Topic outline

  • General

    Digital Delivery
    Welcome! In this course, we'll learn the fundamental skills necessary for building engaging, effective online classes. The course is divided into three major components.

    First, we'll cover the essentials for structuring a class. We'll set up course goals, identify standards, design assessments, and learn how to find and develop engaging activities for online learning. Second, we'll learn the technological skills for building an online class using Moodle, which is in essence your digital classroom. This component of the course is hands-on, so you'll actually be building elements of a course as you go. Third, we'll learn some of the considerations and differences when designing and teaching online courses. We'll work on all three of these components simultaneously.

    By the end of the course you should feel confident that you can design and build an online course. We'd like to add that you'll be confident that you can teach an online class, but there is no substitute for experience in that regard, so in that sense our third goal is that you feel relatively comfortable with the idea of teaching an online course.

    Getting started is easy! Just scroll down to the box below this one and start working. Before you do that, however, please watch the Course Introduction video to get a better idea of how the course will work.

    Please feel free to get in touch with me at any time with questions, ideas, or concerns. One good way to do that is to use the messaging system built into Moodle. To learn how to do that, you can watch the "How to Contact Your Instructor" video below this box.

    Good luck! Happy building!
    • Topic 1

      Part I: Goals
      General
      Before we get started in the course, there are a two things to be aware of in terms of course structure. Please read the Course Structure page to get a better idea of how things are set up. After that, please watch the video Working with Multiple Moodles Simultaneously to learn how to work efficiently with several Moodle courses at once.
    • This topic

      Topic 2

      Part II: Standards
      General
      Let's drive on! In this section, we'll fine tune our goals by measuring them against standards, start doing stuff with Moodle, and reflect on the digital divide. So much to do!

      Before we dig in to the heavier content, let's go back and spend a little time getting to know each other a bit better. For this assignment, go back to the Introductions Forum, read some of the latest self-introductions, and give feedback to two different people. You may want to ask a few questions, share some similar interests, or just generally praise your colleagues. Whatever works, but keep it friendly and positive.
      Concepts
      One of the key considerations when designing a learning experience of any kind is the target audience. What is our target audience? What are their interests? How can we connect with them and make the content relevant? What language and tone are appropriate? Do they learn differently from us? It's always worth taking a bit of time to reflect on these considerations when building online courses. In this concept assignment, we'll take a look at a thought-provoking article on the subject. When you're ready, begin the assignment below.
    • Topic 3

      Part III: Content is King

      General
      One of the key elements to meaningful communication in an online class is to structure discussions into segments that continue to build. For this general exercise, please go back to the Everything is Amazing discussion and the Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants discussion. Add one comment to someone else's post that develops the conversation further. You can ask a question related to a post, add an insight, or share more information. Also, check to see if someone has commented on one of your posts. If so, reply if appropriate.
      Concepts
      One of the greatest challenges to developing an online course is finding good sources of content. It's simply not feasible in most situations for a teacher to create enough custom content to create a semester long online course. To be effective course developers as teachers, we've got to develop skill at finding good educational content on the web. To explore this concept in more detail, work through the following web resource on Content in Online Courses.
    • Topic 4

      Let's Get Engaged

      General
      Welcome to the fourth section in the course! This section will focus on student engagement in an online class. We'll also continue developing skills in Moodle. Before we delve into that, however, let's continue our exploration on how you can make an online learning environment a more personally engaging space. In this section, we'll look at Moodle profiles. When you're ready, click on the following resource to learn more.