Designing and Delivering an
online module
ANGELA SHORT
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND HUMANITIES
KEVIN STARRS, SCHOOL OF
ENGINEERING(RETIRED!)
The Background
2
Collaborative relationship between lecturers with
 different skill sets
 different approaches to learning and teaching
 shared goals and aims
 students drawn from different schools/programmes
What did we hope to achieve?
 Constructive alignment ( Biggs, 1999) of learning
and assessment
 Better outcomes all round and results that we could
stand over
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Constructive Alignment
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Constructive Alignment, a term coined by John Biggs
(Biggs, 1999) has two parts
 Students construct meaning from what they do to
learn
 The teacher aligns the planned learning activities
with the learning outcomes
 Alignment is about getting students to take
responsibility for their own learning, and
establishing trust between student and teacher
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Constructive Alignment
4
Figure 1. Aligning learning outcomes, learning and teaching activities and the
assessment. Adapted from Biggs(1999) p 27
Reflective practitioner; the teacher who constantly modifies course design
and delivery, constantly trying to work closer to the unattainable perfect
constructive alignment.
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Designing; the model
5
 System of teaching and assessment welded to an
essential textbook- students must purchase to take
the module
 Textbook chosen not simply for content but
primarily for the design of the text itself and more
importantly, the support materials and resourcespublishers ahead of the curve in identifying teachers’
needs!
 Reviewing the Continuous Assessment to final exam
breakdown of marks in the module- ensure a payoff
for students ( minimum 50/50 split)
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The Model
6
 Delivery can be online (no face to face lectures) or
blended ( mix face to face and online delivery)
 All learning and assessment is asynchronous ( any time
any where)
 lectures delivered as PowerPoint files with narration by
lecturer. (narration achieved through use of Camtasia
software but most recently Articulate)
 Continuous Assessment worth 50% and final exam
( online or written ) also 50%
 Assessments must be completed within a specific time
frame throughout the semester to ensure constant
engagement
 Deadlines missed mean marks foregone
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The Assessment
7
 All assessment including the final exam is Open Book
 Assessment designed to move students from basic
comprehension and understanding ( True/False,
Multiple Choice) to application and evaluation type
questions that truly test understanding and transfer
 Open Book final exam questions are ALL
application/practical questions and ALL topics are
examined and ALL questions must be answered
 Grading of assessment a balance between computer
marked quizzes ( lower order tasks) to tutor marked
assignments, examining approach, method and analysis
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How does it work? Operations Management
Online
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 All module materials and resources made available on
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the Moodle site- no face to face lectures
All assessment tasks occur within a two week window
that opens and closes on specific dates
Assessment is a mix of formative and summative
Students are aware that they forego the marks when they
miss quizzes and deadlines
Students are instructed to communicate their
problems/issues through Moodle
Let’s take a look!
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How does it work; Creativity and
Innovation; Blended Approach
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 10 credit module which is 100% assessed using a feasibility
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Study- no final exam
Essential textbook adopted which students purchase
Students attend three hours of lectures per week as normal
All assessment tasks are completed online and time based
Opportunity to engage in formative assessment before taking
the graded quizzes
Assessment tasks are a mixture of computer marked and tutor
marked- computer marked ‘content’ quizzes and tutor marked
application tasks
Different assessment tools employed; Learning journals and
wiki to suit the learning outcomes
Let’s take a look!
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So if it’s all online, why do they need us?
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Typical question posed; personal observations
 Tutor’s role as important if not more so in an online/blended
module
 More thought put into the design of materials/supports and
assessment practices
 More structure on the module delivery- attendance not an issue!
 All information clearly set out- students know exactly what is
expected of them and they are told what they can expect from us
 Role of feedback crucial- two way process
 Quality of the communication online much better
 Students forced to analyse their difficulties before emailing youdon’t entertain ‘ I haven’t a clue’ type comments and queries – only
respond to specific informed questions
 No better way of honing your ‘explaining’ skills; feel that I can often
add more value through online communication
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Pros of online/blended approaches
11
Pros
 Balance of responsibility for learning shifts from tutor to
student
 Moodle allows you to track all activity- nowhere to hide
 Gain insights into how students approach their learningtime based assessments good discipline forcing them to
learn as they go along
 Easy to adopt an approach of continuous improvement
 Some very uplifting student feedback
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Cons of online blended
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 For the teacher the volume of work can be great-
time consuming with large numbers
 For the student the volume of work appears out of
kilter with other modules even though they have 105
independent study hours assigned to every module!
 Technology glitches - some minor ongoing issues
that may be to do with the set up here or the Moodle
software itself
 technology totally outside the lecturer’s control- can
no longer even enrol guests without going through IT
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Final Words
13
 Not as daunting as you might think
 If you can collaborate, it makes life much easier
 Don’t think about the technology- it doesn’t teach-
you do
 Consider what ‘value’ the use of technology can add
to your teaching- know what it is you are trying to
achieve
 Start with online assessment exercises and move
towards blended or fully online approaches
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Questions
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 Thank you for listening- We hope you found this
session useful
 Did we meet your expectations?
Questions?
References
John Biggs (1999): Teaching for Quality Learning at University, (SRHE and Open University
Press, Buckingham)
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