Plan and Design of an Open Course Website

I chose the Open Course Website - Open Yale Course; The American Novel Since 1945


http://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-291

Plan and Design of the Course

Distance Learning Environment

This course, The American Novel Since 1945 is planned and designed as a face-to-face course. There is a statement on the home page which states that the course is taught on campus and was recorded in the spring of 2008.  Also, students were coming in late and walking in front of the camera, another indicator that this course was designed to be face-to-face.

The course was planned and designed for a typical face-to-face higher education classroom.  The video with George Piskurich (n.d.) provided a base of understanding for the following discussion. The web page was well designed and easy to navigate with the exception of not being able to download the course material.  The syllabus was very vague; there was no information provided on how to get in contact with the instructor, the course description was very short, and the grading information just gave the percentage equivalency of letter grades.  This open course class would be very difficult for a distance learner to stay focused on and to complete.  

Textbook Recommendations for Online Instruction (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, Zvacek, 2012)

·      In a distance learning environment it is important to plan activities where students work together in groups.

·      Another important aspect of distance learning is to provide opportunities for discussion between the peers and instructor.

·      Distance learning instruction should have visual presentations, and engaged learners.

·      Good instructional goals are the basis of good learning.

·      Online courses need deadlines.

·      Students should present projects.

·      Communicate high expectations
Planned Activities

In The American Novel Since 1945 course there were no planned activities that I could find.  When I was an adjunct for the Oglala Lakota College, the college was transitioning from the traditional all lecture classes to classes that included more collaboration and teamwork among the students.  This was going well and as they have started to offer more online classes, planned activities such as group projects are included in the planning of all courses.

References

Piskurich, G., (n.d.).  Planning and Designing Online Courses, (video).  Walden University, EDUC 6135, Distance Learning.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S., (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance Foundations of Distance Learning (5^th ed.).  Boston, MA: Pearson