and abilities. Some distance education courses require the teacher to be course planners, instructional designers, technical experts, writers, or editors and troubleshooters when technical equipment fails. These skills are not part of teaching in the traditional sense of the word, but may be necessary in online education.
Giving teachers
these skills is the main goal of this course. Participants will have the
opportunity to actively participate in a real online course and learn
first hand about the tools and challenges associated with this educational
approach and also about the strategies an online instructor can use to
overcome these challenges. Additionally, participants will learn how to
effectively create a plan for the implementation of a unique online course
as well as to develop online instructional modules and lessons.
"eLearning Course Design and Facilitation" has been designed to give participants the experience and skills required to design and deliver quality online educational opportunities. Specifically, participants in this course will learn:
- How to use the tools most commonly used in an online learning environment.
- The basic
concepts of Internet-based applications and eLearning and what it takes
to succeed in an online course.
- What is
expected of an online course facilitator, proven facilitation strategies
and how to deal with common facilitation problems.
- How to design and develop an effective online course.
In this course,
registered participants will receive advice and guidance from experienced
course facilitators and also be able to communicate with and learn from
other registered classmates. Students will be introduced to supplemental
online information about online course design and facilitation and encourage
to explore the vast amount of online information now available on this
topic.
The course runs for 6 weeks and during that time students will be expected to work through 4 modules and complete 11 assignments. Registered learners should be prepared to allocate approximately 5 hours of work per week over the 6 weeks during which the course is offered. This time is required to read the lessons, visit and read the recommended sites, participate in the online class discussions and complete the assignments.
The course format is quite flexible in that it allows participants to work on the lessons at the times they find most convenient. However, it is also structured in that participants are expected to follow a schedule and keep up with the rest of the class. Matching your pace with that of the rest of the class makes everyone's job much easier and productive.
Working through
the various modules requires a combination of self-study, interaction
with your classmates and course facilitators and the submission of required
assignments. Modules are divided into lessons and each module has at least
one associated assignment. The schedule for the 4 modules and corresponding
learning objectives can be found in the table below:
| Week | Module | Objective |
| Week 1 | 1. eLearning Tools | Learn how to use a range of eLearning tools to understand content, get to know your classmates and facilitators, discuss topics and submit large assignments. |
| Week 2 | 2. Introduction to the Internet and Online Learning | Learn some basic information about the Internet and online learning as well as some tips on how to succeed in an online course. |
| Week 3 | 3. Facilitating Online Courses | Learn what is expected of an online course facilitator and some tips on how to go about this task. |
| Weeks 4, 5 & 6 | 4: Instructional Design of an Online Course | Design and develop your own complete online course or a significant component of one. |
The course has a comprehensive assortment of tools that encourage and allow interaction between classmates and between course facilitators and learners. Tools include an email program, an address list, upload file facility and links to the various electronic discussion boards associated with the course. In addition, students can easily check on their progress and accomplishments by visiting the automated progress report utility.
This course
is designed to give teachers the confidence and skills required to design,
develop and facilitate online courses. It is expected that participants
in this course will have some responsibilities for teaching online and/or
to produce materials that can be used in an online teaching environment.
Participants should have access to an Internet connected computer, basic
computer skills (email, Web browser and file management) and a good understanding
of English.
Experience tells us that grading can be a powerful motivating factor and a good way to provide feedback on participant performance. Soon after submission, facilitators will evaluate participant assignments and post their assessment on the student's online progress report along with comments on why they graded as they did and what can be done to improve the grade. Participants are then given the opportunity to improve their grade by reworking and resubmitting assignments. Grading categories used in this course include - "Emerging", "Competent" and "Exemplary". Additionally, for partial submissions, facilitators may award an "Incomplete".
The table below indicates the criteria and attributes used to assess assignments.
|
GRADE
|
|||
| ATTRIBUTE | EMERGING | COMPETENT | EXEMPLARY |
| Investigate & Research | Little inquiry. Limited knowledge shown. | Explores topic with curiosity. Adequate knowledge from variety of sources displayed. | Knowledge base displays scope, thoroughness, and quality. |
| Analyze & Examine | Separates into few parts. Detects few connections or patterns. | Sifts and organizes information. Detects patterns. Connects information to explain the topic. | Prospects for patterns and connections. Uses plans or models to explain the nature of the whole topic. |
| Construct & Synthesize | Applies little information. Combines few facts or ideas. Needs more development. | Assembles and combines new knowledge to form a coherent whole. | Combines facts and ideas to create new knowledge that is comprehensive and significant. |
| Reflect & Interpret | Conceives few ideas. Draws few inferences. The meaning of the topic is vague. | Uses perspectives and insights to explain relationships. Reflects real life. | Point of view reveals meaning of topic with insight into its significance. Applies to real life. |
Courses are
designed to be as easy to access and take advantage of as possible - whatever
the participant's technical circumstances may be. However, the learning
experience will be much more enjoyable if hardware and software meet certain
minimum standards. For this course we recommend that participants have:
- A computer running Windows 95, 98, 200, NT or ME.
- An Internet connection (either dialup at 56 Kbps or through a corporate LAN)
- An email account (either Web-based or POP but one that can handle attachments)
- A Web browser. It is highly recommend that you use IE v5.5, Netscape 6.0 or later or Mozilla Firefox 1.0. Additionally, Javascript must be enabled.
- A Flash 6 Plug-in for your browser
- Additional software recommended by your instructor. This includes a word processing program and Adobe Acrobat Reader
This course was designed and written by Robert T. Raab and Buenafe R. Abdon of the "Sustainable Development eLearning Network". Programming and course site development was done by Alexander Cosico.