IMPACT – Innovating Methods, Practices, and Curriculum for Teaching

Public

Ask a question from your peers to help you in your professional work. Seek different points of view on a topic that interests you. Start a thought-provoking conversation about a hot, current topic. Encourage your peers to join you in the discussion, and feel free to facilitate the discussion. As a community of educators, all members of the Career Ed Lounge are empowered to act as a discussion facilitator to help us all learn from each other.

Professor Kolapo Ige PhD

What have you learned from EL 101 Designing and Developing online courses and how would you apply what you’ve learnt?

Designing and developing online courses is both a creative and systematic process that involves educational theory, technology tools, and user-centered design. Here’s an overview of what you can learn when diving into this area:

1. Instructional Design Principles

Understanding how people learn is foundational. Key frameworks include:

Backward Design: Start with learning outcomes, then assessments, then content.
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Helps structure cognitive goals (e.g., remembering, applying, evaluating).
ADDIE Model: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation — a classic model for course development.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Encourages accessibility and multiple ways of engagement, representation, and expression.

2. Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Courses are usually delivered through LMS platforms like:

Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard, or Google Classroom
Commercial options like Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, or Udemy
Each has specific tools for quizzes, grading, discussions, analytics, etc.

3. Content Development

You’ll learn how to:

Break down complex material into digestible modules or lessons
Create engaging content: videos, readings, slides, infographics
Use tools like Articulate Storyline, Camtasia, or Canva for multimedia
Align content to outcomes and assessments

4. Engagement Strategies

Online learners can struggle with motivation and focus. You’ll learn to:

Incorporate interactive elements: quizzes, polls, drag-and-drop, simulations
Use discussion boards, peer reviews, or group projects to promote community
Integrate gamification (badges, points, challenges)

5. Assessment and Feedback

Assessment design is crucial. You’ll learn about:

Formative vs. summative assessments
Designing authentic assessments (e.g., case studies, projects)
Providing timely and meaningful feedback
Using analytics to monitor progress and adapt content

6. Accessibility and Inclusivity

Critical for reaching all learners:

Ensure screen-reader compatibility, captioning, alt-text, keyboard navigation
Design with diverse needs in mind (cultural, linguistic, neurodiversity)
Follow standards like WCAG 2.1 and ADA compliance

7. Technology Tools and Trends

You’ll become familiar with:

Video tools: Loom, Zoom, OBS
Collaboration: Padlet, Miro, Google Docs
AI/ML trends in edtech (adaptive learning, personalization)
Using AI (like ChatGPT) for tutoring, content generation, or feedback

8. Project and Time Management

Developing a full course takes time. You’ll need to:

Create storyboards and design documents
Manage timelines, resources, SMEs (subject matter experts)
Version control and quality assurance processes

9. Evaluation and Iteration

Courses should improve over time:

Collect feedback through surveys, analytics, interviews
Run pilot tests or beta versions
Use data to revise content, pacing, delivery methods

10. Legal and Ethical Considerations

You’ll also need to understand:

Copyright, fair use, and Creative Commons licensing
Student data privacy (FERPA, GDPR)
Academic integrity and plagiarism detection