Final EDUC 4151 Blog Post

For those of you reading this post, this assignment is my last blog post for my EDUC 4151 (Design and Develop Interactive eLearning) course at Vancouver Community College.

The top 4 practical factors I feel you need to consider when planning an online course and why are:

1. Use of Quality Guidelines

            My goal is to create an online course and a seamless learning experience in which real learning occurs. That is why I call it Practical Application to Criminal and Social Justice. I want this course to be considered one of the best in its instruction area and equivalent to any elective earned in person. Quality certification will enhance my course, and using rubrics and checklists provides a systematic structure for considering design elements I may not have critically examined before.

2.  Using Media and Technology Tools

            Every decision I will be making in designing my course should extend from the learning objectives I have created for my course. When my objectives have been identified, I will then figure out which technological tools will help me and my learners meet them. I need purposeful technology tools to either accomplish an objective or solve a problem. For example, Vancouver Community College Instructor Jacquie Harrison identified in my Feasibility Activity Report that I failed to consider some learners in remote communities who may not have bandwidth capabilities for the Zoom meetings and lectures I propose. This technology tool is vitally important to the design of my course and requires further research.

3.  Setting Significant Outcomes

            Sales and marketing are everything when it comes to selling my online course. Learners can take a similar online course at several Colleges and Universities, but what makes my course unique and the best? The bar will be set high when I design the content and teach my course with clear purpose and relevance for my learners. Because my course has a practical application, my course content must have an authentic purpose and connect to real-world problems. For example, it will give my learners skills and knowledge application and purpose. I have a clear vision of what I want to teach. Because my vision clarifies the purpose and goals, teaching strategies, and learning activities of the course, my learners will experience a fantastic learning experience.

4.  Reflect, Evaluate, and Revise

            My course design is a living document. If I want my course to be the best, I cannot design it and forget it. I must review my course through the lens of best practices. I will reflect upon my course design through student feedback and keep a design journal of things that come up during a semester and new information I may want to add.  Finally, course design rubrics, such as from Quality Matters, can assess course design according to the best research-based rubrics.