Online Course Design

Instructional Design, Illinois Online Network
http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/id/index.asp

An ever-changing collection of articles related to teaching online (including Tip of the Month), basic resources, and spotlight issues. As this site is well-maintained, it is worth occasionally checking in to see if new material has been added.

17 Elements of Good Online Courses
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/online/web-elem.htm

The page lists basic elements of an effective online course, which is based on the author’s own experiences in course development, writing, and research.

Instructional Strategies for Online Courses
http://www.ion.illinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/instructionalstrategies.asp

The site provides a summary of instructional strategies for online course.  Effective online instruction depends on learning experiences appropriately designed and facilitated by knowledgeable educators. Because learners have different learning styles or a combination of styles, online educators should design activities that address their modes of learning in order to provide significant experiences for each class participant.

Online Pedagogy

Research on Best Practices
http://www.sanjuancollege.edu/pages/2825.asp

These pages present a summary of research related to best practices of teaching online. It is divided into 4 sections: content and structure, communication, assessment, and references. The symbols (described below) indicate our recommendations for application of the concepts in your course.

Instructional Design (Florida Golf Coast University)

http://www.fgcu.edu/onlinedesign/designdev.html

A set of articles that discuss instructional issues and strategies in the online environment

Effective Practices, The Sloan Consortium
http://sloan-c.org/effective/browse.asp

Allows the site to be searched by a variety of issues (i.e., learning effectiveness, cost effectiveness) and interest areas (i.e., learning design, community).

Examples of Online Courses

Exemplars, Pink Flamingo
http://www.ibritt.com/resources/vp_exemplars.htm

An annotated list of exemplar online courses from a variety of providers for a range of audiences.

Exemplars, Carnegie Foundation
http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/gallery_of_tl/castl_he.html

Thirteen projects by higher education scholars addressing various topics (i.e., course portfolios, case-based learning). Each entry provides an overview and links to the site.

Assessing Student Learning & Evaluating Online Courses

"New Assessment Strategies" by Mhairi McAlpine and Carol Higginson
http://otis.scotcit.ac.uk/onlinebook/otis-t4.htm

In the first part of the chapter, the authors provide background information related to online assessment and resources on computer-assisted assessment. The second part is a description of current innovative practices for online assessment.

Evaluation for distance education, University of Idaho
http://www.uidaho.edu/eo/dist4.html

An overview of issues related to the evaluation of online learning, including types of evaluation, evaluation tips, and possible topics for evaluation.

Mentoring

Mentoring Students Online

http://www.tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/mentor/

This website describes the characteristics, responsibilities, and techniques associated with mentoring.

Other Resources That Address Multiple Aspects of Online Teaching

Weblearning Resources (University of Tennessee)

http://www.knowledgeability.biz/weblearning

"This website attempts to informally catalog (and occasionally compare, contrast, and editorialize on) the tools, topics and issues of interest to those developing web-based learning initiatives."

Virtual Resource Site for Teaching with Technology (University of Maryland University College)

http://www.umuc.edu/distance/odell/vteach/background.html

This website includes two modules. Module 1 explains how to select the appropriate media to accomplish specific learning objectives Module 2 describes pedagogical strategies that promote interaction in the online environment.

Online Course References (Raritan Valley Community College)
http://www.raritanval.edu/ResourcesFaculty/InstructionalResources/Online.htm

Online references for the following topics: instructor and student roles, building online learning communities, online course design, examples of online courses and degree programs, online/distance education information for faculty, online conferences on online course instructors.

"Teaching College Courses Online vs Face-to-Face" by Glenn Gordon Smith, David Ferguson, and Mieke Caris

http://www.thejournal.com/articles/15358

This article describes the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face courses.

"The Online Report on Pedagogical Techniques for Computer-Mediated Communication" by Morten Flate Paulsen
http://www.emoderators.com/moderators/cmcped.html

The author provides detailed descriptions about an array of instructional techniques. He organizes the techniques according to the four communication paradigms used in computer-mediated communication: information retrieval, electronic mail, bulletin boards, and computer conferencing.

"Online Teaching", CRLT Occasional Paper No. 18, by Zhu, Dezure, and Payette
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/publinks/CRLT_no18.pdf

"A Framework for Designing Questions for Online Learning" by Lin Muilenburg and Zane L. Berge
http://www.emoderators.com/moderators/muilenburg.html

The author provides information about how to design questions for starting online discussion and follow-up questions to maintain the discussion. The authors also explain how discussion questions can be used to encourage high level thought processes.

 

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