For this introductory activity, pick two of the following questions that you find the most pertinent or concerning. Thin through the questions and even consider sharing them with a colleague, along with any ways that you would think about addressing them.
- As you think about your course redesign, which of your course objectives might be met more successfully online than in a traditional face-to-face classroom? In consequence, what new learning activities do you think you might introduce into your course?
- Since you will be reducing “seat time” partially or wholly in your course, you need to identify alternative ways to deliver course content. Think about a specific topic that you usually present to your face-to-face class. How might you make that portion of your course content available online?
- Traditional testing is not the only way to assess your students’ work in an online environment. What other means of assessing or documenting student learning might you decide to use online?
- Asynchronous discussion forums and small group work can play a key role in online courses. What new learning opportunities will the use of asynchronous discussion and small group work open up for your students? What problems do you anticipate in using online discussions or small group work?
- With the reduction or removal of seat time, your students will not be meeting face-to-face as frequently as in a traditional course, if at all. How will you develop a cohesive and well functioning peer group of online learners?
- Students often have very unrealistic ideas about the amount and kind of work required for an online or a blended course. As well, students may have problems scheduling their online work and managing their time. How can you help your students to adjust their expectations for the course and manage their time more effectively?
- Students sometimes have difficulty acclimating to the course website and to other instructional technologies you may be using. What initial steps can you take to assist students to become familiar with your website and those instructional technologies? If students need help with technology later in the course, how will you provide support?
- How will you decide if your online or blended course redesign is a good one? For instance, during the initial offering of your course, how will you determine whether mid-semester adjustments are needed?
- There is a common tendency for faculty to overcompensate when teaching online or blended courses and require their students (and themselves!) to do more work than they normally would in a face-to-face course (the “course-and-a-half syndrome”). How will you determine the appropriateness of the course requirements, and its implications for your own workload?
- If you are redesigning a course for blended delivery, how will you integrate the online and face-to-face components of the course so that they complement and extend one another? How do you think you would divide the percentage of course time and student assessment between online and face-to-face activities?