On-line courses are created the same way as regular courses initially. As many teaching texts and websites will tell you, to create any course you still need to:
- Decide which students are included in the course, the length of the course, the prerequisites.
- Decide on the learning outcome.
- Create the steps needed to reach that outcome, and divide them within the allotted time so that everything will be adequately covered.
- Assign assessments to determine if the students have learned what they should have learned.
- Reevaluate based on student grasp of material as discovered by assessments.
That is the beginning, but does not guarantee a successful on-line course, BECAUSE ON-LINE COURSES HAVE THREE MAIN DIFFERENCES, OR ADDITIONAL STEPS.
FIRST- ADAPTING THE COURSE
Once the course curriculum has been determined, it must be adapted to the online venue. Instruction that is hands on, such as learning to take blood samples for nursing, for example, would be difficult to teach online. Having the students read a text and answer questions online is much easier, if somewhat boring. This brings us to the second step.
SECOND – HOLDING STUDENT INTEREST
If you simply have assignments that could have been given in a classroom, but aren’t , and are missing the lecture, then you would have lost your students. They still need the feel of classroom interaction in order to maintain interest. Because they do not have a teacher right there in front of them, they also need a very strong sense of goals. They need to feel that they are learning something that they want to and need to know. They need to feel that this isn’t so difficult, that the goals are attainable, and sort of fun. The steps in the process must be more detailed so that they are easily understood and give the students a feeling of accomplishment. You do not want the students to feel that it is too hard for them if the teacher is not there before them.
THIRD – THE TEACHERS PRESENCE
The teacher is not going to be there before their eyes, but the students must, nonetheless, feel that the teacher has their back, that the teacher will answer their questions and help them over the hurdles. The teacher must have a real voice as someone they can trust. Students do not want a robot or some assignments stuck up on the web. Once they lose interest, they will not learn as much
