Ed Tech Text

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How to Create an Online Course

A resource for faculty who are developing online courses.
HOW TO CREATE AN ONLINE COURSE..............................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................................................2
EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE EDUCATION.........................................................................................2
ONLINE EDUCATION IS APPROXIMATELY AS EFFECTIVE AS IN-CLASS EDUCATION FOR TEACHING CONTENT
(KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS)..............................................................................................................................................2
ONLINE EDUCATION COULD BE MORE EFFECTIVE AT TEACHING CONTENT THAN IN-CLASS EDUCATION.......................3
WHERE ONLINE EDUCATION FALLS SHORT..........................................................................................................3
IS ONLINE EDUCATION WORTH DOING?..........................................................................................................4
CREATING YOUR ONLINE COURSE......................................................................................................5
UNDERSTAND YOUR ROLE AS INSTRUCTOR .........................................................................................................5
ANALYZE YOUR COURSE ..................................................................................................................................5
CHOOSE YOUR COURSE ACTIVITIES....................................................................................................................5
SELECT APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGIES................................................................................................................7
PREPARE YOUR MATERIALS............................................................................................................................10
HELP, TIPS, TEMPLATES........................................................................................................................11
COURSE “TEMPLATES”..................................................................................................................................11
CONTENT DELIVERY TIPS................................................................................................................................13
INTERACTION TIPS.........................................................................................................................................13
ASSESSMENT TIPS..........................................................................................................................................14
TIPS FROM OTHERS........................................................................................................................................14
FOR ADDITIONAL HELP...................................................................................................................................14
APPENDIX 1: WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN TEACHING ONLINE....................................................15
DON’T EXPECT IT TO RUN LIKE YOUR REGULAR COURSE....................................................................................15
TIME COMMITMENTS ....................................................................................................................................15
TECHNOLOGY WOES .....................................................................................................................................16
DEALING WITH STUDENT FRUSTRATION ...........................................................................................................16
SUPPORT......................................................................................................................................................16
APPENDIX 2: STUDENT PERSPECTIVE..............................................................................................17
STUDENTS' MOTIVATIONS FOR CHOOSING ONLINE EDUCATION........................................................................17
STUDENTS' EXPERIENCES OF ONLINE COURSES...............................................................................................17
STUDENTS MUST BE ABLE TO REVIEW MATERIALS EASILY – INDEXING.................................................................18
STUDENTS' INCOMING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT ONLINE EDUCATION.....................................................................18
STUDENTS' OUTGOING PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE EDUCATION...........................................................................18
BENEFITS OF ONLINE LEARNING....................................................................................................................19
WHERE ONLINE LEARNING FALLS SHORT......................................................................................................19
STUDENT PERSPECTIVE INTEGRATION ACTIVITIES............................................................................................20
By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~espring/edTech/ Last updated 2/25/2011
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Introduction
Online education is not inherently inferior to classroom education. It is even possible
to create online courses that help students learn more effectively than traditional methods. As the
quality of online education improves and as a higher percentage of students are extremely
comfortable using computers, it is likely that students will begin choosing online education
because they truly prefer it over traditional classroom methods.
Some of the unique opportunities afforded by online education include:
 The ability to provide quality nursing education to students who are prevented from
attending traditional classes by family and work obligations
 A conscious move toward learner-centered instruction
 Opportunities to employ active learning
 Ability to address a variety of learning styles
 Extensive communication among students, faculty, experts "in the field," and others
Obviously, these results don't just "happen"; we have to actively incorporate activities
into our courses to make sure students are communicating, taking some responsibility for the
direction of their learning, etc.
Effectiveness of Online Education

First, it’s important to separate “education” into two distinct functions: knowledge/skills
acquisition and non-content area learning. When we talk about curriculum, knowledge, and
"getting a degree," we are usually talking about teaching content.
Students also learn a great deal about nursing culture, form personal and professional
networks, and hone interpersonal skills during the course of their education. These “soft skills”
are often what makes the difference between a real nurse and just a person with nursing
knowledge.
As a bonus, face-to-face courses offer friendship and socializing. For some people, the
friends they make in college last a lifetime. For some, it's just enjoyable to socialize with people
who understand what you're going through - even if those friendships don't last. And for some
(usually the independent types), they don't really care what's going on with their classmates.
Online education is approximately as effective as in-class

