Every course needs a structure. That's obvious. But when we are building an online course there is an additional aspect that needs to be considered; delivery of the course is different than face-to-face instruction. Not only should your course have clear and concise goals, but those goals need to be made clear to the learners throughout their online experience. Having done the legwork in advance and building out the course-level goal, the learning/assessment activities, and determining acceptable evidence of learning (below) helped me structure my online course more easily. Although the idea of this article is structuring a course online, we should be careful to not lose sight of our learning outcomes and what acceptable evidence should look like.
Learners will understand the importance of digital literacy in every day life. Learners will understand basic computer skills, how to use the internet for research, how to use email in a professional manner, the basics of cloud computing, and computers in the workplace. Learners will understand that digital literacy skills are vital to future success in today's competitive workforce by connecting learning to authentic, real-world situations.
With the goal of getting our learners to a place where all of this is true, we need to ensure that the activities that we include are authentic and meaningful in today's world. This course will include activities that require self-assessment, reflection, creation of real-world content, and interactive assessments.
Choosing a Learning Management System
Your agency or district may already have a Learning Management System (LMS) that you are required to use such as Blackboard, Canvas, or Schoology. Different people have different preferences, but in the end the platform doesn't matter as much as what you put on it. Most LMS providers will allow you to have a personal account for free—so give it a try! In my case I have been evaluating both Canvas and Schoology recently and will be building out my first course on the latter.
Establish a Structure
Based on my previous work on Learning Outcomes and Understanding by Design (links and images above) it was very easy to translate into a basic course outline structure. First, I built out folders for each of my units, then I added the pre-test and self-assessment at the beginning, outside of the unit structure.
Next, I began filling the unit folders with materials. There are many options available and I know I'm only scratching the surface at the moment; as I get more familiar with the platform I know I'll be able to do much, much more. Right now I have a Page to provide the Unit Overview, a Discussion for reflection on the unit topics, Links to external sites, and an Assignment (not shown).
Some of the materials offer advanced options inside the edit window. For example, I was able to embed a YouTube video directly into my writing assignment to give my learners a related resource right there without having to open another window. Other options include embedding links, Khan Academy, and Google Drive integration. Very nice!
Another nice feature of the Schoology LMS is the ability to add custom learning objectives and standard alignments such as state or Common Core, among others. I will also be adding a page to each unit citing all of the resources referenced therein. Integrating that feature might be a nice addition to a future build.
So far I'm really enjoying building this course in Schoology. The interface is intuitive and user-friendly and there are lots of resources if you need help including groups you can join right on the platform. Another feature I really like is that external links open up within the Schoology window; fewer tabs means fewer students getting lost, something that will be very important particularly in a beginner level computer course.
With an initial course design under my belt it's only natural to take a look at our other course offerings and see what might be adaptable to an online format. In my opinion almost any course could be taken online with the exception of some of our practical CTE courses such as Truck Driving or Cosmetology. However, even the foundational courses in those pathways may work. I'd love to see our Leadership and Business courses go online because they are so digital-heavy and would translate well. Leadership has a focus on building digital skills along with collaborative exercises and presentations. The Business courses that follow are similar and are a great preparation for the 21st century workplace. Some of our elective courses such as Reading for Pleasure and Career Success would be good candidates as well since they are traditionally light on in-class activities and are more learner-driven. I'm looking forward to addressing this with administration and exploring our online future.
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