Wizards no. I have led technical architecture projects where I was no where near as Wizardly as my colleagues. But........
I did have the fundamentals down. I knew what could and could not be done. I think to be a good course designer you need to be able to visualize the outcome. That means familarity with tools is necessary.
True. But you do need to know what your car can and cannot do.
Maybe not wizards, but they have to know enough technology to be able to use the delivery platform successfully, and maybe even innovatively. Maybe one does become a tech wizard by teaching online by necessity!
I agree, at least knowing what is possible (and impossible) is a big plus - Jon
I disagree, I believe that you need to have above average skills and understanding of the mechanisms of the computer and the WWW. You especially need to know the ups and downs of how the web works and what components are needed for an effective online presentation. HTML coding is an absolute necessity for understanding what is happening on your platform.
Developers do not necessarily have to be "wizards," but it does help to have an understanding of the technology that you will be using...otherwise it might make some things difficult.
Tanya Vanderlinde
I believe having some understanding of web development could lend to better course design. The designer would better understand the limitations of the technology and of the tools they're using.
If we were to look at the course shell as a CMS (Content Management System) - like Moodle, for example, or Dupal - then the lack of expertise by the course designer is just functional. So long as they know how to prepare, upload, and manage content, then the expertise to manage the site isn't relevant.
If you have to train an online instructor to deliver a synchronous lecture, or, if they're unfamiliar with how to use real-time chats constructively, or even troubleshoot common connectivity problems, then that could be a liability.
R
I think that it HELPS to understand technology as an online course developer. If you are "stuck in the past" in the manner that you present your classes, then people are less likely to take you as seriously.
I feel that you would have to get some type of evaluation to see if you are capable of navigating the system without having to call support all the time. On the other hand some instructors are just placed without training are have to rely on their computer abilities.
Perhaps they don't have to be 'technological wizards' themselves, but, in that case, they have to have 'tech help' somewhere. Of course, much depends on whether they're designing a course from scratch or not! But at any stage, it helps to have input from someone who has been through whatever technical portals have to be opened, who can expedite issues of access and design, and who knows how to fix whatever glitches pop up (and they always will).
Course developers do not need to be technology wizards; but it does help to understand how to use the program that will be used to develop the online course. If the course developer does not know how to use the software to develop the course, then they will need to take a course in that software package before development of their online course.
Belinda
While they don't have to be wizards, a certain amount of technical savvy is required. In addition, a willingness to self-teach yourself new skills as well as the ability to problem solve are also very important traits.
I would agree that developers of online courses do not have to be tech "Wizzes." Much of onile course design involves developing learning objectives, assignments, and methods for assessment, tools which most instructors possess. Certainly technology is used to host the course and having a certain degree of tecnological expertise is required as well.
It's what makes utilizing online technology both rewarding and frustrating. One learns a great deal, actually, from becoming familiar with the operational procedures involved, gaining experience that one can use in other educational and technical contexts. Actually, some of the new skills can be transferred back to the 'face-to-face' classroom. Meanwhile, the extra work online also means that one has greater awareness of students as individual human beings (strangely, since most people think the online environment is 'impersonal'), with a richer exchange concerning the course content itself -- and all that is somewhat rewarding as well.
I believe that a fair amount of technology expertise is required. While the designer is not expected to be a computer programmer or application guru, he/she should understand how technology for e-learning tools works. Without this understanding, it may be impossible to anticipate the looks and feel of the course. In addition, developers of online courses should be able to understand the merits and limitations of available e-learning technologies so that they will be able to choose the ones that are appropriate for their programs.
I agree that competency in the subject matter is imperative. However, some understanding of e-learning environment will still be required, in my opinion. The designer needs to understand merits and limitations of available e-learning technologies so that he/she will be able to choose the technology that is appropriate for a given program.
In my opinion, knowledge of e-learning technologies my still be required for English courses. Like I stated in my previous posts, the designer should not be a technology guru. All that may be required is an understanding of how e-learning technology works and how it is used.
If you have a team of personnel (and infrastructure) in-place then you don't have to be a technological wizard...but it helps to be technologically cognizant of what is out there. In that way you can leverage and enhance the experience of the learner.
If you don’t have the technical personnel or resources to support your online delivery of your content, then learning the various technologies for online delivery will be required otherwise your online delivery methods/presentation and enhanced learner experience will be limited.
With regards to engineering, developing on-line simulations and experiments will take significant time to produced. As technology evolves in this area, I believe engineering and other technical courses can be delivered totally online. You will also need real-time interactive video and collaborative technologies (real-time interactive whiteboards) to deliver effective quality presentations online.
With the current technologies and infrastructure, a combination of on-line and on-ground deliveries will be needed before the technical courses (engineering, mathematics, physics, etc) can be effectively delivered totally online. Agree or disagree?
I agree with this statement. Often, they do need to know the tools and limitations that is a head of them. It is a sort of project management approach that becomes important. Technology understanding can help though.
