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April 15, 2003
Build and Teach a Successful Online Course (cont'd)
Keys to Success
Adapted from the Concord Consortium's e-Learning Model for Online Courses, these are essential components of designing and teaching online classes.
Asynchronous collaboration. Participants don't have to be logged on to the course simultaneously; they work in an asynchronous environment that combines text-based, threaded discussion and collaborative problem solving.
Explicit schedules. Course design relies on collaborative discussions by scheduling lessons within a specific time frame so all participants can share experiences and insights around specific content.
Expert facilitation. Course leaders know when to help students get back on track, and when to let participants learn from each other. There are several resources to help online facilitators, including Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators (Atwood Publishing).
Inquiry pedagogy. Designers create effective online courses where learning takes place through a process of participant discovery and exploration-via a group project or WebQuest, for example-rather than instructor-controlled lecture and readings.
Community building. Course designers and instructors are proactive in designing and nurturing an online community culture in which participants are supportive, honest, and willing to take intellectual risks.
Limited enrollment. There are between 12 and 25 participants in a class to insure broad participation and to keep discussion and collaborative learning manageable.
High-quality materials. Course designers include the widest feasible range of media and activities to appeal to different styles of learning.
Purposeful virtual spaces. Online course designers create explicit structures so the community gets what it needs without interrupting the flow of content-based discussions. Typically included are a "Student Lounge," "Questions about Assignments," and "Technical Questions."
Ongoing assessment. Online assessment is a continuous process. Instructors find evidence of achievement in participants' daily contributions to online discussions. They learn each student's unique voice and approach to solving problems through their posts.
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