This session will introduce a guide to help professors think through the various components of online course development. It includes helping implement academic pedagogical principles and technology-enhanced learning; guiding the learning development process from analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation; and assisting faculty with the creation of teaching and learning content in online courses.
It is not uncommon for professors to approach their online class in the same way they approach the traditional classroom, but we know that online courses require pedagogical planning that is a bit different from geophysical courses. We have created a process and guide to help professors think through and plan their online course. We know that COVID-19 caused everyone to start thinking about this, but we’ve been doing this for over 10 years. We have created a program that gives professors the freedom to design their course as they would like, but with parameters that meet the needs of the students and use researched best practices. The role of our Instructional Designers is as a consultant and guide.
This session will cover the steps of this process including how to write meaningful objectives, identify course readings, construct weekly learning activities, plan asynchronous discussion forums, and prepare instructional content. We’ll talk about important items that impact students like course organization, the professor’s online presence, Universal Design for Learning, rubrics, and course policies. Then we’ll discuss best practices including components to add to your syllabus, how many videos to have each week, how early you should publish your course, how often you should reply to a discussion, a timeline for grading, and more.
The best practices shared are informed by higher education research and student surveys. They support our retention and accreditation efforts by promoting the construction of course structures that are easy to navigate and the implementation of reliable expectations concerning faculty presence and assessment.
Participants will share their ideas in a think/pair/share activity, in which they will reflect individually on their current courses and consider how they might incorporate at least one new strategy, then they will share their thoughts with a partner, and then volunteer to share their ideas with the whole group. Time will also be given at the end to ask questions. The presentation and takeaways will be shared with all attendees.