Excellent points! It seems that the more detailed you are with your vision for the course, the more useful a course design specification document will be.
Thanks for your input :) Jane
It would be a great way to identify and control the inputs to the process. If you have good design specifications, and can provide a check list, or other control plan to the vendor, the likelihood of getting what you expect is enahnced. This is a good form of quality control over the process.
The design specifications are always a must in my opinions even if a "canned approach" is used. We all have our own style of teaching and it should be represented in our online course. I don't want my class to look like any other online class. Students myst be kept interested and we need to make sure that nothing is left out.
Excellent point! So often, the online instructor is not a participant in the designing of the course.
:)
Jane
Outsourcing is very beneficial for those that are just beginning to develope an online course. It is always beneficial to have a guide for any new venture. Companies that are experienced in developing online courses are able to save you money and complete the online course in a timely manor. The navus is inevitably going to make mistakes that will cost additional money to correct. If you have outsourced your production project, the producing company will make every effort to make sure those costly mistakes do not occur. Even after you have experience in the development of online courses you should always have consultants at your disposal for their input. There is, in my life's experiences, always someone who knows more than I do. If you have questions go to someone who can give you answers.
Hi again Sylvia!
I agree... some things are best left to the experts! That is where a design specification comes in handy for all of the parties involved. If you are the teacher or the learning institution, this document is your means of communication your requirements to the designer and developer.
If you are part of the design team, this document functions as your 'to-do' list. It ensures that your final product will meet the needs of your customer.
Although some perceive this process as time-consuming and costly, as you indicated, it could save both time and money if it minimizes revisions.
:)
Jane
I could not agree more. I relate the design document to a project charter for any project. It helps establish all of the necessary milestones, objectives, pitfalls, needed resources, etc... You can certainly make a project happen without it, but having the charter to help organize everyone involved and establish clear communication is critical to delivering the final product on time.
Brad,
You make a good point about the charter (design specification document) keeping the job on task. It is a very useful communication tool, at every step of the project.
Thanks for your input :)
Jane
A course design specification would give me the necessary blue print to be able to evaluate the instructual integrity and other components such as appropriate media forms,proper seuencing of the learning modules and other benefiting factors before the course is release to the learner
Paula,
Good point! A course design specification document is terrific for evaluating a course prior to enrolling students.
It is useful for the planning and development processes also. Your comparison of this document to a blueprint is accurate.
Thanks for your comments.
:)
Jane
Whether I am developing or outsourcing the course development, I will make sure that the course developer must contain the instructional,media and presentation strategies of the course content; activities that will not only promote the desired achievement of the course objectives and goals, but to meet the institution educational standards; and finally, the different outcome assessment measurement for measuring the intended learning outcomes.
In addition, I will also make sure that the FOUR main phases of the ISD are met: design; development; evaluation and anlysis simply because through these four paradigms, students and instructors will have a clear blue print of the intentions of the course; it goals, objectives and students intended outcomes.
Jai
Great post!! a blue print is all that it takes to cover the concepts and outcomes through the course design for outcome assessment.
Jai
Hi again, Jai,
The blueprint to which you refer is crucial to successful online course design and development. I wouldn't travel to California (I am in Pittsburgh, PA) without a roadmap and I wouldn't build an online course without an online course specification document.
How would you go about evaluating and analyzing the course once it has been developed? Would you seek input from your students?
Thanks,
Jane
As an adjunct Prof. for more than 5 years, evaluating and analyzing feed back from students is a great paradigm to improve course. This is one methodology I constantly used to enhance curriculum deveelopment because it gives me first insight to what students needs, but at the same time there is a cut-off-point for students imputs.
Testing might be an excellent criteria for analyzing/evaluating course but, not every likes test. However, class participation/feedback is an excellent criteria for such concepts.
Jai
It is very important to have a course design. It sets out a logical course creation and benefits the student. It also creates a specification for each course. It is important that all courses are created to an equal standard.
Clear cut requirements and fundamentals of a course are very important. I also liked your comment about whether or not the vendor could meet your needs. That is an important consideration. Good point.
Teya,
Good point about creating all courses to an equal standard. I am interpreting this to mean that all courses must meet a certain level of quality. Did I get that right?
One think you want to avoid; however, is having courses be carbon copies of each other. What works for one course may or may not work for another. Each course must be evaluated and designed in a manner that is appropriate to the subject matter and interesting to the students.
Can a course design specification document be helpful in meeting these criteria?
:)
Jane
Supporting Objectives and Learning Processes
The developer must be certain that all assignments, activities and conference topics support the achievement of the objectives specific to that course. Once the developer crafts a model, within the model the student should be given opportunities to practice and develop the desired skills to attain the desired outcomes.
Once the developer passes on the course to the instructor, the instructor must make the class their own. Instructors should spend considerable time:
1. Clarifying outcomes, expectations,
2. Delivering rubrics to indicate:
a. Poorly communicated work products and
b. Objective systems to reward desired behavior.
Note: This information should be in one location, so that all students can access the link or files. There should be no doubt as to whether their effort has satisfied the requirements of any assignment.
I emphasize to students that they should be able to recognize their academic growth. Any learning outcomes should be measurable and apparent to them.
One of the promises that I extend and / or challenge during the initial contact is that "they" will be better in x-amount of weeks in this subject than they are today. "Students, you should be able to know that your level of understanding and performance has progressed beyond your own expectations."
I believe this statement comforts the student. I believe that I have instilled confidence in their ability to learn the material. I have stated my belief that they are competent and will succeed in this venue.
Lewis,
As an instructor, you have a very strong sense of what an online course should be. You have developed many tools and methodologies to assist students and ensure their success in your courses.
From a developer's point of view... before the instructor becomes involved... there is a design specification document that serves as your roadmap for developing the course. Do you see this document as a useful tool? Or, do you feel that the time and effort required for creating this document could be better spent in developing a prototype for the course management software, which would be improved through iterations?
:)
Jane
This would be of enormous benefit to us in creating an original online program while utilizing already established guidelines that have proven successful to others.
