Online Course Design. August 2 4, 2010 Denver, CO

Transcription

1 Online Course Design August 2 4, 2010 Denver, CO An excellent study of the elements that must be considered when conceptualizing, executing, and revising course content. Thomas Friedmann, Instructional Technologist, University of Massachusetts Amherst Extremely informative and eye opening! Provided a substantial amount of information to take back and review our online courses. Steve Szymdmiak, Department Director, Texas State Technical College Wow this conference delivered beyond my expectations! Not only did the conference actually include what was promised, the resources that I left with especially those that were housed online were excellent and immediately transferable to my needs! Karen J. Barr, Ph.D., Professor, Nicolet Area Technical College

2 Overview In light of the increased demand for high-quality online courses and programs, instructional designers and course developers are facing new challenges. To ensure the development of effective courses and a high level of engagement for a variety of learners, course developers must effectively use the online environment, establishing measurable learning outcomes and the means for achieving them. Join your colleagues in Denver to learn how you can design more effective online courses. Topics include: Constructing instructional strategies Developing instructional designs that are aligned with course objectives Facilitating interactivity in the online course Utilizing technologies to support learning Implementing and evaluating course delivery Who Should Attend Instructional designers, course developers, instructional technologists, and anyone involved in the design and development of online courses will benefit most from this conference. Participants will leave this hands-on event with an operational understanding of how to design, develop, implement, evaluate, and revise online courses. Learn how you can design more effective online courses. Conference format The conference is structured to balance information sharing, targeted learning activities, group work, and collaboration with colleagues. Through the use of case studies and collaborative work you will be able to directly apply the knowledge that you have gained during the conference with guidance from the instructors. What to Bring Since you will be actively engaged in using online technologies and will be asked to interact with other participants through various tools, you will need a laptop computer with wireless capability for this event. This provides a hands-on understanding of how you and your students can use various online tools in your courses. We encourage you to bring course materials that can be used to begin building an online course. Conference proceedings will be delivered to you on a flash drive rather than in a binder. 2

3 Optional Pre-Conference Workshop Monday, August 2, :00 9:00 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast for Pre-Conference Workshop Attendees 9:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Optional Pre-Conference Workshop: Emerging Technologies/Web 2.0 Web 2.0 tools and social media offer many opportunities to engage learners, add interactivity, and extend the functionality of a course management system. This session will offer strategies to select tools that support different types of learning while considering the technical requirements, costs, and benefits. Participants will use Web 2.0 tools to create a learning experience that engages and involves the learner. Topics will include collaboration, content generation, and visualization strategies. 12:00 1:00 p.m. Lunch for Pre-Conference Workshop Attendees Conference Agenda Monday, August 2, :00 1:00 p.m. Registration for Main Conference 1:00 1:45 p.m. Welcome & Opening Remark 1:45 2:45 a.m. Engaged Plenary Online learners often feel like a classroom of one. Specific strategies can be adopted, however, to help minimize isolation, engage learners, and create social presence. These strategies include social networks, learning circles, learning teams, and communities of learning. This session will examine these strategies as we get to know each other, create teams, consider the nature of learners, constraints of the learning environment, and requirements of course content. 2:45 3:00 p.m. Break 3:00 4:30 p.m. Instructional Design Strategies for Online Courses Once you have identified and articulated your goals and objectives, the next step is to use specific design strategies that may be employed in developing an online course, such as: Organizing the design process Using objectives and aligning modules Making the design process manageable and forming modules Bloom s Taxonomy: How learning technologies enhance an online course 4:30 5:30 p.m. Networking Reception (included in registration) Tuesday, August 3, :30 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast (included in registration) 9:00 10:30 a.m. Developing Effective Online Content Once you have identified instructional strategies and written your design specifications, you will have a basic plan in place for the development of your online course content. Now it is time for the next step: executing the plan. Practical advice and best practices will be presented and discussed in consideration of the following: Logistics and processes for the course development team Syllabus development Content Organization Lesson construction Addressing accessibility issues 3