education for teaching content (knowledge and skills)
Students learn significantly more in online science course [Schoenfeld-Tacher, R.,
McConnell, S., & Graham, M. (2001). Do no harm - A comparison of the effects of on-line vs. traditional
delivery media on a science course. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 10, 257-265.]
The data on the effectiveness of online education are mixed. Some individual studies
show that students do somewhat better in online courses; some studies show that traditional
courses are slightly more effective than online courses. Overall, studies show that students in
online courses get similar grades and score equally well on tests as students in traditional
courses. In addition, some studies show that though test scores are similar, critical thinking and
problem-solving skills are better among distance ed students than traditional classroom students.
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Online education could be more effective at teaching
content than in-class education
Many of the advantages of distance education may be related to teaching style more than
teaching medium. Because the lecture format is widely considered to be ineffective as an online
teaching technique, many instructors incorporate more active learning into their courses. They
may also incorporate multiple media for content delivery, which helps students with different
learning styles.
When instructors make an effort to address multiple learning styles and to incorporate
active learning into their courses, students learn more, retain it longer, and drop out at
significantly lower rates than with traditional lecture courses (Dunn and Griggs, 1998. Learning
Styles and the Nursing Profession. NLN Press, New York.). Don’t worry – you don’t need to
teach your course three entirely different ways simultaneously! It’s enough to more
Active Learning requires students to engage with the material, the instructor, and other
students. Techniques include asking students to form hypotheses, generate lists, and write summaries,
either alone or in small groups. For example, instead of the instructor verbally listing a list of procedures
that might be used in a particular situation, she asks students to get into groups of three and list the
procedures, either from their readings or their personal experience. She’d then ask two groups of
students to read their lists and write the items on the board, ask if any other group had additions, and
then fill in any missing items herself.
Online courses usually devote all meeting times (whether those meetings happen in person or
online) to active learning pursuits – it’s just not a good use of time to watch a 60 minute video when you
only meet for a few hours each month. More…
Many students show a strong preference for a particular learning style: auditory, visual, or
kinesthetic. These students learn best when they hear information (auditory), see diagrams, charts, or
pictures (visual); or physically manipulate objects (kinesthetic). While some people are comfortable with
a combination of learning styles, some people simply have a hard time learning in certain ways – which
you’ve probably experienced when you’ve explained something to a student repeatedly, then drawn her
a simple flow chart and she suddenly says “Oh, I get it!”
Students may also be global or analytical learners. Global learners need to know the “big
picture” – how this lesson fits into the overall topic, why it’s important, etc. – before they can focus on
the details of what’s being taught. Analytical learners need to know every minute detail and step before
they can tie that concept to the big picture. More…
Where online education falls short

Students learn content very well in online courses. However, online education currently
falls short in fostering all the learning that normally happens during an educational program, but
outside the classroom..
Some students have already established networks outside of school and may not be
looking to establish new networks. But many students want their education to include
networking and soft skills. They may have limited networks that may only include their current
place of employment, or they may be new to the profession and have no networks at all. Even
though nurses currently have a better chance of getting a job through "cold applications" (like
responding to newspaper ads) than most graduates, most people find that they find the best jobs
through friends and colleagues
If our students have excellent skills, but no network to help them get a job, have we really
succeeded in educating them?
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Is Online Education Worth Doing?
Yes. Though online education may not afford certain opportunities for certain students,
not all students need those opportunities to make their education worthwhile. The best use of
online education may be for continuing education - that is, for people to extend their existing
knowledge and to earn an additional degree in their current profession or area of study. Students
in this group need relatively more content knowledge and relatively less personal development,
making online education a good fit.

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Creating Your Online Course

Ready to get started?
Understand your role as instructor

In the classroom, the instructor is often the primary source of information. Online, the
instructor points students to resources, then expends most of her effort helping students think
through that material through discussion, assignments, etc.
This is often referred to as "Guide on the Side" teaching instead of "Sage on the Stage"
teaching. This illustrates one key difference between traditional and online courses.
As you prepare your course, keep in mind that your goal is not to “put your existing
course online.” Instead, your goal is to “create an effective online course” – one that
coincidentally covers similar content. Many face-to-face course formats don't work well at all
when translated online, so don't assume you'll create a good online course by simply translating
all of your current course activities into an online format.
The classic example of this is the large lecture class. The face-to-face version consists of
a 3-hour lecture once per week, three papers, a midterm, and a final exam. Lectures are not at all
interactive because there is "a lot of content to cover" in the course and the professor wants to be
sure all that information is conveyed.
It is quite easy to put this exact course online. Simply videotape each lecture, put the
video on the web, have students submit papers via e-mail and take their exams online. The
problem is that it's very difficult to watch a tiny video for three hours straight, and it is very
difficult to retain any information from it - even if you're taking notes. Students will often skip
videotaped lectures entirely and simply try to learn everything from textbooks because it's so
difficult to actually learn anything from a taped lecture.
So how do you convert a lecture course to an effective online format? The key is in
separating your course activities from the media used to deliver them.
Analyze your course

