Designing Online Learning
Discussion Room Facilitator (15%)
Everyone will be the facilitator in the Discussion Room at least once during this course. The role of the facilitator is as follows:
- Start the discussion by putting a message in the Discussion room that has the week and title of the activity. For example: "Week 1: Introductions and Connections"
- Start the ball rolling by starting the activity no later than Sunday midnight, and making your own contribution, or by acting as cheerleader and encourager to entice messages from your classmates.
- As people answer, chime in, see other ideas, and generally keep the conversation moving. This is like being the convener of a meeting at work, where you have an agenda, and you need to get input from everyone.
- At the end of your week, summarize and close the discussion. Once the job is done, you have earned your points.
Discussion Room Participation (25%)
Interaction is a very important part of learning, and it is especially integral to distance learning. Notice that 40% of your grade is determined by Discussion Room participation and facilitation.
I'll be looking for you to make significant contributions to the discussion every week. You get points for answering questions, thoughtful responses, additional questions, useful Web finds, anything that moves the learning forward. This shouldn't be the educational equivalent of spamming. Check in a couple of times a week, and don't fall asleep at your desk. You also don't want to leave the Discussion Room facilitator for the week twisting in the wind, so check to see if they have asked any questions and help them out. They'll do the same for you when it is your turn.
The success of our discussion room is dependent on each student feeling comfortable to share their opinions, wrestle with ideas and concepts, and ask questions in a safe and supportive environment. As J. McKinley so aptly states: "A free exchange of ideas, opinions, and feelings is the lifeblood of collaborative learning." This is the class climate we wish to establish.
If you are not going to be able to participate for some reason, please let me know ahead of time by e-mail or phone.
Journaling (5%)
This course is about designing instruction for distance learning. As a learner, you have a wonderful and unique perspective on this process. You're learning about learning, thinking about thinking. The buzzword in the world of education is metacognition (for more on metacognition, check out this link to Theory Into Practice, created by Greg Kearsley). Write down your reactions, feelings, frustrations, excitement. This is mostly for your own use. What I would like to see, are the first and last pages.
The First Page, is due Week 1, is simply what you hope to learn from this course. What are your interests in distance education? What attracts you? How do you plan on using it? What are your fears, doubts, concerns? You can email this to me. Or use the electronic drop box in Blackboard.
The Final Page will be a 1-2 page reflection paper due Week 14. You should include:
- What you learned about designing distance learning
- What you learned about yourself as a distance learner
- What you would do differently as a learner, and as a designer of this course
- What you feel are the key ingredients for a successful distance learning project
Again, you can email this to me. Or use the electronic drop box in WebCT.
The Mad Hatter's Presentation (15 %)
Each student will create an online presentation to the class on a topic related to distance learning. This topic can either be chosen from the list noted below, or if you have a specific topic, you can check with me. I would prefer not to have several people presenting the same topic, so first come, first served. Sign up for your presentation week at any time by emailing me with your choice.
Please sign up for your presentation before Week 5. Remember, only one presentation per week, and please post them early in the week (Monday or Tuesday). Let's also try to plan all presentations no later than Week 11.
The subject of the presentation will involve an area with an overlap with distance education. We will want to examine that overlap, and explore the possibilities and implications for teaching and learning. Some suggested topics:
- Knowledge Management
- E-Business/Commerce
- The effect of convergence on distance education
- Collaboration & Team Building
- Organizational Structure
- Human Performance Technology
- Intellectual Property
- Creative Destruction
- A specific learning theory or approach (i.e. problem-based learning)
The presentation can be the equivalent of a three-page paper, with a minimum of three references. It will be posted in the Discussion Room. We will, however, use a format that is probably a little different from what you may be used to. Edward deBono has developed an approach to expand critical thinking which is both fun and useful. It is called the Six Thinking Hats. See the overview on WebCT in Appendix: Thinking Hats, and read the Six Thinking Hats article (also check Appendix for other links and resources).
Structure your presentation using de Bono's Six Thinking Hats:
- White Hat -- The neutral and objective facts, figures and information we know to be true
- Red Hat -- The emotions, feelings, and judgments that are pertinent.
- Black Hat -- The negative assessment. What is wrong or incorrect. Why it won't work.
- Yellow Hat -- Positive and constructive assessment, value and benefit. Why it will work.
- Green Hat -- What growth, collaboration, creativity potential does it have.
- Blue Hat -- What type of further thinking needs to be explored. Which way should things go?
Your grade will be based on:
- Understanding and utilization of the Six Thinking Hats framework.
- Presentation (construction, grammar, spelling, etc.).
- Depth of presentation.
- References.
- Presented on time.
You can be creative and playful with this if you choose. In the past, students have taken various approaches. Some like to create their own web pages, one person developed a dialog between the various hats discussing the topic. If you want to create your presentation using Power Point or Word, I can convert it into HTML for web use and post it for you if I get the file a week in advance. You are; of course, welcome to simply paste the text of your presentation into the discussion area, too.
Distance Learning Project (40 % Total)
This is the learning lab portion of the course. You will be putting into action what you have learned, in fact, it may even be a project you need for work. You may also choose to develop a project in pairs, in small groups or as an entire class. You must, however, obtain approval for your idea before proceeding. Your team and glimmering idea -- Project Plan Approval -- should be emailed to me (jmajor@midsolutions.org) no later than Week 5.
A. Project Plan. Due Week 6, this is a simple plan which should identify:
- team members
- possible sponsors or advocates
- target population
- project deliverables
- possible risks and dependencies
B. Needs Analysis. Due Week 8, this should be presented in about 2-3 pages and emailed to me. It should include the following:
- Identify a learning need.
- Describe your target population and any special considerations (ex. Literacy level, developmental level, learning readiness).
- What are your overall curricular goals?
- What teaching/learning theory is guiding your project?
C. Develop the course. Due Week 14. Since it is difficult to put quantitative parameters on a project such as this, we will negotiate what is expected. Depending on the number of members a collaborative team has, the scope of the project, the approach, we will contract what will be produced.
The final product will be available on the Web for testing and evaluation. It is also expected that it will be the result of a systems approach to design. Your courses should be online by Dec 2.
D. Evaluate the course. Due Week 15. Your course should include some sort of outcome evaluation measures and results, a summary of the course evaluations from students, and your own self-evaluation.
- Formative or summative evaluation - how will you/did you measure learning? (Example: A test? A paper?) You should be able to call upon each other to pilot test your project.
- Process evaluation - feedback from students on the course. Develop a course evaluation form ("smile sheet").
- Self evaluation - what did you learn about yourself in this context of teaching? Would you change anything for next time?
Address these in a 1 page summary to be emailed (jmajor@midsolutions.org) by Week 15.
