Step‐by‐StepGuidetoCourseDevelopment
StarkCampusDistanceLearningCommunityofPractice StarkCampusPhilosophy
Online courses involve much more than simply pu ng your face‐to‐face course online. Online course development and delivery should be guided by pedagogical standards that place pedagogy before technology. In order to ensure quality courses, Stark Campus administra on recommends the following approach based, in part, on Quality Ma ers (QM) standards and the idea of con nuous improvement. OnlineTeachingTrainingProtocols
The Assistant Dean will evaluate online instructors’ level of distance learning exper se based on the following classifica on to determine the type of training required. Tiers LevelofDLExperience TrainingRequired Tier1 Has not taught online before Training on the following topics: 1. Course Design 2. Course Building (in Blackboard) 3. Course Delivery Tier2 Has taught successfully online at least once 1. Improving Your Online Course workshop with self‐evalua on
2. Peer Review Tier3 Has taught successfully online over mul ple semesters None
(Encourage par cipa on in Distance Learning Community of Prac ce and voluntary peer review) TimelineforOnlineCourseDevelopment
It is recommended that you begin preparing to teach your first online course at least one year in advance. The following is a suggested meline for developing your online course.
2+SemestersbeforeTeachingYourFirstOnlineCourse
Developing and teaching an online course requires familiarity with certain types of technology. Before you even begin developing an online course, you should acquaint yourself with the recommended technology. Developtheneeded You can try it out in your face‐to‐face courses or contact your educa onal technology designer for technologyskills assistance or training.
Refer to the Technological Skill Set Recommenda ons handout for a list of suggested competencies. Participatein
Professional
Development
Opportunities Take advantage of distance learning professional development opportuni es such as:
 Par cipate in the Stark Campus Distance Learning Community of Prac ce  A end training workshops from the Distance Learning Community of Prac ce, Quality Ma ers (QM) or the Office of Con nuing and Distance Educa on (OCDE) 2SemestersbeforeTeachingYourOnlineCourse
Consultwithyour
Coordinatorand
AssistantDean Consult with your department coordinator and the assistant dean to obtain approval for your course. Discuss how teaching this course online will affect the rest of the curriculum and any other faculty who also teach this course. You also want to gain assurance that you will have the opportunity to teach the course online in the future, assuming it goes well. DesigntheCourse Online course design takes a step back from technology and focuses on pedagogy. During the Design Phase, you will work with your learning outcomes and plan your content and ac vi es to align with those outcomes. You will also conceptualize the organiza onal structure of your course. Your course design should be well underway before you begin building it in Blackboard. 1SemesterbeforeTeachingYourOnlineCourse
BuildtheCourse The Build Phase brings you back to the technology aspect. You will execute the course organiza onal structure you conceptualized during the Design Phase. Then, using Blackboard Learn and other tools, you will create the content, ac vi es, and assessments and post them in your online course space. For the content you have not yet created, you can create placeholders in your Blackboard course un l it’s ready to post. SemesterofYourOnlineCourse
DelivertheCourse Delivering your online course once more intertwines technology and pedagogy. This phases covers everything you do while actually teaching the course, including any contact you have with the students prior to the official opening of the course to welcome and orient them to the course. To ensure that your course objec ves are being met, you will need to focus par cularly on communica on and assessment. Approach teaching your class as a process of con nuous improvement, and keep a record of what works well and what you might want to change when teaching the course in future semesters. Seek opportuni es with the OCDE to par cipate in Quality Ma ers ini a ves. 1SemesterafterTeachingYourOnlineCourse
The self‐evalua on phase begins a er you have taught the first itera on of your course. What went well? EvaluatetheCourse What might you change? What feedback did you receive from your students? Carefully assess what you might do to be er meet the learning objec ves of your course, and develop a plan for improvement. andPlanfor
Improvement Don’t feel that you have to make all the changes at once, especially if you teach the course every semester. After2‐3IterationsofTeachingYourOnlineCourse
PeerReview Although you can ask for feedback on your courses throughout Build, Design, and Delivery phases of your course, a er you have taught it for a few semesters, you might want to have an experienced colleague do an in‐depth review. Build the feedback you receive into your plan for con nuous improvement.