August 6, 2010

Happy Friday!

I hope you all have plans to enjoy the weekend ahead....hard to believe how fast summer has gone by. My husband and I are sticking around home this weekend, which rarely happens for us during the summer months....

Anyway, I thought I'd do a second blog post this week for a couple reasons:

• Three weeks from today is the deadline for redevelopment projects, so I thought you may need a little inspiration to keep moving along with your course(s)....
• I ran across a useful article, Ten Best Practices for Teaching Online, that does a great job summarizing much of what we hope to see in the content and design of our courses...plus, any article in the form of a Top Ten List has to be worth reading, right? :-)

Here are few points from the article that I think are particularly applicable, but please take a minute to visit the link and read the whole thing....it's a quick read and worth the time.

• Best Practice 4: Use a variety of large group, small group, and individual work experiences
• Remember that many of our students are working adults...let them share their experiences and knowledge through assignments, class discussions, etc.
• Best Practice 7: Prepare Discussion Posts that Invite Questions, Discussions, Reflections and Responses
• This is so important! If the discussion questions in your course can be answered with "yes" or "no" then they need to be updated! Or, if students are asked to respond to something factual, that only has one right answer (i.e. a math problem), mix things up or find a way to rewrite the discussion topic so there is actually something to discuss.
• Best Practice 8: Focus on content resources and applications and links to current events and examples that are easily accessed from learner's computers.
• Every unit should have "additional resources"....look for news articles/videos, interesting blogs (check the source for reliability), audio lectures available free online (check out Academic Earth), etc....the web has countless opportunities for integrating course material to the world around us.
• Best Practice 10: Plan a good closing and wrap activity for the course.
• Avoid the trap of Unit 12 just being a final exam and easy discussion...find a way to really bring the course to the close for the students - reflecting on an "Aha! moment" or discussing how far they've come in terms of mastering and applying the content can be a good form of closure for everyone.

Thanks for all your hard work - enjoy your weekend! And, as always, contact me with any questions.

Kelly

August 2, 2010

Hello Developers and Happy Monday!

Hard to believe it's August already - I hope you're enjoying these hot summer days....the crisp fall air will be here before we know it!

Those of you developing brand new courses....Today we begin our last week of development - your courses are due to be completed (and ready for peer review) a week from today: Monday, August 9. If you are having any last minute problems with your development, please contact me sooner rather than later...I'll do all I can to help!

Those of you working on redevelopments (lifecycle updates, book changes, edition changes), welcome to the Course Development blog. If you haven't been here before, this blog is aimed at providing development resources and communication regarding online course development here at GEN. Over the years, Amy and Heather have compiled some fantastic resources for developers...I've been adding to the blog for the past quarter and will continue to do so in my role as Manager of Online Course Development. Feel free to use the topics on the right to explore the blog.

I'm going to keep the topic pretty straight forward this week, since I would like all of you focusing on getting a good start (redevelopers) and making a strong finish (new course developers) on your development work: please take time this week to review the Course Development Checklist to ensure that your course is in tip-top shape...ready for peer review and, ultimately, ready for students. Redevelopers, this checklist will come in handy as make changes within your courses - you won't necessarily be checking all these items off, but being familiar with the checklist will help you keep your course order and make any needed updates to the layout/organization of the course material.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Have a great week!

Kelly

Online Course Development Checklist (updated for Fall 2010)

UNIT INTRODUCTIONS AND OBJECTIVES

• Introductions and objectives do not contain such things as unit assignments, due dates, etc. They provide an overview of content learned in the unit.
• Introductions are written in paragraph form
• Objectives are directly beneath introductions and each section is labeled simply with the words Introduction and Objectives.
• Objectives are in number form rather than bulleted
• Unit Dates (HTML Code) is present in each of the units
• There are 12 units for 12 unit masters and 10 units for 10 unit masters; for graduate level courses, there should be 6 units for 6 unit masters and 5 units for 5 unit masters.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

• All Units have a reading assignment labeled “ Reading Assignment”
• The reading assignment description includes the full title of the textbook (in italics)
• The reading assignment description includes the names of the authors and edition of the text
• If a chapter is assigned, the word “chapter” is spelled out completely (not abbreviated “ch”)
• If page numbers are assigned, the word “page” is spelled out completely (not abbreviated “p” or “pg”)
• All reading assignments are appropriate for the level of the course (100 level, 200 level, 300 level, etc.)
• There is some form of a lecture included in every unit (word document, audio lecture, power point presentation, etc.)
• If a reading assignment includes a text from Books 24x7, directions on how to access the text are included

DISCUSSION BOARDS

• Each course unit has at least one discussion board
• If there is more than one discussion board in a unit, they are labeled “ Unit X Discussion Board A,” “Unit X Discussion Board B,” etc.
• Discussion boards are posted within each unit as well as in the Class Discussion area; the discussion board topic is the same in both areas.
• All discussion boards are linked to the grade center. You will know this because it has a “grade” icon (looks like this: ) to the left of the “Modify” button. If it doesn’t, this means the discussion board isn’t linked to the grade center.
• All discussion boards have a Post: and Respond:
• The Post and Respond requirements match the requirements listed in the Course Expectations document found in the Course Expectations and Grading Criteria Folder

ASSIGNMENTS

• All requirements of assignments are clearly described. For example, page requirements, expectations, point values, etc.
• All assignments are labeled “ Assignment”
• If there is more than one assignment in a unit they are labeled “Unit X Assignment A,” “Unit X Assignment B,” etc.
• Assignments are creative and engaging – they are interesting for the students
• If appropriate, a rubric is included for the assignment
• Students are directed to Smarthinking (online tutoring resource) for help/feedback on any research paper assignments

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• If an announcement needs to be made to the students in a unit, it is labeled “Unit X Announcement.” If there is more than one announcement in a unit, they are labeled “Unit X Announcement A” and “Unit X Announcement B.”
• If there are more than three announcements in a unit, they are put in folder titled “Unit X Announcements” or a “Course Packet” or something similar is created.

EXTERNAL LINKS

• All links open in a separate window to comply with copyright regulations
• There are no external links embedded within text; rather, students are directed to the appropriate link in the appropriate additional learning resource folder
• If there is more than one external link in a unit they are grouped into an Additional Learning Resources Folder
• The first letter of each word is capitalized on all external links
• All external links work

COURSE CALENDAR

• The course calendar total points matches the total points in the grade center
• All assignments listed on the course calendar are included in the units as well as in the grade center
• The course calendar is loaded as an HTML document

Miscellaneous Throughout Course

• Each course unit contains a Discussion Board, a Reading Assignment, a lecture item, and at least one External Link or Additional Resource
• All attachments are titled “Click Here”
• All attachments are loaded as HTML documents (where appropriate)
• The word “Week” is avoided and the word “Unit” is used instead
• Abbreviations are used as little as possible
• The course is free of spelling errors
• The course is free of typos and wording errors
• Words in all-caps are used sparingly or not at all
• Students are directed to the GEN Online Library when appropriate
• Assignments in the grade center are in the order they are presented in the course
• Font type/style is consistent throughout every item in the course (use Arial or Times New Roman)
• Any documents added as attachments to assignment directions uploaded as HTML files or, if necessary, are saved as compatible with Office 2003
• Only approved colors are used