Transcript Designing Quality Online Course

More Work Than You Think
By
Crystal Rust
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Miramar College
 I believe that a common misconception from both
instructors and students, is that online courses are just
face to face courses put on the internet.
 This should not be the way quality online courses are
thought of nor constructed.
 Quality online instruction should use different modes
of delivery, technology and methodologies to deliver
course content.
 Online instructors need to be aware of letting their
online students know that online instruction is NOT
like face to face instruction. That student roles and
responsibility are different in an online course verses a
face to face course. (Stats story)
 There are several different tools to use to define the
characteristics of a quality online course.
 One tool is the Blackboard Greenhouse Exemplary
Course Program’s Submission Form and Grading rubric
found at http://www.webct.com/exemplary or in word
doc form Greenhouse ECP Rubric 2008 (See Doc list).
 Looking at the way they have set up the form and I will
focus on the following sections:
1. Course Design
2. Assessment
3. Interaction and Collaboration
4. ADA and Section 508 Compliant
 To design a course, one should first do a course map.
Also providing the course map to the students, will give
the students a concise visual of how the course is set
up. This is my course map for College Algebra.
College Algebra Course Map (See Doc list)
 Another great resource to help you plan your online
course, is a communication and support grid we used
in another course I took through UCSD. Here is the
grid we used to help plan how we were going to
construct assignments and what mode of
delivery/support we would use:
Communication and Student Support Grid(See List)
 Course goals and student learning objectives should be clearly
written utilizing Bloom’s taxonomy verbs. An excellent
resource on Bloom’s taxonomy is found at
http://cs1.mcm.edu/~awyatt/csc3315/bloom.htm
 Course goals and learning outcomes should be included in the
following areas of the course:
1. Syllabus: College and Matrix Algebra Syllabus (See PPP)
2. Inside the content material in the course : Inside my
online College and Matrix Algebra course lectures I
include mini lectures(See Doc List) containing the
learning objectives. Also in my PowerPoint lecture on
Rational Functions and vertical asymptotes I include the
learning objectives Rational Functions (See PPP)
3. Each assessment activity: Here are two assessments
from my College and Matrix Algebra class Rational
Functions Project (See Doc List) and Rational Function Cmap( See Doc List)
 There are many ways to design a syllabus. You can put
the syllabus in PDF or Word document forms. These
are the easiest and most accessible forms.
College Algebra PDF
 However, since we have technology and Internet
available in online classes, why not make the syllabus
interactive and dynamic? This is the syllabus I created
for my College Algebra Course in Power Point.
College Algebra and Matrix Syllabus
 Here is a link that can help with the basics of creating
an effective interactive and dynamic online syllabus
http://www.mdfaconline.org/modules/module_a10/m
odule_a10.html
 Is it presented in manageable segments? Exam module
segments and specific due dates. Online Class or PDF
format
 Is it easily navigated? Each exam or content segment
should be uniform so that students become accustomed
to navigating each content segment systematically. Online
Class or PDF Format
 Content available via a variety of mechanisms?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Power Point Rational Functions Lecture
Single File Web Page (MHTML) College Algebra Syllabus
Web Page access My MathDoctor1999 web site
Word Doc Lesson 19: Rational Functions
PDF format Lesson 19: Rational Functions
Video Thinkwell Demo
 One of the most powerful attributes of online
instruction is the variety of assessments that can be
designed. Technology aids in the design of
assessments that will touch on a variety of learning
styles.
 Assessments should be designed with using Bloom’s
taxonomy as a guide.
 Assessments also need to be aligned with the learning
objectives of the course.
 Rubrics need to be provided in the assessments that
are used for grading. These help students to know
precisely what you are looking for them to do.
Looking at the Greenhouse ECP rubric, they list a
variety of assessment types. Here are some of the
types I have used and will be using:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Self-checks
Concept Maps
Individual Projects that require web searches.
Exams
PowerPoint presentations
Web Quests
 Self-checks within the lecture materials. These are
basic calculation checks for the students. These types
of self-checks fall within the lower level of Bloom’s
taxonomy or the knowledge level.
a)
The mini lectures. Rational Functions Mini-lecture (See
Doc List)
a)
PowerPoint lectures self checks. Rational Functions PP
(See Rational Functions PPP)

Concept Maps are great for getting students to visualize
their thinking process. A wonderful introduction to
them can be found at
http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/Th
eoryCmaps/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.htm
In Word doc Cmap Paper (See Doc List)
 There are many different ways to use concept mapping.
a.
b.