 How often will you meet? How much of your course will be delivered online?
 What content do you need to deliver?
 What interactions will students have? (with information, you, and each other)?
 How will you know what students have learned?
 Make worksheet
Choose your course activities

The three primary activities of any course are content delivery, information
processing/interaction, and learning verification. Nearly all activities can be accomplished using
a variety of media. So, for example, if you want to deliver content that resides within a person (a
faculty member or other expert), that knowledge could be delivered by a face-to-face discussion,
words written on paper, words written on a web site, or by recording video of the person
speaking. Or, you might decide that an existing text (a book or series of articles, for example) is
a perfectly adequate substitute for the person’s knowledge.

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Because activities and media are so closely related in face-to-face courses, it’s often
difficult to think of them as separate entities. A lecture is the delivery of a person’s knowledge
through the medium of speech. For example, a textbook is the delivery of one or more people’s
knowledge through the medium of written text on paper. See the diagram below for a breakdown
of activities and media, and the flow of knowledge from instructor to student and back.
Cycle of learning activities and media

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Content delivery
In every class, we select content that students need to learn, organize it, and present it to
them. This is the "body" of the course and is usually our first thought when we start planning a
course. The important thing to keep in mind is that content delivery is not our sole job as
educators. If content delivery were the only value of faculty members, we could easily be
replaced by books, web sites, and journal articles.
Keep in mind that long stretches of human speech are not very effective in online
courses. If you are accustomed to delivering most of your content via lecture, you will need
to choose a different medium for delivering the bulk of your content.
I sometimes hear faculty members say they “have to lecture” because their students do not
“prepare for class” adequately. This could obviously be a problem in an online course where there is
little or no lecture! However, students are masters of doing exactly what is required. If they know they
can’t skim a chapter, then have the important points called out for them in lecture, most can and will rise
to the challenge, do their reading, and participate fully in class activities.
Interaction/Student information processing
This is where the real learning happens. We've all had students who memorize facts and
phrases and spit them back during a test – but don’t demonstrate actual learning. To truly learn,
students must process information, put it in context, and connect it to things they already know.
Processing is arguably the most important stage of the learning cycle, and it is the most-
often overlooked stage. Processing happens when students make use of content that was
delivered. They can do this alone – for example, by completing homework – or by interacting
with the instructor and other students in discussion and projects.
Learning Verification (often called "Student Evaluation")
Finally, we need to know that students have, in fact, learned what we wanted them to
learn. Most courses include multiple evaluation activities – quizzes, tests, skill observation,
projects, etc. Hopefully, evaluation occurs often enough that misinformation can be corrected
and lagging students can be helped before it's too late.
Select appropriate technologies
Hallmarks of good instructional technology
Good instructional technology facilitates human interaction.
Link: Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever by Chickering and Ehrman
An article describing the seven principles of effective instruction, which emphasizes the role of
interaction in effective teaching.

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Some of the most effective technologies are e-mail, threaded discussion boards,
videoconferencing, and collaboration software. What do they have in common? They let people
communicate across gaps of distance and time.
Good instructional technology lets students see and experience things

they could not otherwise see or experience.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video clip can be worth a thousand pictures - but
only if it is used properly. Compare a 10-minute video of a professor describing a procedure and
a 10-minute video of the procedure itself, accompanied by comments from the professor. The
video of the professor has little more value than text; most students could read that description
verbatim in less time than it took the professor to read it out loud, and most would remember it
better. (The exception, of course, is that auditory learners would pick up more from listening to
the description than reading it – see the discussion of learning styles.)
Good instructional technology fosters active learning and speaks to

