I agree, many applications are user-friendly enough that developers do not have to be technological wizards. I do believe it comes in handy for many issues. The college I work for is moving from one LMS to another, there is not a known script to move some of the information into a new system. Luckily one of the IT Instructors decided to take this one himself. I believe and technical background does help with the technology-no necessarily with course development.
For someone like myself who does not have a lot of technical savvy i feel like there are tools that can definitely help you when developing online courses and that they are being modified and improved since online learning has become so popular
I don think they have to be necessarily tech wizards.
Agreed...There does need to be someone on the development team that is technologically savvy, but often the developer is a material/content expert and focuses their efforts in that aspect. The technology is so versatile anymore that once you have the material you want you just need to find a way to make the technology work in your favor to best convey that material. I have never had technological issues while developing the few courses I have, but I also have a pretty helpful team in place to assist with that part.
Kristin,
Having a great class does need to be a team effort. Good job.
Shelly Crider
it would depend on what you would call a tech wizard in my opinion because there are some people that would be good as developers and stink in many other fields.
I agree you do not need to be a tech wizard to develop an online course, but it sure helps. If you have the opportunity to work directly with the tech guys it is much easier. If you can't directly work with the them but can communicate what you want the tech wizards can do the rest. In my situation the content is what is important, we have tech wizards that do the tech piece of the course.
It depends on the role you assume. If you are the SME...no, but you do need some technological knowledge. If you are the media designer--then absolutely.
The problem is that the course developer needs to be technical competent. I am a computer science instructor so I have good handle on technology.
I have worked with other instructors in the English and History department. They get very frustrated in developing and teaching online courses. Several instructors indicated that they prefer teaching on-campus courses over online courses.
Thanks
Fred Kellenberger
I believe that a technical competent instructor does always make a better instructor. Sometimes technical competent instructors become frustrated with students that cannot perform simple navigation tasks in the course.
Thanks
Fred Kellenberger
Carol,
Good point!! Some people do have very creative skills, but no teaching skills!
Shelly Crider
Sean ,
Even though technology may not be your career choice, it is good to sit in on a seminar now and then to get some good resources.
Shelly Crider
Lisa,
we hope that the two are working together to create a great class.
Shelly Crider
Fred,
Good point. Instructors do get frustrated with technology. This is a good example as to why to have someone else review your course.
Shelly Crider
Well I guess it depends on what you mean by course developers. Course developers I don't think have to be geniuses to create an online course. However, they should be familiar with the various learning modules available (moodle, blackboard, etc) and have a willingness to learn new ways to use them and also have a willingness to embrace new technology as it comes available. Are they going to have learn how to code and be able to know the latest computer techonology, no, but they must be open to what that techonology can create.
I would agree with this one, I’ve worked with a number of them and they do need to understand technology and they need to have a vision of what they want to accomplish, and a very important area they must know is the tool they are working with to build the course. I’ve worked with developers who had to stop because the editing tool they were using were changed, or upgraded and they did not understand the interaction between the course shell they were creating and how to accomplish that with the tool they were using.
So, no I don’t think they need to be technological wizards, I really don’t think that is really need any more anyway, but I do hope they are an expert in design and vision. It’s easy to get some technical help, but I think it’s harder to get visual and design help
Shelly, course developers do not need to be technological wizards, but it is helpful if an online course developer has some knowledge of how online e-learning systems work. The course developer as a subject matter expert (SME) can design the course within the confines of a template provided to him or her from an instructional designer who is “tech savvyâ€. Of course, with the development of newer applications with templates that are intuitive, a course developer who is not knowledgeable technologically could successfully design a course.
I agree that developers of online courses do not have to be wizards. However, as instructors continue to facilitate courses and communicate with other faculty, expertise in conducting online courses will increase. Additional features can be added to enrich the student learning experience.
Cheryl,
"Willing" is a key word! I have come across developers who like one way of creating and our students do not learn just one way. We need to make sure that we cover all of our student's learning styles.
Shelly Crider
I think it takes some knowledge but not necessarily a wizard. I feel the Tech wizard and the Content expert can work together to create a great course. I think it is also important to get feedback from someone outside the field to get their feedback.
