The Open Course Option

     Continuing education doesn’t have to break the bank if you don’t need a degree!  In 2002, MIT offered its first open courses free of charge, but not for credit.  Since then several universities have joined the initiative to extend the community of learners on a not-for-credit, not-for-profit basis.   The benefit for the institution is increased visibility as a community servant and the provision of a gateway to higher enrollments in paid courses.  For those of us who really like to learn, the benefits of open courseware are immeasurable. While the courses may be free, they should still reflect the quality expected in paid distance learning programs, especially when it comes to pre-planning and design. 

     Planning for successful learning requires a significant investment of time in any environment.  Whether the arrangement is face-to-face or distant, an instructor needs to plan the events of an instructional period.  In traditional situations, the instructor has the benefit of being able to adapt and respond based on non-verbal cues from the learning group.   With many forms of asynchronous distance learning, this immediate feedback is not possible, so planning becomes even more critical.  Further, considerations like technology and materials distribution need to be addressed well in advance of the course start date.  Among others, Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2009) offer the following recommendations for designing and planning distance learning:

·         Avoid “dumping” a face-to-face course onto the web

·         Think about course outcomes, and create course activities that activate higher   order thinking skills

·         Organize the course and make the requirements clear by repeating them throughout.  

·         Detailed assignment instructions (rubrics) are imperative. 

·         Give examples of acceptable and unacceptable work

·         Define due dates, point values, grade weighting

·         Provide instructions for submitting assignments

·         Keep students informed.  Constant feedback is essential

·         Assess students at the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels

·         Use questions pools and randomization with objective tests to minimize cheating

·         Apply adult learning principles: relevance, options for customization, building on personal and professional experience, etc.

·         Make sure materials arrive on time.

·         Always have a back-up plan for technology failures

     I explored several open course ware classes this week and found one of particular interest that clearly exemplifies distance instructional design principles:       

CAPP 30523 - Applied Multimedia Technology (Clark, 2008)

http://ocw.nd.edu/computer-applications/applied-multimedia-technology

     The Applied Multimedia course is available in the Notre Dame Open Course Ware Collection.   The course is set-up for students to complete the class in 75 minute sessions twice weekly.   It has 6 projects including a blog, a website review, image portfolio,  movie screensaver, podcast, and exploration in a virtual world.   The blog runs concurrently with the other projects and is used to showcase work as it is completed.   Students have the option to work on projects in whichever order they deem necessary, but the instructor suggests an order.  One of the principles of adult learning is to allow for student choice and participation in planning (Conlan, Grabowski, & Smith, 2003).  The choice to select the order of project completion demonstrates respect for student’s prior learning, interest, and need for relevant information in a timely manner.   It’s also an example of hypercontent- designed instruction.  With this type of design, the instructional designer provides units, modules, and topics, but the student determines sequencing (Simonson et al., 2009) 

Undoubtedly, the instructional designer for the Multimedia course has avoided the tendency to “dump” information from a face-to-face course. 

     The most compelling evidence that the course is designed for self-paced online learners is the course calendar.   As opposed to due dates, the calendar gives an alignment for activities and the number of hours that should be spent on each one.   To absorb the content and complete the application projects, the  student would expect to spend roughly 26 hours.   On another link from the navigation bar, the course content is organized into sessions which equate to roughly one hour a piece.  Content outlined here includes readings and assignments.   For convenience, readings are listed on a separate tab by session.  This is an excellent example of good organization and clearly stated expectations with redundancy.  Additionally, the course syllabus concisely outlines learning goals, assignments, exams, and grading policies.   A reasonably priced textbook is identified, and projects are listed in a table including an overview, learning objectives, and rubrics for each one.   

     Finally, purposeful planning for online instruction is evident in the listing of minimum technology requirements in the syllabus.   George Piskurich, an instructional design guru, cautions that access to technology is something not to be taken for granted (Piskurich, n.d).   In this case, minimum technology requirements are specified including hardware, software, and online accounts.    

     Online instruction should employ interaction to compel the learner to active participation.   Moreover,  learners have to engage in active procession of information in order for it to become meaningful (Mayer, 2007).   Simonson et al. (2009) concur with their recommendation to think about course outcomes, and create course activities that activate higher order thinking skills.  Notre Dame’s  Multimedia course has an obvious emphasis on applying knowledge beyond simple comprehension and understanding.  The content throughout the course focuses on the application of the four dimensions of multimedia:

·         Functionality

·         Aesthetics

·         Content

·         Usability

     The course has a page dedicated to each dimension and includes online articles for each topic.   Tests include essays which usually require some level of evaluation and synthesis. 

     I’ve already taken a multimedia course at Walden University and found it to have more depth than the Notre Dame free course; however, projects provide opportunities to expand your skills or keep them fresh.   If I had more time, I would take the Notre Dame course.   The class offers an opportunity to join a study group, but does not offer access to the professor.  For the purpose of gaining multimedia skills in Adobe Flash, Photoshop, movie making, and Second Life, the course is a viable option.  Aside from having very minimal feedback from the instructor, the only drawback would be the fact that time and energy would be invested without receiving college credit.  

References

Clark, G.C. (2008). Applied Multimedia Technology. University of Notre Dame Open Courseware. Retrieved from http://ocw.nd.edu/computer-applications/applied-multimedia-technology

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., Smith, K. (2003). Adult learning. In M. Ored (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.  Retrieved from  http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning#Andragogy

Mayer, R. E. (2007). Five features of effective multimedia messages: An evidence-based

             approach. In Fiore, S. M., & Salas, E. (Eds.), Toward a science of distributed learning. 171- 184

Piskurich, G. (n.d.). Planning and designing online courses. Retrieved October 5, 2011 from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5693697&Survey=1&47=7555398&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.