Blog Assignment: Setting Up An Online Learning Experience

What is the significance of knowing the technology available to you?

The significance of knowing the technology available to you is huge.  “The primary tool that you will need to become familiar with is the course management system (CMS) that your institution uses.”  (Boettcher & Conrad.  2010.  P.  57)  There is a wide variety of tools and applications available for an online learning experience.  “The best approach for teaching a first online course is to keep it simple.  Focus on the essential tools, and build your first course around those tools.  You can branch out later as you teach the course around those tools.”  (Boettcher & Conrad.  2010.  P.  57)   The instructional environment should be viewed as a system, a relationship among all the components of that system – the instructor, the learners, the material, and the technology.”  (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek.  p. 151. 2012)    

“The scope of the content for a course needs to be sufficient to ensure the entire learning experience will lead to the desired outcomes.”  (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek.  p. 157. 2012)  Also, “the instructor needs to focus on selecting instructional strategies that engage all the learners in active learning”  (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek.  p. 157. 2012) by “de-emphasizing the “informative” part of the instruction for more “discovery” of information.” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek.  p. 159. 2012)  The instructor will need to incorporate media into the training program.  Also, visual information will need to be created.  “Visuals also help learners by simplifying information.”   (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek.  p. 160. 2012)  The use of charts and diagrams are great for understanding course content.  The use of technology, equipment use and resources available to / for students available at a distance. 

Also, technology considerations – when to use and when not to use and finally, choosing a delivery method which can be classroom based, instructor-led synchronous course, instructor-led asynchronous course, learner-led synchronous course or learner-led asynchronous course.  Dr. Piskurich states “activities should provide ample opportunities for online learners to explore on their own.”  (Laureate Education, Inc. "Planning and Designing Online Courses")  Technology considerations, “ensure that the learners and facilitators have access to the technology selected and ensure that the learners will know how to use whatever technology is selected”  (Laureate Education, Inc. "Planning and Designing Online Courses") story board (maps out flow of course into weeks / days & by assignments) (Laureate Education, Inc. " Developing Online Courses") & sitemaps (shows how students will move through the course).  (Laureate Education, Inc. “Developing Online Courses”)  

Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?

It is essential to communicate clear expectations to learners through “clear and unambiguous guidelines about what is expected of learners and what they should expect from an instructor make a significant contribution to ensuring understanding and satisfaction in an online course.”  (Boettcher & Conrad.  2010.  P.  55)  In order for the students to be successful in their online environment and courses, the instructor needs to set out a clear outline of the course and what is expected.  “The online syllabus sets out the overall course plan with performance goals, learning outcomes, and requirements.”  (Boettcher & Conrad.  2010.  P.  64)  Also, teaching guidelines are also helpful.  They are “a set of introductions and guides for each of the course topics and modules and setting out the requirements and specifications for student action and learning.”  (Boettcher & Conrad.  2010.  P.  68)     

What additional considerations should the instructor take into account when setting up an online learning experience?

Additional considerations the instructor should take into account when setting up an online learning experience is regardless of the size of the program, he / she needs to create a clear framework outlining the goals, delivery, and structure of the e-learning program with clear benchmarks for success.  (Moller, Foshay, & Huett. 2008)  Instructional designers will play a key role in the transition of instructional delivery.  The designers will not only assist in the design of courses but also provide much needed leadership.  If learning outcomes in any distance education course are to be maximized, transactional distance needs to be minimized or shortened.  There are components that have to work together to shorten the transactional distance and provide for a meaningful learning experience:  dialog, or interaction between learners and teachers, structure of the instructional programs, and autonomy, or the degree of self-directedness of the learner.  

Many times, instructional designers must work to accommodate a variety of learner and contextual characteristics.  The group to be trained may vary greatly in age, experience and level of interest.  This variety can cause an additional challenge however if they characteristics are considered in advance, accommodations can be made.  As instructional designers we have to decide the best method to design the objective based on the needs assessment of the target audience.  We can reach into our “toolbox and determine the best tool or tools” (Morrison, Ross, Kalman, and Kemp, 2011) to identify the need for instructions, define problems, conduct the learner and contextual analysis, conduct a task analysis and define the instructional objectives.  These tools could be the performance-content models created by Mager and Beach, Gronlund, Merrill, and Bloom.  Each instructional designer should choose the tool that best suits their needs.   An instructional designer should understand the types of objectives and the reason for having objectives during training.  “Objectives are based on the results of the task analysis and provide a refinement and implementation of the needs of and / or goals for a project” (Morrison, Ross, Kalman, and Kemp, 2011).

 

 

References:

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.) "Developing Online Courses".  [Multimedia Webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_3467850_1%26url%3D

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.) "Planning and Designing Online Courses". [Video Webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_3467850_1%26url%3D

Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. Part 2: Higher Education.  Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 52(4), 66-70. doi:10.1007/s11528-008-0179-0

Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. (2011). Designing effective instruction (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.