Guidebook Chapter 4 – Instructional Design
“Online instruction is more than a series of readings posted to a Web site; it requires deliberate instructional design that hinges on linking learning objectives to specific learning activities and measureable outcomes.” (Oblinger, 2006, p 15)
I believe this quote sums up online instructional design. When designing an online course we must look at differently than if we were looking at it in a more traditional setting. If we begin to think of the web as a new medium for instructional delivery and not the instruction this is the key (Anderson, et all, 2004, p 181). We need to look at the content that we are to be teaching and adapt our instruction to it, not just take a traditional classroom of information and put it onto the internet.
I propose that we take a team approach to planning and designing our courses. We create each course with the help of the instructors, web designers and instructional designers. By involving different people, we will be able to have each piece focus on what they know and merge all of there expertise into a fully functional course. In this design we will be pulling from the quality framework that Chao, Saj, and Tessier discussed in their 2006 article Establishing a Quality Review for Online Courses. In this they discussed six different pieces to the puzzle that create a quality web-based course.
First by using curriculum, web, and instructional designers together we will be able to design a course that if functional and meets all the needs of our students. They will be able to look at what is to be taught in the course and what will be the best way to present it to our students. In doing this, they can also insure that the students will have authentic tasks related to the course. These authentic tasks will enable the students to see how they will actually be using the knowledge that they are gaining in the course and make it more relevant to their lives and result in more buy in from the students, thus enhancing the educational experiences.
By looking at exactly how the course will be presented gives us the opportunity to look at how the teaching will occur and what forms of help will the instructor need to do. How exactly will they be facilitating the learning of their students? For each course we will have to make modifications so that the learning outcomes meet what the administration at Fithian wants.
There are several key components to each course we will be working on for Fithian. The first component is an interactive syllabus. By having a syllabus that is not static, but changes and shows the students how each piece they are working on fits into the big puzzle, we believe that they will have a better understanding of why they are expected to complete different tasks and how the information will be used.
Secondly, how are we teaching this course will be looked at? We will decide if this is a course that will be more student centered or instructor centered. If it is instructor centered then the instructor will be making all the decisions on where the course will lead, whereas if the students are the center then based upon their knowledge and questions, the course make take a different path. Both courses will lead to the same end point, but they will reach it by taking different paths. We want to make sure that all of the content that we give students will be something that they will be able to use and transfer into their daily lives.
Finally, we will look at the actual student make up of the course. By knowing the number of students that we will be allowing into each course, their background knowledge with technology, and their abilities, we will be able to design a course that fits all their needs and comfort levels. By doing this we will be able to design a course that will allow the instructors and students to still have some personal interaction and will help meet the needs of the students while still balancing these needs with Fithian’s expectations and instructional needs.
At MBC Group, we believe that if we keep all six puzzle pieces in mind as we design each course, we will be able to meet the educational needs of all of Fithian’s students while still meeting the needs of Fithian. The key will be to look at each course independently while using the same basic questions so as to have a cohesive learning environment that the students will become comfortable using while still meeting the expectations that Fithian has set out for us.
References
Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. (2004). Theory and Practice of Online Learning, Canada: Athabasca University. Please note, this book can be retrieved at http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/.
Chao, T, Saj, T, Tessier, F, & (2006). Establishing a quality review for online courses. Educasue Quarterly, 3, 32-39.
Moller, L, Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web. TechTrends. 52, 66-70.
Oblinger, D. G., & Hawkins, B. L. (2006). The myths about online course development: "A faculty member can individually develop and deliver an effective online course. Educause. January/February, 14-15.
Windham, S (2008). The interactive syllabus: Modifications and new insights. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from Innovate Web site: http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=515
Woo, Y, Herrington, J, Agostinho, S, & Reeves, T. C. (2007). Implementing authentic tasks in web-based learning environments. Educasue Quarterly, 3, 36-43.