Instructional Design
How to take this course
This course is an online
course using the World Wide Web and the Internet.
Here are my suggestions for how you should
work on this course:
- Commit to spending the necessary time every week on the
course. I have taught this course many times over the past
11-12
years. People who do not keep up with the work either do not finish or
do not do well. I will follow the university rules for Incomplete
grades, so do not expect an Incomplete simply because you haven't kept
up. In addition, your fellow group members will be counting on you.
- Look over the course Web site right away
so that you
get a good idea of how the course works and where to find
information, assignments, and so on. Do not try to learn or memorize
it all at the beginning, though. Let it unfold as the
session
progresses.
- Sign onto Moodle right away. This will be a primary means
you have of communicating with your classmates. Most of your
questions about the material should go here. You
are required to submit postings to the discussion
board regularly. I will
be closing topics to new submissions as we go along, so you cannot
necessarily go back and add them later.
- Sign onto AOL Instant Messenger right away.
This will be used for
online classes and office hours.
- Download, install, and learn any software that you need.
Be sure
that you have recent versions of software such as a Web browser
(Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer). The software,
computer, and Internet connection are all your responsibility.
- Download and install The Palace.
We will use it
for office hours and class meetings.
- For each component of the final project, take
advantage of the range of information and activities available:
- Read the explanatory material on the Web about the next
assignment.
- Read the relevant chapters in the
textbook,
paying particular attention to any parts I refer to on the Web
pages.
- Download and view the narrated presentations from the Web;
they are available for many of the specific topics.
- Try the self-quizzes and other exercises on the Web
pages. These will help you consolidate your understanding of the
concepts as well as give you some feedback on what you don't
fully understand yet. Therefore, they can help you prepare to do
the assignment.
- Try some of the exercises in the book. If you have questions
about them, use the WebCT discussion to start a discussion about them.
- In general, use the Moodle discussion to discuss the substance of the
course material. When I post questions or activities, join the
discussion actively. The tasks are designed to help you
understand and apply what you are learning.
- When the component has a case study attached to it, join that
discussion as well. Read what your classmates have to say about
the situation and add your ideas, too.
- Every week at the regularly scheduled class meetings, whether
face-to-face or online, I will try to answer questions, so come
prepared. We will also have various other exercises and
discussions.
- Commit to being genuinely collaborative.
We will not be doing group projects this semester,
but we will divide into groups during class periods, so it is still
important to be collaborative then. You will depend on your fellow groups members and
they should be able to depend on you. The best projects (and the
most learning) will result when you all work together, share ideas,
hear one another out, and make the decisions together.
- Complete each component of the project within the time specified
on the schedule. If you do, then you will finish on time. I will give feedback on the first draft of
many of the components. However, I cannot give more than one round of
feedback. Also, if you are late with an assignment, I will put it at
the bottom of the list for feedback, another reason to try to be on
time!
Here are some resources on this site to help you make the most of
this course:
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