Good point about the lectures. On ground they can see me, hear me, ask me questions - all real time.
Online they might be able to see what I have developed and maybe even hear me, but unless I am providing lectures in live chats, they would have less opportunity to ask questions.
Online students usually ask questions by email which are not instantly answered. So I need to make sure my online lectures are very clear or maybe even anticipate some of those student questions. Lyn
Roberta,
Isn't it funny when and where students ask question?!
Shelly Crider
Nancy ,
Some students will think that not all content is important, so it can be hard to tell from this as well.
Shelly Crider
Andrea,
Classes may take awhile to create and to review, but then do indeed need to be quality.
Shelly Crider
Lyn ,
Great post....I like how you use your knowledge!
Shelly Crider
Having done this for a living for several years, the rule of thumb in the industry is 100 to 1. It takes AT LEAST 100 hours of development time in an online environment for every hour of online learning created. This includes the graphics, presentations, assignments, and course support materials. Once created, however, good courses may have a long "shelf-life" needing only minor modification over time.
I think it definitely depends on the course, the educational institution's policies, and the individual instructor's choice of learning methods.
However, in each scenario, it will definitely take a good deal of time, if quality is a priority. Some of the same materials will be used; however they will be processed in different ways that could take more or less time, depending on the resources and tools that are available.
Many formerly traditional classes are moving to blended formats that incorporate elements of both environments. As technology advances, much time will be saved in the processing of information.
This is so true. It may be easier to provide the information than to get students to use the information. I can make posts all semester, but if the student does not take the time to read them, they will not benefit.
This is one reason why it is so important to communicate information in many different formats. If they did not review the information in a post, perhaps they will access it in a live chat or announcement.
This is not true as the time needed to develop an effective online course needs to be equal if not more than the time to develop a traditional learning course. Mainly because an online course must be engaging and interactive in order to enhance the learning experience and challenge the student to find new ways of learning. An online course teaches a student valuable skills in the areas of learning new material and then being able to quickly apply that material to a real world setting in order to solve problems and develop new ideas. This requires much thought and skill into the practice of online learning.
Tylana,
This is true. The type of class can really make a difference. Will the class need extra spreadsheets or examples due to the nature of the class?
Shelly Crider
I don't know if the total amount of time is different. But I certainly think that more time is needed, upfront, or before the course begins for an online course.
I completely disagree. Developing a quality online course requires more time to develop than a traditional "on-ground" course. In developing an online course, you need to be clear in your instructions, expectations, and content. You need to present the material in an organized, logical fashion so that students are not wandering around aimlessly clicking. (I have been in courses like that).
I'm also going to throw this out there: it requires more time to facilitate and teach an online course as well. It is up to the instructor to provide an enriching, interactive online learning environment.
Dwayne,
I love seeing the stuents apply material to the real world!
Shelly Crider
lance,
Excellent...there must be some quality control before students find the errors.
Shelly Crider
Five or more years ago, projects for the design and development of online instruction included costs for basics such as faculty hardware and software, instructional programmers, and other campus infrastructure and applications that are now, hopefully, in place. In the early years, the environment and applications for an online course often had to be designed and built from scratch, line of programming code by line of programming code. In addition to these costs, there were the familiar costs of faculty professional development time and many expenses associated with content research, selection, capture, analysis, and digitization. Much of our current infrastructure now includes learning management systems, faculty and student support personnel, and content licensing. That means the instructional costs for teaching and learning online are distributed more broadly across the campus community. Much of our todays time investment on developing these courses is reduced due to help from institutional resources, and most of the faculty members tme is focused in instruction delivery.
Hi Shelly,
I disagree. Building a course from the ground up is a time consuming endeavor. With an online course, a lot of work must be completed before even launching the course.
Best,
Kelly Dormady
I have never designed a course of any type, but it seems that both would be fairly time-consuming. There are more things to consider in an online course in terms of technology and method of delivery, that would not be considered in a traditional classroom. I would think that it would take more time to develop a quality online course, based on considerations of technology, how to set up discussions, gradebooks, access for students and instructors, and materials.
I disagree. It takes more time to create a quality online course.
Absolutely not. Because of the complexity of the online learning environment and the magnitude of available supportive content, the development process can be very time consuming. In development of an online course, we can provide non-linear organically formatted material through links. This takes time to focus in on what the best content options are and how best to direct students in and through the content. In addition, we often spend more one-on-one time with students via chats/lectures, email, instant messaging etc. Students often feel more inclined to engage one-on-one with the instructor in the online environment since it can be less intimidating then face to face.
Kelly,
Oh so true....quality control is a must before launching.
Shelly Crider
