Establishing a Quality Review For Online Courses
An online course framework is discussed in this article. This framework consists of six different components that fit together “independent but interconnected components” (Chao, 2006, p 34). It is suggested that if you miss once piece of the puzzle that you will be missing one important component in any online course.
The six components are curriculum design, instructional design, web design, teaching and facilitation, learning experience, and course presentation. The curriculum component is concerned with content, which controls the learning outcomes. Instructional design is the connection with the outcomes, activities, teaching and use of technology within the course. The design is the interface that all of the learners and instructors will be using within the course. Teaching facilitation refers to how the curriculum and instruction is actually happening. Learning experiences are tied to the actual outcome of the course and includes students’ prior knowledge, learning styles, and what actually occurs within the learning environment. Finally, the presentation of the course material includes the functionality, consistency, and look and feel of the course for the students (Chao, 2006, p 34).
These six components were tested in a pilot project. The conclusion reached is that all of the goals of the course were accomplished when all six of these components were present. It is noted, however, that there does need to be more study done on this and that there are still some issues that need to be worked out.
When one looks at the design of a course that works and in which students succeed, these six components are present. Before reading this article, I had never stopped to think about what makes a course successful and what is missing from a course when it is not successful. Now, I can see what it takes.
Taking the time to first design your curriculum and how you are going to instruct the students is crucial. Once you have figured out what you are teaching, you can move onto how you are going to teach these concepts. When designing the instructional components and learning experiences you must look at how you are going to present it to the students. You need to look at the components of what you want the students to accomplish and how are they going to accomplish these things. Are you going to have a class discussion on a topic? Are they doing research and presenting it to the class? Do they have to create something – a report, presentation, model, etc – in order to show you what they have learned? Will there be a test and if so what kind of test? All of these things are important to what you are teaching and how you are teaching them. If you know what kind of outcomes you want, you will be able to better plan the instruction so that you and your students can be successful.
As I look at the courses that I currently teach, I am now even more aware of what I am doing and analyzing what is going on within my classroom using these components. Even though the courses are not online courses, I can still look at what technological components are involved in the course and how I can involve even more technology. By doing this, and hopefully influencing even more teachers within our district to do the same thing, hopefully we will be able to change the way we are teaching our students and make even more connections with them.
As more people look at online learning as a source of continuing education and as organizations look at it for a way of training, we must also look at changing people’s view of this new medium. There are still groups that are not convinced that online learning is a legitimate source of knowledge. There is a change in thought and method between an online course and a traditional face-to-face course. We need to educate people of these differences if there is going to be a change in the mind set of individuals on online learning and training. What we must first do it gain buy in from the instructors which can then influence others around them into changing their minds on online learning.
Chao, T, Saj, T, & Tessier, F, (2006). Establishing a quality review for online courses. EducauseQuarterly, 29(3), 32-39.