Moving a f2f course online? Learn from our experience as we share our course redesign framework, storyboarding process, assessment design and preliminary research results.
Background
The Geography of Canada course at McMaster had a long tradition of being taught in the face-to-face setting - with over 50 offerings taught by the same well-respected faculty member. The same faculty member was challenged to take this course to an online format as a result of being awarded provincial funding and during the spring/summer 2015 term, 120 students participated in the online course pilot offering of the Geography of Canada course. The team that gathered to create this first iteration were faced with many design and development decisions which have proven to be unique and helpful to those who are designing similar online courses. This presentation will highlight the frameworks and approaches used and give attendees handy tips on what worked well, not only from the experiences of the development team, but also the perspective and experiences of the students, who have participated in an ongoing research study on the course impact.
Course Design & Pedagogical Innovation
The course design process included development of the following:
ï Video lectures: chunked Articulate presentations were distilled through a guided storyboarding process. The lectures used high-quality visuals, including paleogeographic maps and open source images. Timelines and animations were created to provide students with customized regional and historical content.
ï "In the Field" Videos: using a drone camera, the instructor was filmed in the physical settings that he was speaking about. For example, the geographic formations and variations of rock layers along the Niagara Escarpment were illustrated through the use of the drone camera.
ï Assessments: unique online assessments were designed for this online course. One involved students creating their own virtual settlement and detailing how the geographic factors influence their community at various points in history. Another assignment, done in pairs, was two sides of an argument, where students debated an environmental issue (e.g., Athabasca tar sands) using Twitter and other collaborative platforms.
Research
During, and at the conclusion of the course, students were asked for their feedback on all aspects of the course administration, instruction, content delivery methods, learning environment, assessments and learning outcomes. After the course concluded, several students were also interviewed about their experience. This presentation will highlight the results we have obtained during this research in an effort to carve out new, evidence-based directions for online courses at McMaster University, and beyond.
How this presentation will help you?
Handy takeaways include our:
ï Course redesign framework
ï Storyboard process
ï Assessment design & implementation
ï Research results on course experience