multiple learning styles
See the sections above about these topics.
Recommended technologies
The following is a list of recommended technologies for use in online courses in the
School of Nursing at the University of Michigan. This list takes into account the following
issues:
 Utility – does it do promote quality online education?
 Ease of use – if you can use Word and e-mail, you should be able to use it with less than
an hour of training
 Reliability – proven to not crash at U-M
 Low drain on resources – both human and electronic
 Price – both startup and ongoing
 Accessibility – for those with disabilities, no access to high-speed Internet, etc.
 Reusability – does it create modules that can be updated?
Most of these are currently available in the School of Nursing; some are available
through the Duderstadt Center (formerly the Media Union).
Technology Description Used For… Tech skills Reliability

needed
Camtasia Screen capture software - for recording Content Medium ? – should be
demos/instruction of computer software, Delivery high
web sites, etc.
Centra Synchronous web conference software Content Low High
that allows all participants to hear (and Delivery;
possibly see) each other, to share Interaction
documents, and record the session.
Closely simulates a class meeting.
Contribute A program for creating basic web pages Content Low ?
- allows group editing and contributions Delivery;
to the same page. interaction;

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Assessment
CTools/ The standard course management tool; Content Medium Medium and
CourseTools all courses will be using it to a greater Delivery; improving
or lesser degree. We will use Interaction rapidly
CourseTools until May, 2005; after that,
we will migrate to CTools.
Document Also called (inaccurately) an opaque Content Low High
Camera projector. This machine allows you to Delivery
write on paper or display a picture or
object. The item is projected onto a
screen in front of a live class, or onto
the computer screen of an online class
Dreamweaver A high-level program for creating web Content High High
pages Delivery
eReserves Electronic "closed reserve" readings Content Low Computer
through the library Delivery system works
well; personnel
needs
improvement
Media object One piece of media on one topic that Content Medium Varies; usually
can be used to demonstrate a Delivery Med-High
procedure, show an example, present a
case, etc. Seeing this item on its own
would not teach students everything
they need to know about a topic. They
can be used on their own to supplement
live lectures or reading material, or
embedded in standalone instructional
modules.
Online testing Delivers and grades tests online Assessment Low Haven’t
software selected
software yet.
Lessons is too
unreliable to
use.
PDF/Adobe A document format that looks good on Content Low High
Acrobat almost all computers. Documents can Delivery
be bookmarked and hyperlinked to
create interactive text. Uses Word or
scanned paper as source material. Has
some markup tools, but more
complicated to use than Word's
collaboration tools.
Polycomm Videoconferencing - you sit in a room Content Medium ?
with a video camera and face a monitor Delivery;
that shows other people in other rooms Interaction;
with cameras Assessment
PowerPoint "Slides" which can display lecture Content Low High
outline, iagrams, charts, photos, Delivery
animations, student presentations.
SiteMaker A program for creating web pages Content Medium High
Delivery
Standalone Short lessons delivered entirely online Content Extensive Variable but
computer- that teach one topic thoroughly. Used in Delivery; usually high
based place of textbook, lecture, etc. – they Interaction
instructional are thorough enough to teach the
modules basics of a subject. Often have built-in
“fact-check” quizzes and may ask
students to memorize and apply
knowledge.
Streaming The videos you used to show in class Content Medium Currently Med;
video made available for viewing online Delivery looking at new
server
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Unsupported and cautiously supported technologies
Almost any technology can be used in a sound educational manner, and almost any
technology can be used poorly. However, the following technologies have enough significant
problems that we generally recommend against their use. Support, training, and assistance using
these technologies will be limited. If you have a good argument for using one of the following,
let’s discuss it! It may be time to update our list of recommended technologies.
Technology Description Use discouraged because…

Lecture video VHS or digital video of Video of dynamic speakers or full-class discussion can
instructors, speakers, etc., be useful; however, it takes significant staff time and 2
especially of folks simply video cameras (for class discussion). We also do not
talking. Often called “talking have sufficient evidence that students use and benefit
heads” video. from most video.
RealProducer Allows you to show a “talking Students strongly dislike these (as per Sch. Pub. Health
head” video and a PowerPoint study), and they take a significant amount of staff time
slide at the same time. to compile. Also nearly impossible to edit.
Video on Our private cable channel, Only available on campus; significant copyright issues;
UMTV available on-campus, that can students prefer video on-demand rather than at a
show video, PowerPoint, etc. predetermined broadcast time.
Audio Usually attached to PowerPoint We currently don’t have a good way to provide a
annotations or PDF files. These let transcript of the audio. This means the audio is not
instructors record a 1-2 minute ADA-compliant, which we are obligated to ensure.
verbal explanation of a slide, Many students also do not learn well from disembodied
text, graph, etc. Students click voices or find the annotations to bothersome to listen
an icon next to the graph, and to, meaning audio annotation alone is not an
the recording plays. acceptable instructional technique. I would be
interested in doing a study or pilot of audio annotations
to figure out if there is a “right” way of doing them.
Prepare your materials

Once you decide what you are going to present, using what media, you are ready to start
putting materials together. The first time you prepare a course to be delivered online, allow about
twice as long for course prep as you normally would. If you are going to develop computer-
based learning modules, allow at least a full semester for development. It’s often best to start a
course with the simplest materials, then add components in subsequent years.

