Getting Started
Whether you鈥檙e teaching in person, blended, or online, course design takes a 鈥渂ackward鈥� approach, beginning with the writing of learning outcomes, followed by assessments that provide evidence of students reaching those outcomes, and then course activities and the related content that will help students learn.
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In an online class, students will also need an orientation to the virtual classroom, as its setup may be unfamiliar to them or different from other online classrooms they鈥檝e experienced. You may also want to think ahead about how you will interact and communicate with students, as well as be present in your online course.
Learning Outcomes
Writing appropriate course learning outcomes and ensuring that students are able to attain them should be the first considerations听in designing a course.听Your听learning outcomes and course goals听are foundational to developing听learning activities and assignments.听How will听students practice,听acquire, and demonstrate听course learning outcomes?听It鈥檚 most likely that听the听outcomes听and goals听won鈥檛 change听in your transition to online, but the听methods used to support student success will.听听
- Consider the typical learning methods used in your face-to-face course.听听
- Some activities, like group discussion, can be replicated online through asynchronous discussion or synchronous small collaborative听group work.听
- If you find an activity that isn鈥檛 easily replicated online, consider a different activity that will facilitate the same type and quality of learning.听
- Assessments,听in particular,听may听require substantial changes听to allow students to effectively demonstrate they鈥檝e acquired a learning outcome.听Perhaps a scaffolded group project听can replace a traditional proctored exam, or if an exam is necessary maybe it can be structured as a rigorous take-home, open book听assessment.听听
Syllabus
The course syllabus is a comprehensive guide to the entire course and serves as a permanent record of a course for administrative purposes. The Syllabus Policy outlines information that must be included in a syllabus, such as your contact details, learning outcomes, any assignments or exams, and university statement, policies, and resources. A section of the Syllabus Policy outlines required and optional elements for online and blended courses. To facilitate the creation of a syllabus, the CLT provides syllabus templates for both online and blended courses [NetID login required].
Netiquette Guidelines
In your syllabus or as part of your course orientation, considering including ground rules for how students should be engaging in both asynchronous and synchronous online course spaces. Try including听(or co-creating with your students) Netiquette guidelines to ensure students understand how you expect them to communicate and engage with you and their peers. Examples of Netiquette guidelines you can use to create your own include:
Course Orientation
Unlike more traditional, in-person classes, students in an online or blended course may not know how to get started in the course. You may find your students benefit from having access to an orientation module that includes information on what they should expect of the experience, how to navigate the course, and any required technology. Ask students to complete the orientation as an expectation of the course, ensuring it is built into the course schedule, so students have the time they need to work through it.
The content of a quality orientation module will depend on your course and students, but here are some components you could consider including (Palloff & Pratt, 2003):
- Instructor welcome video
- Tour of online course site
- Expectations and protocols for online interaction (i.e., Netiquette)
- Info on any required/specialized technology or tools
- Helpful links and resources
- Indicators of student success in online courses (e.g., time management)
- Delineation of roles and expectations for students and instructor
Elements of a course orientation are already built into the Brightspace templates.