Implementing content and media can be a little bit tricky. Since this consists of everything the student is going to learn in the course, you need to make sure that it is very clear and that things flow together. There have been a couple of assignments through this graduate program I am going through, that were not very clear. It was difficult to understand exactly what I was supposed to do. In situations like this, it is very important to be able to contact other classmates and even the instructor to get clarification. Going forward, they would be able to use this feedback to make the content and/or media for that week better. Sometime with an online course, you have to test it out on a group of people before you can refine everything to run more smoothly.
Web 2.0 is important in online courses. Courses can become boring very easily if the course only consists of words and pictures. Students need to feel like they can interact with the content. If they can interact, they are more likely to learn or remember the information.
Feedback is important for course improvement. I'm curious. In the assignments to which you refer, what could the designer have done to help the learner understand? Was there an issue with the content? The media? Both? Is there a specific Web 2.0 tool that you prefer? When I design a course, I like to provide as many illustrations and examples for students to help them understand the concepts. Sometimes a course budget does not have enough money to support a lot of interaction, but Web 2.0 tools can help add interaction to a course with a small budget.
ReplyDeleteThe confusion that I am referring to came about because of the wording of the assignment. I can't really say what assignments this happened with at this point because I didn't keep track. Eventually, the group of students in my course went to the instructor for clarification, which would provide an opportunity for that assignment's instructions to be revised.
DeleteI really love dropbox because I can access any of my files anywhere. I can give access to a folder for a specific class to my students so they have more resources available. The only thing that limits dropbox is the limited storage space. If you want more space, you have to pay for it. I guess I can't complain that much since I am using their service for free now and love it.
The online environment requires a greater balance of interactivity and content. Far too often the assignments even within RMCAD have been terrible. Web 2.0 is essential for the online course
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