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Help, tips, templates
In online courses, time spent together as a class (synchronous meetings) is precious – usually
less than an hour a week on average. Use this time for interaction, which is harder to do
asynchronously.
Course “templates”
“Lecture” courses
Lecture courses do not translate well to an online environment. You’d think it would be
simple – just record the lecture, put it online, and gather papers and tests. However, student
retention and satisfaction are extremely low in this scenario.
Your best bet is to restructure lecture courses so students learn the bulk of their content
from readings (written by you or others). Then increase the amount of student interaction with
the content.
Deliver course content
 For most courses, asynchronous techniques work best for delivering content. Some of the
most popular techniques are textbook readings, PDF readings, computer-based learning
modules, annotated PowerPoint slides, and independent student research (e.g., you ask
each student to find and read three articles on a specific topic)
 Some topics, like statistics, are taught most effectively by an instructor who is talking,
writing, and diagramming simultaneously. This can be accomplished asynchronously
with a document camera and microphone (or video camera), or it can happen
synchronously with Centra.
Design ways for students to interact with the content, with you, and
with each other.
 Common interaction techniques include class discussion, response papers, homework

problem sets, case studies, and practice tests (very popular with students).
 Ideally, students will play an active role in content delivery – for example, after students
find and read their three articles, they present a summary of each article to the class
(usually in writing, though oral presentations are possible).
Decide how you’ll know that students have learned what they need to
learn.
 Common techniques include papers, written tests, online tests, and presentations/projects.

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Seminar courses
A key feature of seminar courses is small group discussion. These discussions translate to
the web in two ways: synchronous (“live”) discussions and asynchronous (“threaded”)
discussions.
Synchronous discussion techniques
All synchronous techniques have the benefit of instant interaction and the downside of
the difficulty of scheduling a time when all students can attend.
 Telephone conference calls: Several people talk on the phone simultaneously, like a
party line.
o Pros: These are simple to set up, very cheap to run (if you require students to pay
the long-distance charges), and they work fairly well.
o Cons: It can be difficult to have a good conversation with more than 5-6 people at
a time; not recorded; hard to tell who is speaking and thus hard to assign a
participation grade
 Live web chat: students type their conversation onto a web page. Topics are “threaded,”
meaning each line of discussion is labeled with a subject.
o Pros: a log of the chat is kept, so students who miss the session can read the
discussion. The log also lets you see who is contributing, making it easier to
assign participation grades.
o Cons: Slow typers have a hard time “getting a word in edgewise.” Can be hard to
follow, especially with more than 5-6 people. Note: An ever-increasing number of
our incoming students spend hours daily “IMing” – using Instant Message chats –
and have no problem following live chats. In fact, many can follow and contribute
to a number of threads simultaneously, meaning live chats will become more and
more viable as an option as time passes.
 Centra web conference: All participants can hear each other speak. Participants with
web cameras are also visible to others when they speak. A large portion of the screen can
show PowerPoint slides, web pages, an electronic white board, or any other software you
are running.
o Pros: Recordable. Clearly designates who is speaking at a given time. Can share
software, write on the “white board,” show video, etc. Very good for doing
student presentations, teaching statistics, and other uses where you need audio and
visuals.
o Cons: Costs $50/hr per group of 10 people; this is a very reasonable price which
can be added to course fees. The University currently can have up to 40 people
using it at once; it’s best if you make reservations in advance.

