Mike,
Great points!
Best,
Jon
I think that you have to be aware of all the features available to be able to apply whatever is best for the subject.
Expertise in your subject matter is the most important thing, But, competency in the technology is probably a necessary as well.
I think that a rudimentary knowledge and comfort level with the technology is needed.
Monica,
I agree, subject matter first!
Jon
It is - training helps! - Jon
I agree to a point. A course without much multimedia in it probably doesn't need a technical wizard. At the same time, a high end simulation or game would require some technical expertise or at a minimum knowledge on how to leverage the necessary technical tools out there.
I agree that to design a course we don’t need to be a tech wizard – in fact for most of the courses I have developed I simply develop the content and the content is uploaded and processed appropriately by course designers skilled in the tech side of course development. For the courses I have done all the work on before acting as a designer I completed a training course first to show me how to upload content, format correctly etc.
I guess if your teaching a class on technology being a tech wizard would be advantageous. Other than that, not necessary. It takes as much expertise as necessary to get the job done-nothing more, nothing less.
If I am an instructor who is looking to put together an online course, I would hire someone to pull it together. I am not an expert on Html, flash, and all of the other necessities for websites and I am sure there are other programs one must know in order to create something for online. As a teacher I supply the information, the course material, the quizzes and tests, assignments, etc., but I should not have to worry about "how to" make an online course, that is setting it up online. That is for the experts, technicians who do this kind of stuff all the time. I would work closely with someone who has already done some of these courses online to make sure my information is conveyed properly. But I do not have to get involved in the nitty gritty of the creation process. It's not what I do.
I agree, we should be aware of some of the new techniques and programs that are included in some online courses; if we ask a student to prepare a power point presentation and know how to upload its content, then we should know how to do that, too. But I do not have the time to learn a whole new way of "teaching" in the sense of beinga programmer, and would rather work with someone who does know how to take my lesson plans, projects, etc., and put them into an online course. As instructors we have plenty to do, and sometimes we find that we have less time in the classroom because we are being thrown even more "things to do" and learning how to program computers is not on my to-do list.
I disagree. I think you have to be willing to try new things, willing to think outside the box of your classroom, and willing to learn.
A good online course can actually contain much of what you are doing in the classroom (technology wise) but you just have to plan in advance and allow yourself some creativity. You do not need to have the flash animations (a matter of fact this is the fist MaxKnowledge course that I have taken that has as many and I hate to say, "I don't like") but must present knowledge in a way the student can learn.
-Chris
Well it depends on what your definition of a technology wizard implies. They definitely have to be comfortable with using technology and depending on what type of web and multimedia support they have may need some advanced skills. Even using precreated templates require technology ability that may be more advanced than the average traditional teacher may possess.
Still surprised to see questions that were not discussed in the content... such as storyboarding and copyright. I was also very surprised that the I of the ADDIE model was ignored. Implementation is just as critical within ISD and the other elements. Even if you plan it as part of a pilot. I also disagree that ISD is not linear. Yes, you can jump out of the line and go back but you must them revisit the linear elements that are impacted by any change.
Dr. Jeannette K. Jones, RCC
I believe that the initial developer must be a technological wizard but after that it depends on the classroom topic. In a basic mathematics course then there would not be much need for thechnological wizardry. A webdesign or database design course would be far more interesting with a little magic!
It is hard to say, the on-line class must be user friendly as well and "eye" catching to the user. I believe a little of both will be needed.
Hello Dr. Outland. I agree that it is not necessary to be a technology expert in order to develop an effective onliine course. An appropriate understanding of media strategies is necessary to support and enhance an understanding of the content and desired outcomes, but one need not be an expert in all areas.
Tanya,
I agree - it really helps if an institution has an administrator or instructional designer that can think through many of the design elements and create templates that are easy for subsequent developers to follow.
Thanks,
Jon
Anthony,
Good points, it really depends on what you are trying to create, and how much support you have.
Thanks,
Jon
Great point George - Thanks, Jon