They can be used for individual assessment.
They can also be used for group assessment.
Concept maps can also be designed to fit the different
levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
 There is a free download available for any
University/College and for all of your students to use
found at: http://cmap.ihmc.us/
1)
2)
3)
Fill in the blank concept maps test the lower level of
Bloom’s taxonomy of knowledge. The students simply fills
in the correct responses that are given. These are a great
way to start student’s on how concept maps work. Rational
Function Concept Map level 1. (See Doc List)
The next type of concept map is a little more difficult. In
this map, the instructor starts it, and the student chooses
from the instructor given choices on how to complete the
concept map. These maps test the middle part of Bloom’s
taxonomy of analysis. Rational Functions Concept map
Level 2. (See Doc List)
The last type is known as open ended. In these maps, the
student designs their own concept map all on their own
with no help from the instructor. This is the highest level
of Bloom’s taxonomy of create/evaluate. Rational Function
Concept Map Level 3 (See Doc List)

Grading rubric for the open ended concept map
should be included. Here is the rubric I use:
Grading Rubric for Open Ended Concept Maps (See
Doc List)
 Another research paper on the benefits of using
concept maps in online courses appeared in Journal of
Computing in Teacher Education, Spring 2008 Volume
24, Number 3 by Kevin Oliver. His research did use
C-map tool, the free software I told you about earlier.
 I have not yet launched the C-map use as a group
assessment, I am working on it for the Fall 2008
semester. This software has a web-server that the
students can sign onto and do collaborative maps. The
server is used by scientists and Universities all over the
world. It is still FREE to use.
 Another type of assessment is individual projects.
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
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With these types of assessments, I try to give real world
problems for the students to research.
This type of assessment assesses the students at the
middle level of Bloom’s taxonomy or the analyze level.
I encourage them to do web searches to find web sites
that they find helpful in analyzing the problem. I have
them post useful web sites to the discussion board for
their classmates to view.
Here is an example I used in the College Algebra class:
Rational Functions Project (See Doc List)
I also include the grading rubric inside the project.
 This semester I have been using multiple choice exams
for the “major” assessments , as well as, the final exam.
 I now have come to the understanding that these types
of assessments only require the students to
demonstrate their basic calculative knowledge which
tests the lowest level of Bloom’s taxonomy.
 Calculative exams have a place in assessment, but
should not be the main focus for assessment.
 Students do need to know how to do the calculations,
but exams need to test higher levels of Bloom’s
taxonomy as well.
 Next semester I will use different forms of assessment
techniques instead of only multiple choice exams.
 I am creating exams that will cover the three levels of
Bloom’s Taxonomy.
1.
2.
3.
The lower level of knowledge will be assessed through
the multiple choice part.
The middle level of analysis will be assessed through an
application/web-search problem.
The higher level of create will be assessed through
C-maps and/or Web Quests.
 As for the final exam, instead of one cumulative
multiple choice exam, again I will have different
sections of it to measure different levels of Bloom’s
taxonomy.
 However, as a final project counted as part of the final
exam, I will have the students create a PowerPoint
presentation of a lecture over the material they found
to be the most challenging.
 Another final assessment would be to have the
students as a final project create a WebQuest.
 I think that testing with different tools such as these
will help to evaluate students with diverse learning
styles more practically.
 A great resource for information on them can be found
at http://webquest.org/index.php and
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/Process/WebQuestDesignPr
ocess.html In Word doc WebQuest Process
 These two web sites contain the information on
understanding and designing webquests:
http://www.zunal.com/ and an Interactive Cmap on Web
http://www.mapacourse.com/webquesthtml/
 I made a short PowerPoint WebQuest PPP(See PPP)
 Here is a basic WebQuest design Map WebQuest
Map(See Doc)
 This is an evaluation rubric for designing a WebQuest
Web Quest evaluation (See Doc List) and a grading
rubric to use. Grading Rubric (See Doc List)
 This semester I have had the students communicating
and helping each other through discussion boards, ten
of which I grade. Discussion Board Rubric (See Doc
List)
 They have also done independent posts to find help
from their classmates. As the semester has continued,
they have helped each other more and more and
emails to me have decreased.
 I always answer emails within 24 hours or sooner. This
way the student is assured you are there and watching
over the class.
 Next fall, I will incorporate the C-maps and Web
Quests for more collaboration projects among the
students.
 To help students that require accommodations, post in
your syllabus or in your greeting that if you have
students who require accommodations, to contact you
so you can discuss their needs on an individual basis.
 I am very aware of the accommodations of students
because I have a daughter who has a disability.
 There are many technical issue within section 508, here
is an excellent web resource to help you learn by
examples and what software have built in accessibility
features and how to use them:
http://www.cew.wisc.edu/accessibility/guidelines/section50
8.htm
 There is an accessibility wizard from Virtual508.com for
Microsoft Office , but not for Microsoft Office 2007.
One really important thing to remember, online courses
are never really finished. They must and should
continually evolve. As I take my classes, I am always
asking myself:
Is this usable in my online course? If so, how?
2. Does is bring to the course new innovative ways of
teaching and assessing?
3. Does it help me reach students with diverse learning
styles more effectively?
4. Does it help the students achieve their learning
objectives, or would it just confuse the students?
Also, online courses are NOT face to face courses stuck
online. They utilize different technology and modalities
then face to face classes, so take advantage of it.
Thank – You for your invitation to speak and your time
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