This week, I’m continuing my reflection on the process of developing my semester-long course. There is not much time left before my delivery for a grade. As a graded project, I am feeling confident that the development is complete. I’ve got fifteen modules (over a 16-week semester) scheduled, with a good balance of discussions, group assignments, and individual assignments. I’ve added rubrics and quizzes and videos to support some of the topics. I have a job aid for the instructor. What I have left to do is any final editing and recommended revisions.
As to challenges, there is never enough time. Period. I’ve found that to be true throughout my career. We always have to make trade-offs, because there is always more we could do. (In fact, one of the assignments in the course is on that topic!) I’m a big believer that less is more in online learning, so I wouldn’t want to add too much, either as content or activities. But there are probably a hundred small things I could do to improve it. For example, the videos I made in three of the modules will enhance the reading. I would love to make videos for two or three other modules, but I have run out of time for that. One of the challenges I faced is in the job aid. I think of a job aid as a one-page checklist for a learner to use to help them implement a new skill. However, this is mostly a semantic issue. Once I thought about how I could help an instructor be successful teaching this course, it became easier to understand what to include. In my job, we’ve had a similar issue. We are innovating a new type of blended learning, which includes less instructor-delivered content. It's a big shift from a lecture-based format. Our testing revealed that some instructors are better at facilitating activities than others. We created a facilitator enablement guide to make our expectations of their task very clear. I won’t be implementing this course in the foreseeable future. I would love to teach this class at some point. But I don’t even know how to go about getting a new course approved at a university. When I embarked on this assignment, I considered choosing a different modality. I have in mind a more professional-friendly schedule that I can deliver as a series of workshops. However, I wanted the practice developing an undergraduate course. At some point, I may use this as a springboard to that format, which I’ll have more control over implementing commercially. In doing that, I will offer an early access discount in exchange for feedback so that my early learners can help with evaluating the course.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMichele Wiedemer has worked in software as an "accidental instructional designer" for many years. She is currently completing the MS in Learning Technologies at The University of North Texas. This blog represents reflections on specific assignments in the coursework. Archives
February 2024
Categories |