Fundamentals of OnlineCourse Design: A Model for Faculty

Development

Valerie West Rich Hernandez

Mary Mauldin

The Medical University of South Carolina

Overview of Presentation

• Background - Valerie West

• The Course - Rich Hernandez

• Outcomes - Mary Mauldin

• Discussion - Everyone

Characteristics of MUSC

• Free standing academic health center• Decentralized culture/faculty support

structure• Excellent core of “early adopters” - beta site

for WebCT• Some outstanding human resources

The Issue

• Growing distance education involvement• Distributed education innovations• Administrative push• No central source of “free” help for faculty• No one’s job to organize faculty support• No new resources

Selling the Idea

• Identify the issue with data– University wide survey– Issues identified

• Engage stakeholders– Provost– Retreat with Deans and key faculty and

administrators

Proposing the Program

• Semester long, 5:00- 8:00 weekly– Commitment to a course or project– Agree to train others– Hire our own faculty to teach– Reverse roles - pay students as teachers– Grassroots group development

Approval of Funding

– Initial Budget- $21,000 ($808 per faculty)• Faculty and Teaching Assistants• Supplies

– Source of funding– Surprise addition - Laptops ($60,000-

$3,116 per faculty

Marketing to Faculty

• Directly through multiple means• Through Colleges/Deans

Planning

• Faculty Planning Group• Assessing participant needs• Addition of Laptops/Software• Physical location considerations• Acceptances

Lessons Learned• Get data• Engage key stakeholders• Listen and adapt• Make it doable• Get people excited• STAY FLEXIBLE

What We Taught

• Pedagogy of online teaching (Webagogy )• Instructional design• Working with graphics• Transferable web skills• WebCT tools• Other course building tools

How We Taught It

• Lecture• Demonstration• Open labs• TAs• Guest speakers

• Impromptu activities• Online discussions• Online resources• “Student” show & tell

Additional Innovations

• Laptop surprise & aftermath• Wired classroom• Participant Faculty TA network• “Frank’s minute”

Course Quick Tour

Pre-Course Survey

• What do you want to accomplish?– Get a course online– Engage students in discussions/activities

• What skills are you hoping to develop through this course?– Independence– Graphics– Quizzes– Online Discussion

Pre-Course Survey

• After completing this course, I would be very happy if I could– Complete a course online– Put things up independently– Train/help others

Pre-Course Survey

Post-Course Survey

• 94% met their goals• 100% more comfortable designing and using

web-based instruction• 100% said time devoted was worth it• 94% said they could help others• 83% developed a usable unit

Post-Course Survey

• Highest Rated Items– Recommend course

be taught again (100%)

– Recommend to others (94%)

– Faculty had expertise to teach the course (94%)

• Lowest Rated Items– Theoretical Issues– Open Source

Systems viable option

– Introduction to other systems

Post-Course Survey

• If you were teaching course, what would you add, remove, or change?– Hands on practice– More Dreamweaver– Problems from the field– Divide class into groups

Summary

• Course Structure: divide class into groups• Content : less testing, less Blackboard, more

Dreamweaver• Methods: More hands-on

Lessons Learned

• Relevance• Don’t waste their time• Be flexible• Participants are bringing experiences with

them (lessons from the field) and they want to share

• Takes a lot of energy - plan for ways to encourage and motivate