4 Conference Agenda Tuesday, August 3, 2010 (continued) 10:30 10:45 a.m. Break 10:45 a.m. 12:15 p.m. Matching Your Instructional Approach with the Right Technology This session introduces instructional approaches that can inform course design and decisions about when and how to integrate technology. Topics will include learning contracts, collaborative/cooperative learning, self-directed learning, and case- and project-based learning. 12:15 1:30 p.m. Lunch (included in registration) 1:30 3:00 p.m. Developing Interactive Learning Activities Interactivity is essential to maintaining student motivation and interest. It serves to minimize students feelings of isolation and to promote critical thinking skills, higher-level learning, and student retention. This session will provide examples of activities for four types of interactivity: student-instructor, student-student, student-resource, and student-content. Tips and strategies for encouraging, maintaining, and sustaining interaction will be discussed. 3:00 3:15 p.m. Break 3:15 4:45 p.m. Speed Course Review Participants will have an opportunity to review examples of online courses. Examples will highlight collaboration, active learning, diversity of instructional content and strategies, and accountability of student performance. A rubric will be used to assist in identifying best practices, useful ideas, and changes that participants might make to showcased courses. Participants will be asked to share ideas and solutions on the courses they visit. Wednesday, August 4, :00 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast (included in registration) 8:30 10:00 a.m. Strategies for Implementing the Online Course This session will review launch and implementation considerations/strategies that support learners, faculty, and other support personnel. Topics include student readiness, technology considerations, and student crisis points. Whole course alignment principles and strategies of successful redesign will also be discussed. 10:00 10:15 a.m. Break 10:15 11:45 a.m. Evaluation & Revision of Online Courses Focusing on the formative, summative, and confirmative evaluation of online instructional materials, methods and tools for defining, quantifying, and measuring quality in online courses will be presented. You will receive templates, tools, and rubrics with which you can develop your own evaluation and revision plan. Steps, processes, and tools for the revision and continued improvement of online courses will be discussed: Updating materials that are outdated, ineffective, or broken Discovering causes for failures and fixing potential problems Maintenance and improvements to course content and instructional strategies Keeping up with the dynamic nature of web technologies and theories of online learning 11:45 a.m. 12:15 p.m. Program Take-Aways What are you going to do with the acquired information when you return to work? How are you going to integrate the acquired information into your program? You will have the opportunity to share your take-aways and next steps with the conference instructors and your colleagues. 4

5 Optional Post-Conference Workshop Wednesday, August 4, :15 1:15 p.m. Lunch for Post-Conference Workshop Attendees 1:15 4:15 p.m. Optional Post-Conference Workshop: Learner Assessment in an Online Environment Clear assessments are needed for online courses to be successful, both from an academic achievement and program coherency standpoint. This workshop will present an assessment toolkit that considers essential facets for designing assessment that informs the learner while documenting progress toward course objectives. Instructors Conference Chair: Patricia McGee, Associate Professor of Instructional Technology, The University of Texas at San Antonio As associate professor of instructional technology in the department of Educational Psychology, Patricia has designed and taught over 20 online and blended courses. She is most recently the recipient of a US Distance Learning Association (USDLA) Gold Award for Online Technology. She has been awarded research fellowships with the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative), American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)/Navy, and the ASEE/Air Force. Her professional work and consulting includes K-20 education, military, non-profit, for-profit, and public sector projects. A prolific author, Patricia publishes in the areas of online pedagogy, faculty support of technology use, and emerging learning systems and tools. Alisa Cooper, Assistant Chair & Professor of English, Glendale Community College In her role as assistant chair and e-learning coordinator, Alisa works with faculty to create and improve their online courses. She s currently serving as an interim instructional technologist for the Title V Grant at Phoenix College. Alisa previously served as technology specialist for the Maricopa District providing a series of podcasting and vodcasting workshops throughout the year for the Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction. Jennifer Freeman, Instructional Designer and Lead Course Developer, UT TeleCampus, The University of Texas System Jenni has over 15 years of course development and curriculum design experience. An instructional designer with the nationally-recognized UT TeleCampus since 1999, she has been responsible for the design, development, and implementation of hundreds of internet-based courses, interactive multimedia projects, and training programs for the faculty, staff, and students of K-12 and higher education institutions. She has received numerous awards and is frequently invited to speak at conferences. HOTEL RESERVATIONS The conference will be held at: Grand Hyatt Denver 1750 Welton Street Denver, CO To reserve your room, call Please indicate that you are with the Academic Impressions group to receive the room rate of $149 for single or double occupancy, plus applicable tax. A room block has been reserved for the nights of August 1 3, Reservations must be made by July 16, There are a limited number of rooms available at the conference rate. Please make your reservations early. The Grand Hyatt is situated in downtown Denver, within walking distance of the 16th Street Mall, restaurants, shopping, sports arenas, museums, and the light rail system. Denver International Airport (DEN) is approximately 25 miles from downtown. 5

