The Internet has taken us beyond our wildest dreams. At the beginning of the Information Age there were the select individuals called “Webmasters” that had the skills to publish to the Web. Over the past decade, everyone has had tools at their disposable to create a presence with ease. I admit I was caught up in the rage to try online instruction. My first experience was in 2003 and my intent was to provide a convenient way to provide instruction to a small group of learners. My first mistake was letting the medium be the determining factor rather than focusing on the design of the content (Rovai, 2002). I did not incorporate well into the instruction some of the design and learning elements that play an important role for creating an effective learning experience. So, if you’re creating online instruction, I recommend, you better be doing these 4 things.
1. Content
Using current lesson content and activities are likely not suited for the Web. Most importantly, an elearning experience does not include a Web page solely full of text. Content provided in the course of a lesson needs planning to include different forms of multimedia to boost learner motivation and immerse the learner in real-world applications. As a learner, I am more interested when the instruction gains my attention and thrusts me into experiences I have not encountered. Cathy Moore, a business elearning developer, illustrates the concept of less text and more learning based on research. The addition of illustrations and multimedia can assist learners in greater understanding and the ability to make application. Tom Kuhlmann’s demo, shows three different techniques to gain learner attention and to guide the learning process.
2. Navigation
Just as we use a map to find our way to a specific location, the navigation element for online instruction is important. A learner must be able to navigate through the different sections of the site with little effort. I have visited Websites and taken online or hybrid courses where links are rampant. It becomes a maze when everything is linked to each other. Unorganized navigation or excessive linking creates confusion and extraneous cognitive load for the learner. A navigable Web site is required for consistency throughout the instruction and a security measure to always find your way home.
3. Feedback
No matter if I’m in the role of a student or employee, I am anxious for feedback either to validate my performance, encouragement to improve, or a means to steer my thoughts in a different direction. If designing for online instruction, there needs to be a method for feedback whether in the form of an instructor or facilitator response, ability to compare tasks to a desired result or simply a grade.
4. Discussion/Collaboration
These two elements I have combined because discussion is normally a component of online instruction while collaboration is not. Discussion is the easiest to monitor learner participation and is directed by a facilitator’s choice of topics. The objective is for learners to share thoughts and increase the knowledge relating to Bloom’s Taxonomy. Collaboration is more challenging to plan in an online course, but I think collaboration moves a learner quicker to the highest order thinking skills.
These elements are important to consider when designing online instruction. Sure there are many others to consider, so post an element that is important to you and explain why.
References
Ally, Mohamed. (2004). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In Theories and practice of online learning (chap. 1). Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ch1.html
Rovai, A. (April, 2002). Building sense of community at a distance. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL), 3, 1. Retrieved February 1, 2010, from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/79/153
Guest blogger: Amanda Bevis manages the Madison County Adult Education program in Jackson, TN. Her prior work has gained her experience in healthcare, computer programming, and in the university setting all utilizing her computer experience. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology.
Image from Dan Meyer at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ddmeyer/2666448493/sizes/m/
Amanda, I definitely agree with the comments you have made regarding navigation and feedback. In previous online courses I’ve taken, navigation and feedback are the two areas I’ve experienced frustration with. Endless clicks not only aggravate me but for some reason can actually get me off track. It seems like in the process of all the clicks, I come across other links/resources and end up wandering off my original path.
Regarding feedback, I’m much like you. I like to know if I’m meeting expectations or if I need to make improvements in some manner. I think this is even more critical in an online course. In a face-to-face class setting, one-on-one “live”communication with not only the instructor but fellow students, helps me to gauge my own progress and performace. Providing feedback can take more effort in an online class, but I feel it is critical to my success as a student.
Amanda, thank you for the great post. I particularly like your point on Discussion/Collaboration. The Web 2.0 tools available nowadays offer teachers several alternatives for collaboration. Maybe the challenge lies in the comfort level of the teachers in using those tools as well as in their learning philosophies. Also, great point on the importance of feedback. In the absence of face-to-face interaction, prompt and meaningful feedback is essential to keep learners on track.
This was a great post Amanda. I totally agree with you on your four recommendations. The two things I have struggled the most with when delivering instruction online are content and feedback. When I develop instruction online I frequently try to put my existing content online. I believe there are many resources to be utilized when delivering instruction online and that instructors needs to utilize those resources to get the most out of online instruction. This does mean more time and more effort on the instructors end, but there will likely be great results for students. The second thing that I seem to struggle with is feedback. When working with middle school students the most common form of feedback is giving students a written response on their paper-based assignment. When I have students complete assignments online (and therefore no paper-based assignments to write their comments on) I find myself struggling to find ways to give them feedback. Although most of these students have e-mails, we (as a school) can not require students to have e-mail addresses for communication. I have also thought about giving students feedback digitally on blogs or wikis, but because of privacy issues I do not want to give students specific feedback about their work online. I think if I could come up with an efficient, fair, and private way to give students feedback on online assignments I would be more apt to having students do their work online.
Thanks for the responses to the post. Online courses need to have clearly defined expectations or objectives. The wording of the objectives need not be done haphazardly, because this is when learners interpret the expectations differently. For example, we probably have all had to rewrite instructions because we found that others interpreted the wording differently.
Jeremy, in my readings of Web posts and through other social media, I have learned that teachers will have their students use pseudo names. This helps with their real identity. A couple of people you might follow to get suggestions are Tom Barrett and Mrs. Durff. Both have blogs and are on Twitter.