In this section, you will learn some fundamental best practices for designing eLearning. The field of study dedicated to creating strong eLearning content is called Instructional Design, and instructional designers have been studying the efficacy of distance learning since we started sending shellac language-learning records to non-English speaking immigrants. The field itself is rooted in the concepts of John Dewey, and are primarily founded on Constructivism, Connectivism, and Proximal Development theories. You will learn about these in the coming pages as you prepare to apply these concepts to Fink's Taxonomy, Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction, and Bloom's Taxomony to digital learning as you storyboard your courses using the ADDIE model. Ready? Let's learn how to teach online!
Fundamentally, the instructional strategies you use to teach face-to-face classes do not differ much from those you will use online. The primary difference is the structural elements you will need to build to scaffold learning. When teaching face-to-face, you take for granted the many nuanced cues you are providing your learners about how to learn: the desks where they sit, the chalkboard where they direct their gaze, the person they should listen to (you the teacher), the bookshelf full of learning content, and the bulletin board with all the updates and announcements, to name a few. These elements must be constructed by you in the online environment in addition to your curriculum and assessments.
When teaching online, you will need to develop a few key features:
Module 1
In this module, we will learn about the foundational concepts behind distance learning design as we prepare to develop our own elearning methods and practice.
Module 2
In this module, we move from foundational theory into application as we transition those concepts into frameworks, templates, and delivery methodologies for elearning.
Module 3
It can take time to learn the critical terms related to eLearning. In this resource module, engage with an interactive list of terminology to talk the talk as you walk the walk.
The following is a Quiz made using Google Forms. This is one example of how Google Apps for Education can support your teaching goals. The following survey is a brief questionnaire with pre-programmed correct responses and an answer key for three key questions related to basic learning theory. The theories referenced in the quiz are foundational to eLearning specifically.