Developer
The instructor contracted to create the course. Serves as the subject matter expert and creator of course content such as lectures, lessons, assignments, exams, etc. Works to fulfill the requirements of their respective department.
Team
The person or persons who work with the developer to advise on best practices creating content for the online course format, and responsible for placing the course content submitted by the Developer into the HTML template and LMS.
Department
The department or stakeholder in charge of the subject area of the course being created.
2 Weeks
The Department identifies an instructor of their choice and offers them a contract to develop the course. This step is given two weeks in order to allow time to find a suitable instructor and for the instructor to ask for clarification about the contract and expectations.
1 Week
The instructor is given one week to sign and submit the contract to the department/University. After signing, the instructor becomes the Developer of the course.
1 Week
Within one week of signing the contract, the Developer and Team must meet, either in person or via Skype. This is the time for the Team to explain to the Developer the course timeline and process, and the importance of meeting the deadlines set in the process. The Team will provide all the forms and materials the Developer will require, explain their use, show examples of completed forms, show examples of a sample course, exchange contact information, and answer any questions the Developer may have at this point.
The Team becomes the Developer’s primary contact throughout the course development process. The Team will be expected to check in with the Developer each week to monitor progress, answer questions, and anticipate any possible delays beginning after this meeting.
2 Weeks
The Developer is expected to complete the course plan and submit it to the Team two weeks after the Initial Planning Meeting has taken place. The Course Plan is a form the Developer will use to plan a broad outline of the course. This would include the course objectives, topics covered each week, an overview of assignments, an overview exams, etc. Finalized lessons and materials ARE NOT expected at this step, just a general overview of the course for the Team and Department.
7 Weeks
This step overlaps with the next three steps on the timeline (see Course Development Timeline + Gantt Chart). During this step, the Developer will be creating the actual content for the course and submitting it to the Team weekly. Communication between the Team and Developer is very important during this time to ensure materials are being submitted consistently, to avoid an overload of work at the end of the seven weeks. It is expected the Developer will submit 2-3 weeks of course work each week. The Team should work to encourage the Developer to front-load this step and complete as much as possible early on.
6 Weeks
Beginning one week after the previous step, the Developer is expected to begin submitting the course materials they have been creating. Again, it is best to submit more content early in the process. The Team will acknowledge receiving the materials and work to review them as soon as possible to avoid any possible delay in the development process. Anything that needs correction should be returned to the Developer immediately. The Team MUST NOT wait for the Developer to submit everything at once at the end of this step. It should be gradual.
6 Weeks
The Team will review all the materials submitted by the Developer, and if any changes need to be made they will submit those requests to the Developer as soon as possible. It is possible to complete this step early if the Team and Developer have been communicating well and being productive in the previous steps.
6 Weeks
Like the previous three steps in this phase, this step can overlap with them in the timeline. Again, assuming the Developer and Team have been keeping up with the process and communicating, this step may be shorter.
3 Weeks
At this point, most of the Developer’s work is complete. The last big task is to ensure everything has been finalized. The Team and Developer will go back over everything that has been submitted, returned, corrected, etc. and reach an agreement that everything is ready to build in the LMS. At this point, no further changes should be made to the course content by the Developer, as this could create delays during the next phase.
4 Weeks
The content provided by the Developer now goes to the Team, who will be responsible for building it into the LMS using the LMS features and HTML template. The Developer will have access to view the course as it progresses, but not make any edits, as the course plan and materials have been finalized at this point. This step can begin with the earlier weeks of materials for the course if they have been finalized early.
4 Weeks
This overlaps some with the step above, as the Developer will have access to view the course as it is built. The Developer is expected to view the course at least once per week to ensure the Team is doing what was agreed upon, and to communicate with the Team immediately if any mistakes or errors are found. Once the Developer approves the course, it will go to the Department for a final review.
2 Weeks
The Department will have two weeks to review the finalized course in the LMS and submit any changes they require to the course. Because the Department will have access to the course plan from the start, these changes are expected to be minor in scope. This is not the time to recreate the course from the start, it is to ensure that the Developer and Team followed the course plan submitted to the Department at the beginning of the process. Suggested changes must be specific.
2 Weeks
If the Department has identified problems with the course, such as the course not following the original course plan, then the Team and Developer have two weeks to work together to correct those errors. The Department will continue to have access to the course in the LMS to view those changes as they’re made.
At this point, the course is complete, corrections have been made, and it is ready to go live for the semester.
1 Week
The week before classes begin, all instructors for the course will be granted access their own sections so they can become familiar with the materials. It will be possible for them to communicate with the Developer to clarify anything in the course they don’t understand. This IS NOT the time to suggest changes to the course, however. They will have that opportunity after the course runs the first semester.
16 Weeks
The course is opened to students and runs for the duration of the semester. It is suggested that section instructors take notes of how the course is received and any suggested changes, which they can submit at the close of the semester.
2 Weeks
At the end of the course’s first semester, instructors and students will be allowed to evaluate the course and suggest changes to the Department that may improve it. A form will be provided to collect those responses for two weeks following the end of the semester.
4 Weeks
The Developer and Team can review the feedback gathered and make any necessary changes. Minor errors (typos, etc.) can be corrected by the Team. Substantive changes to the course, materials, assignments, exams, etc. will need the input of the Developer. There will be four weeks to make the changes, then the course will be ready for the next semester.