6 Attend as a team remember, if you register as a group, every 4th registrant is free. Questions about the event? Call us at to help determine if this event is right for you. Register online at Registration FEES Your registration fee includes: full access to all conference sessions and materials, access to the networking reception on Monday, breakfast and lunch on Tuesday, and breakfast on Wednesday, as well as refreshments and snacks throughout the conference. Postmarked on or before July 23, 2010 Online Course Design and Both Workshops (BEST VALUE) $1595 USD Online Course Design and One Workshop Pre-Conference Workshop Post-Conference Workshop $1295 USD Online Course Design Conference only $995 USD (For registrations postmarked after July 23, 2010, an additional $100 fee per registrant applies) Check here if you have any dietary or accessibility needs. Please list any needs in the space below and we will do our best to accommodate you. How did you hear about this event? ( from AI, colleague forwarded , The Chronicle, etc.) CONFERENCE REGISTRATION INFORMATION (please print clearly) Name Name Preferred for Badge Job Title Address Institution/Organization City State/Province Zip/Postal Code Country (For registration confirmations and pre-conference communication. FOR ADDITIONAL REGISTRANTS PLEASE COMPLETE ADDITIONAL FORMS.) Telephone Fax Additional Contact Name Additional Contact Title Emergency Contact Name (In case of emergency, we will contact this person on your behalf) Additional Contact Emergency Contact Phone Additional Contact Phone SIGN UP FOR FREE HIGHER ED NEWS & ANALYSIS Academic Impressions is happy to offer free higher education daily news updates and weekly analysis, delivered in an easy-to-scan . Your daily edition includes: Your weekly edition includes: Top stories hand-selected from thousands of publications Brief, at-a-glance analysis of current trends & research Reports on new research findings & trends affecting higher ed Insights and recommendations from top industry experts Daily events & notable practices from a variety of institutions Specific takeaways: how the news may impact your institution Sign me up for Daily Impact Sign me up for Higher Ed Impact: Weekly Analysis PAYMENT METHOD We accept Visa, MC, and AmEx credit cards. To pay by check, include the check with this form or select the invoice me option. Fax form to or mail form along with payment to: Academic Impressions, 4643 S. Ulster St. Ste. 350, Denver, CO CREDIT CARD Please charge my credit card: (Visa, MC, AmEx) Name on Card Account Number Exp. Date Billing Zip Code/Postal Code Security Code (last 3 digits on the back of Visa and MC or 4 digits on front of AmEx) CHECK/INVOICE My check is included and covers Check # Please invoice me Purchase Order # (PO# not required to receive invoice) registration(s) Refund/Cancellation Policy Refunds will be issued only if cancellations are received in writing by May 7, A $100 processing fee will be assessed. After May 7, 2010 a credit (less $100 processing fee) will be issued. The credit will be valid for 12 months and can be used toward any future conferences, web conferences, audio proceedings, or web conference archives. In case this event is cancelled, Academic Impressions' liability is limited to a refund of this registration fee only. Questions about the event? Call us at to help determine if this event is right for you. 6