I feel that you do not have to be a wizard to develop an online course, but I do feel that you should at least have knowledge and the abillity to navigate through programs.
I find that I have to know Microsoft Office, Adobe Captivate, and a simple Web Design builder and FTP site to at least produce the product to a small group of students. To expand the program to a larger group of students, I will have to learn about the LMS systems (someone recommended Modal). It is overwhelming the technical expertise that really goes into running an online progra.
Our college system adopted a strategy that not only would Academic Affairs who designs our online learning use online teaching, but so would all other departments that did any type of training. Our technical department gave us 1-2 training sessions on our LMS, Leaning Management System, and we all took it from there. My technical skills are not along the lines of an IT staffer at all, but with a little training and some well placed questions, I created a system for Admissions Training that was the springboard for other departments. Good training and support is all that is needed to create your course.
Thanks, Wendi, for your comments. It is great that the different departments are experimenting with online teaching. Out of curiosity, for Admissions training, what type of activities or exercises were included in the online content for the Admissions course?
Jay Hollowell
EL101 Guest Facilitator
I too am mixed on this one. Although, there are many point and click tools to help in the design and development process, individuals must be competent in subject matters. Subject competency and content mastery should then lead to developing a much better overall course.
Excellent point, Jerry; subject matter expertise is at the foundation of all teaching, on ground or online.
Jay
EL101
I agree the developers of online courses do not have to be technological wizards. I think they need to dive in to learning new techniques for online courses and be committed to making the online learning environment as effective as possible.
Lysnsey,
I agree, but think that having IT support for faculty is quite helpful.
Jon
I agree with this statement, but at the same time the developer must be able to use the technology that is available and not let their lack of it hinder the course development.
In my experience, I have found attitude toward technology just as, if not more important than "wizardry." For many of us technology immigrants, it is a daunting task to tackle a new form of technology, especially when we know it's going to change again in the near future.
However, if we adopt the attitude that everything can be learned with a little patience and motivation, the technology is not a barrier, but a means to get where we want to go.
It also helps to have an IT person who is available to help through the rough spots!
It would certainly help to be a wizard, but at the minimum, I think the developer of an on-line course should be proficient with the technological platform of the course. It is the responsibility of the instructor to become very comfortable with all the features available and to be able to teach/ coach the students with the technology as well. We should expect to have students who may be digital immigrants and may need some help.
Jill,
You are correct, at the bare minimum, the instructor needs to be comfortable with the LMS and it is the institution's responsibility to make sure they are trained. On the brighter side, I have noticed that the overall technical ability and specifically the familiarity with LMS systems has dramatically improved with faculty over the last 10 years.
Thanks,
Jon
No I do not feel that Developers have to be technological wizards. However I do feel that they have to have some basic knowledge and a desire to continue learning about computers to help aid them in online teaching. But as long as a professor knows the materials of the subject that they are teaching then how it is presented and uploaded into online teaching format can be learned and mastered as they repeatedly use the process.
I agree - most tools are very approachable to a faculty member who is interested in learning.
Jon
You don't have to be a tech wizard, but you do need to be familiar with what is out there and how to use it. At least, have someone from IT be able to assist you with putting your course together.
Jon,
In a perfect world the developer is a tech wizard and a subject matter expert. I utilize an online learning management program. It is fairly intuitive for the neophyte. However; if you want the content to be more than words on the screen, a basic understanding of html, xml, and JavaScript is nice to know. So the short answer is……….yes developers need to be techies too!
I agree with you, Jill.
It is like designing a webpage. There are many tools out there for a novice to create a pretty good webpage, but to truly make the most out of the medium, it helps to know a bit more. It doesn't mean that a novice shouldn't try. It can be an ongoing process where the instructor continues to improve over the long-term. As long as the instructor makes a sincere effort to improve (and tries to gain the basics before attempting to teach an online course), there is no reason why a novice can't grow to become a successful online educator.
I feel that developers should be somewhat familiar with media so that communication between developers and technological staff are in better understanding of each other. Also being educated on media types and how they work; can help one understand which media the perspective student would most likely be using.
Rob :-D
I agree - the more the designer knows, the easier development will be. Additionally, they will have a good idea of what can be done.
At a most basic level, the developer of the course must understand how the material will be presented differently online. This will be a challenge with some content creators, and frankly, more work for some curriculum. However, the more adept the course developer is, the more robust the use of interaction, multimedia and discussion applied to the course content. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to set up a plug-and-play online learning system, it does take a decent multimedia designer and a competent web developer to replace the advantages of a face-to-face learning environment with an online counterpart.
In my opinion, of course.
