Post on 17-Jan-2016
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
NaugatuckValleyCommunity College
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Roles in Online Learning
Presented by
SysAdmin Virginia Beetz
WebCT Admin Eileen Medinger
Course Designer Barbara Caserta
Naugatuck Valley Community College
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Roles in Online Learning
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Roles in Online Learning
• At NVCC– System Administrator– WebCT Administrator– Course Designer– Student
Once everyone understands their roles, online learning begins.
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of Technology
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of Technology
• In a Classroom– Student, Teacher, Content– Desks, Chalkboard, Overhead Projector
• In an Online Classroom– Student, Teacher, Content– Technology, Software, Communication
Source: “Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups”, Hanna, Dudka, Runlee
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of Technology
• Always present in online learning– Needs attention constantly
• Upgrades• Backups• 24x7x365
– Becomes the “classroom, desks, and chalkboard”
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of System Administrator
• Invest in a SysAdmin– Responsibilities include
• Server setup• Network connections and Internet access• Security issues
• Include your SysAdmin in all aspects of course development
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of System Administrator
• Additional SysAdmin duties– Student Helpdesk, troubleshooting– Import student lists, course lists– Course Backups– Firewall access– Loading e-packs
• Get friendly with your SysAdmin
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of WebCT Administrator
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Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of WebCT Administrator
• Coordinator for online learning
• The “Trainer”– Trains the course designers (faculty)
• To use software (WebCT)• To use communication tools• To monitor the course
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of WebCT Administrator
• The “Media” expert– Instructional designer
• Guides in design of course• Ensures consistency in course quality, style
– Graphic designer• Creates visuals and graphics• Designs web-based materials
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of WebCT Administrator
• The “learner liaison”– Serves as a point of contact for the learner– Organizes structure for NVCC’s online
learning “website”– Student Helpdesk
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of WebCT Administrator
• The “Coach”– Develops policies for marketing and
registration– Builds the catalog of online courses– Supports the course designer and student– Evaluates online experiences– Develops strategies to improve online
experiences
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
NVCC’s Online Learning
Begins here . . .
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Role of Course Designer
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
What Makes a Good Distance Learning Course?
"I believe that the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our
educational system and that in a few years it will supplant largely, if not
entirely, the use of textbooks."
Quotes by Thomas Alva Edison
“Education isn't play -- and it can't be made to look like play. It is hard, hard work.”
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Darned if I know . . .
. . . but, from my experience, I do know:– State clearly, at the beginning of the
course, what is expected of the student• How This Course Works• Course Calendar (Time-Tracker)• Approximate weekly time commitment• Frequent Online Testing
– Allows the instructor to track progress on a topic-by-topic level.
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
What Makes a Good Distance Learning Course? (cont’d)
• State clearly what the faculty member is expected to provide– 24-48 hour turnaround on answering messages– Tracking students’ progress online– Providing face-to-face assistance
• Build relationships online– student-to-student– student-to-faculty
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
What doesn’t work . . .
• Live Chats with Instructor• “... it was hard to have a chat room scheduled
for a specific date (and time). We all take the class because making the commitment to a specific time is not in our schedules.”
– Solution:• Break the class into groups of 3 or 4. Assign
each group a project. Have a threaded Discussion Forum and an (optional) Chat Room available for each group.
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
“Real Students do Attend Virtual Classrooms”
• Course Tools (Offline CD)– “This is the second on-line math
course I have taken.
I like the fact that you can use the software offline for this course. The last one required you to be online for all work except homework.”
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Increase “Class Participation”
• Required Threaded Discussion Forum– Homework questions are posted by the
instructor– Answers are posted by the students
• Communicate student-to-student– Additional required postings by students to
verify their classmates’ results
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
What I’ve Learned as a Distance Learning Course Developer
• Begin planning the course two semesters before the course is offered.– Two semesters before:
• Select delivery method, text and/or software • Carefully preview publisher’s materials
– One semester before: • Develop the actual course and its content
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Into the Classroom
This way toMs. Caserta’sCollege Algebra . . .
Requires username and password
Issues and Best Practices in Designing Distance Education Courses
Speaking from Experience
• Roles to play– System Administrator
• Handles the technology
– WebCT Administrator• Coordinates online course development
– Course Designer• “teaches” the course
– Student• Enjoys the experience!