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Clinical prep to online
Most clinical prep courses combine either a lecture or seminar session with clinical
practice. The guidelines above are good guidelines for the non-clinical segment of the course.
Often in a clinical course, experts are brought in to speak on specific course-related
topics. While these have some of the drawbacks of long lectures (e.g., no transcript for hearing
impaired or non-auditory learners), often the recording and/or broadcast of these lectures is the
only practical way to get information from the experts to the students. In these cases, it would be
possible to video the presentation, format it for easier viewing, and distribute to students via web
or CD.
Active learning to online
Content delivery tips

 Start with the most basic technologies (text, PowerPoint) and move into developing
modules for static learning as appropriate.
 Match the medium to the fluidity of the information – that is, use technologies that are
quick to create and easy to edit if the information is likely to change from year to year;
use complex, programmed web modules only for information that is unlikely to change
within three years or so.
 Make it students’ responsibility to find and deliver some of the content for the course –
e.g., lists of links to professional associations; finding, reading, and summarizing articles
on a topic. You need to be prepared to fill in gaps, correct misinformation, etc. – but
students will deliver good content if your expectations are high.
 Plan for reusability – make sure your materials are going to be easy to edit and re-use.
Techniques:
o Break information into about appropriate blocks. “Chunking” of information
is very important on the web. You don’t want to deliver all your content in one
block (e.g., a PowerPoint with a hundred slides), because it can be hard for
students to tell where one topic ends and the next begins. It also becomes hard for
you to edit your materials if they are simply named “Week 1” or “Chapter 4.” On
the other hand, students get lost if they have to download 25 modules that each
speak about one small slice of one topic. A good number of modules, PowerPoint
presentations, etc. per week is 3.
o Be sure there is space on your layout to add new topics. This is especially true
of web pages and computer-based modules. Don’t use navigation systems (like
clickable photographs or maps) that don’t leave room for you to add or delete
topics.
o Consider the technological skills of your workgroup. If someone else is
teaching this course next year, and she wants to use your materials with some
slight modifications, is it likely that she’ll be able to?
o Easily modified media. Word documents, web pages
o Difficult to modify media. PDF files (unless you keep the original Word file,
then modification is easy), video, learning modules.
Interaction tips
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 Communication is key – number one complaint is not hearing from instructor. Do it often
and consistently
 A live lecture is actually not just a tool for content delivery. During a lecture, you scan
the room for confused expressions and repeat or clarify certain points. You may
emphasize points by writing them on the board, pointing to words on PowerPoint slides,
or adding phrases like “The key point is…”. When you deliver content online, it is easy
for much of this refining and finesse to get lost.

Assessment tips
 Be overly clear when writing assignments
Tips from others

 Get your course done before the semester starts
 Be willing to learn from your students
 Submit a tip
For additional help

Contact me to discuss your technology selection, setup, and training for you or your
students! espring@umich.edu

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Appendix 1: What to Expect When Teaching

Online
Don’t expect it to run like your regular course
details
Time commitments
Starting a new online course
Online readings on time commitments
Designing online courses takes longer than designing traditional courses - up to twice
as long. There are several reasons:
 You've been designing traditional courses for years - online teaching is a new skill.
 You will probably incorporate more active teaching strategies, which take
longer to plan and set up.
 It takes longer to write out your content - or find appropriate readings - than it takes to
sketch and outline of a lecture you'd deliver in person.
 You may be using technology that is new to you.
Actually teaching the course will take less time, because you will not have a day when
you need to lecture for 2-3 hours straight, though you may have synchronous meetings for an
hour every week or so. You will spend more time giving individual feedback and significant
time reading and responding to student work (in bulletin boards or as homework).
Second semester
The second time you teach a course online, you will want to make significant revisions.
Expect to spend time redesigning your course before teaching it the second time. Ideally, keep
detailed notes during the first semester so you remember what needs to change. The second
semester's planning will probably take a little longer than normal course revisions, but it won't be
nearly as arduous as the original planning.
Other things that will go faster the second time around:
 You'll be more comfortable with the technology.
 You'll have found some time-saving techniques that work for you, e.g., knowing what
questions are likely to warrant a group response instead of individual messages to a
number of students.
 You'll find a rhythm for interacting with students that works for both you and them -
enough feedback so they don't feel lost, but not so much that you feel chained to your
computer.
Subsequent semesters

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By the third semester, the format of your course should be pretty stable. At this point,
some instructors find that the course takes less time overall because they are not responsible for
personally delivering the content - they've set up readings (either notes/discussions they've
written or articles from other authors), online modules, and web sites to do that.
Technology woes
Dealing with student frustration
Support

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Appendix 2: Student Perspective

Students' Motivations for Choosing Online Education
Currently, most students who choose online courses have some sort of restriction that
prevents them from attending courses in person, such as
 Geography - the program they want is too far from home/work
 Scheduling - they are not available to take courses at traditional times
 Other commitments - usually work and a family commitments that can't be reduced to
take on full- or part-time coursework
Students' Experiences of Online Courses

