Jennifer,
Good courses take time to create and deliver!
Shelly Crider
Gemma ,
I have seen them fall asleep while I am talking and it makes me want to giggle!
Shelly Crider
Marilyn ,
There are so many resources out there to help you with creating online courses. Have you created a YouTube video yet?
Shelly Crider
The time it takes to develop a course, traditional classroom or online, depends on whether any of the content has already been developed. If you are transferring content from one classroom-type to the other, then it is a matter of making sure you have the right info in place to set up the content before teaching, or set up the assignments you are going to introduce, then making sure the learning activities are delivery-type appropriate.
If you are an instructor who is new to the content, chances are high you will write a lot of talking points for yourself and a full instructor guide. This will take just as much time as it would take to write out slides with speaker notes for an online class. I think the assignments and even the exams and quizzes will transfer over from the online environment to the traditional classroom fairly easily, but the time commitment comes into play when looking at creative ways to deliver the content.
I think the time it takes to develop an online course will be even longer than an on ground course. You have to build in your "talking time" to the actual lecture online in a narrative form verses when you build an on ground course you can plan on talking about a certain topic and your power point or handouts can be main points, the narrative piece is you talking...
Erin
Shelly,
I think I would have to disagree. I think it takes as much if not more time to develop a quality online course than a traditional course. Unlike a traditional setting, when technology or your platform changes your course material or setup needs to. However, in my experience, once the course is developed it is less time consuming teaching the same course in the future.
Natalie,
I like the word commitment! A good class comes from a committed instructor!
Shelly Crider
Erin,
Nice post. I do hope that you include some sort of narrative in your class. The students like to know you are human!
Shelly Crider
Caitlin,
Good point. You can use a class over and over, just be sure to update links you have embedded.
Shelly Crider
Development time for both online and on-ground might be similar but I find often more time is spent communicating through emails in an online course due to the asynchronous discussion. In an on-ground atmosphere the content/activities and participation take place within a set time frame. In an online environment the contact/discussion is happening daily and replies are expected same day due to the fast pace of technology.
I think it takes a little longer to develop an online class than a traditional class but I believe that you should put as much effort into both of them.
I have developed both and do not see any difference in the amount of time invested. Supplemental materials, presentations, and resources are a necessity for both.
Sandra,
Good post. I like the comment about fast paced technology as this is very true!
Shelly Crider
Aisling,
Both need to be reviewed and reviewed!
Shelly Crider
Sarrah,
Students do like the extras you put into the class. Good job.
Shelly Crider
I disagree. I spent way more time developing my online courses because I have to compensate for the lack of direct contact. Therefore, what I can work on the fly in my classroom I have to prepare for my online students. Because I am not available at a moments notice for the online classroom I have to make sure the FAQ is available. When that fails, I have to be monitor, support and motivate those who are falling behind rather than have that face to face.
After teaching both, I actually feel like the time invested is equal if not more in an online setting. Onground you can usually expect questions, face to face discussions, and interaction while online you have to really try to foster similar experiences.
To me it seems like it takes more effort when delivering content to be as clear as possible and thorough, because one can not know for sure whether the information is settling in or not with student unlike in a traditional setting where their expressions can usually help you figure it out.
It is the same amount of time because you are covering the same amount of content. If there are links or other content that you want the student to visit it may take you longer to set that up. Online courses need to be structured in a way that delivers the material from step one through the end. It has to be clear, so preparing the lesson or demonstration can take additional time because you test it to make sure it makes sense. In a class room demonstration you can visually show someone what they need to know. An online class your instructions need to be exact so that they do not confuse the student.
I disagree, although online courses can be adjusted relatively quickly they are a little more time consuming to set up.
Initial setup of an online course takes more time than a traditional classroom setup. That being said, once you have the setup and the understanding of the online nature, not only your experience but the technology itself will help you duplicate the setup eliminating you from repetitive work. So both experience and technology will minimize the time spent in an online environment in due time.