Students undergo a range of cognitive and emotional experiences in online courses, some
familiar, and some wildly out of proportion to those felt in a traditional classroom. Remember,
students have had 13 or more years of practice learning how a classroom works. When courses
move online, every student has to re-learn not just how to make the computer work, but must re-
learn how to learn.
In the first 6-8 weeks of their first online course, students often feel (usually in this
order):
 Confused by technology - they may not be successfully downloading readings, uploading
homework, etc.
 Generally overwhelmed - things that "should be easy" take a long time
 Unsure of themselves - am I really doing this right? Do I really understand the readings?
Did I really understand the assignment? Did I actually do everything that's due this week?
 Alone and lonely
After about midway through their first course:
 Most students have no more technology issues
 They are getting a feel for what you want from them
 May still feel lonely
 Inclined to "read meaning into" e-mail messages, stretches of time without hearing from
the instructor, terse bulletin board messages from classmates, etc.
Biggest issues:
 Students need consistency in course design - both within individual courses and among
SoN courses - to eliminate the first 6 weeks of re-learning course logistics. If an aspect of
the course design is imperfect, WAIT until the next semester to fix it. Changing the
format mid-term almost always causes more problems than it fixes. e.g., always deliver
assignments in the same way.
Describe scenario of student experiences in callouts
 Social students need to feel a sense of community. It's a huge help just to know that
other people are going through the same thing you are!
 Quick, specific feedback. Respond within 36 hours. Check e-mail at least once before
Sunday night. Pick a mode of communication (e-mail or CTools) and stick with it.
Analogies
Page 18
Acting in a mask
Trying to talk without gestures
Student stresses
 Computer problems
 Material online changing
 Lack of feedback
 Self-doubt – do I really understand this?
 Loneliness
 Lack of motivation
 Lack of consistency within and among classes
 Imagine taking 3 classes simultaneously, and each class files the syllabus under a
different area
Students must be able to review materials easily – indexing
Students' Incoming Assumptions About Online Education

Many students begin online courses with the following assumptions:
Find more student perceptions; link
 Online courses are easier than traditional courses.

 I can do my classwork anytime, anywhere.
 My instructor will be available to me from 7am to midnight 7 days a week, and will
generally respond to my e-mail within 24 hours.
 The mechanics of every online course will be exactly the same. Once I learn where to
find a syllabus, how to turn in homework, etc., in one course, it will work the same way
for every course.
 If I really had a choice, I'd rather take this class on campus rather than online - though
as the quality of online education improves and as a higher percentage of students are
extremely comfortable using computers, it is likely that students will begin choosing
online education because they truly prefer it over traditional classroom methods.
 Some students also think they can procrastinate and "catch up later." This is
especially true in self-paced courses, where no timeline is set by an instructor.
Students' Outgoing Perceptions of Online Education

Keep in mind: this means your students will probably always e-mail you on the weekend with
questions. Many students can't start homework until the weekend - so if you have assignments due on
Monday morning but don't answer your e-mail on the weekends, students cannot get their questions
answered before the homework is due.
 Most successful online students find 2-3 consistent time slots during a week when they
do the bulk of their work. Usually at least half this time is on the weekend.

Page 19
 It takes most students 2-4 weeks to get oriented to a course, no matter how many
courses they've taken online - usually because of differences in course web site design
and classroom procedures.
 For some students, online courses "cut the fluff" and are therefore preferable to
traditional courses.
 Most students find online courses challenging both from an academic perspective and
from a technological and psychological perspective.
 In courses with a compressed timeline, it is very difficult to catch up if you fall behind.
Something as innocuous as a short family vacation or business trip can leave students
feeling overwhelmed and "chronically behind."
 Online education is not inherently inferior to classroom education. Responses vary
from course to course, but overall, online courses are as effective as traditional courses.
Benefits of Online Learning
Convenience
Online learning is the only educational option for many people who work full-time. It's
important to remember, though, that people need to have the same number of hours free for
study even if they don't have time available to attend classes during the work day.
Content learning
Students do learn content well online, especially if they have some background in the
subject area.
Where Online Learning Falls Short
Fostering emotional development
When compared to a traditional on-campus undergraduate program, online learning does

not yet address much of the non-academic development students usually experience. Career
exploration and planning, advising, socializing, exposure to diverse customs and lifestyles -
currently, online courses and programs have a hard time approximating the richness of the on-
campus experience. However, some students - especially older students, those with families, or
full-time employees - feel no need for this aspect of a university education, and may find online
education to be a better fit.
Beginning a new career
There is much more to changing careers than simply learning a new set of skills and
concepts. Classroom education - whether online or in person - often does not teach students
"how to be a professional in the field," and online education usually lacks the informal
educational opportunities found between classes, during work/study jobs, etc.
Networking

Page 20
People seem to find the best job opportunities, internships, and hands-on practice
activities through personal contacts. Online education has a hard time providing these contacts -
to a very real degree, "out of sight, out of mind" is the rule, especially for people teaching both
online and face-to-face courses. In addition, distance students rarely have chances to participate
in research with faculty, work a part-time entry-level job in their new field, and thus develop a
cadre professional contacts who can help them find work or act as references during students' job
searches.
Student Perspective Integration Activities

Scenario
Imagine yourself in the place of one of your students:

It's Friday night around 9pm. It's been a tough week at work and one of the kids has
chicken pox, but the kids are in bed, the kitchen's clean, and you've just sunk onto the couch with
a glass of wine. Instead of flipping on the TV or reading a novel, though, you pick up a stack of
readings you printed out from your course web site because you only managed to read half of
them during the week.
You finish the readings around 10:30 and read through the assignment, which you're
planning on working on tomorrow morning before the kids get up, because by 9am, it's a
whirlwind of childcare, cooking, and grocery shopping - and the last time you sent your husband
to the store, he came back with cabbage instead of lettuce and half-and-half instead of evaporated
milk.
You finish reading the assignment and realize you have a question. You fire up the
computer and send a message to the instructor to clarify the point - which will entirely determine
the way you approach your assignment, which is due Tuesday. You realize you probably won't
get an answer by Saturday morning and adjust your day so you can be free in the afternoon - no
mean feat, since you'd had plans to go to dinner with friends Saturday night.
But Saturday afternoon, there is still no answer...nor Sunday morning. You weigh your
choices:
Complete the assignment as best you can, knowing that if you misinterpreted the
instructions, your assignment will not at all satisfy the requirements
Ask your classmates how they interpreted the assignment
Wait to get an answer and hope you can finish the assignment Monday night between the
time the kids go to bed and the time you fall asleep at your computer
You also swear to yourself - yet again - that you'll look at the assignment earlier in the
week and ask your questions earlier. But that doesn't work so well when you haven't finished the
readings yet...
You're getting worried about your ability to keep up with the class - and maybe your
entire degree. You're a conscientious student and don't want to do your assignment incorrectly;
you're afraid to start before having the assignment perfectly clear in your mind. And you're
starting to get mad at your instructor for not responding.
Questions
Back in your role as course instructor, answer the following questions:

Are you responsible for answering course e-mail on the weekend?


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Page 1

How to Create an Online Course

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Effectiveness of Online Education

Online education is approximately as effective as in-class

Where online education falls short

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Creating Your Online Course

Understand your role as instructor

Analyze your course

Choose your course activities

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Cycle of learning activities and media

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Interaction/Student information processing

Learning Verification (often called "Student Evaluation")

Select appropriate technologies

Hallmarks of good instructional technology

Good instructional technology facilitates human interaction.

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Good instructional technology lets students see and experience things

Good instructional technology fosters active learning and speaks to

See the sections above about these topics.

Technology Description Used For… Tech skills Reliability

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Technology Description Use discouraged because…

Prepare your materials

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Help, tips, templates

Deliver course content

 Common interaction techniques include class discussion, response papers, homework

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Synchronous discussion techniques

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Clinical prep to online

Active learning to online

Content delivery tips

Tips from others

For additional help

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Appendix 1: What to Expect When Teaching

Starting a new online course

Online readings on time commitments

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Dealing with student frustration

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Appendix 2: Student Perspective

Students' Experiences of Online Courses

Describe scenario of student experiences in callouts

Trying to talk without gestures

Students must be able to review materials easily – indexing

Students' Incoming Assumptions About Online Education

Find more student perceptions; link

 Online courses are easier than traditional courses.

Students' Outgoing Perceptions of Online Education

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Benefits of Online Learning

Where Online Learning Falls Short

Fostering emotional development

When compared to a traditional on-campus undergraduate program, online learning does

Beginning a new career

By Emily Springfield - Media Consultant - University of Michigan School of Nursing

Student Perspective Integration Activities