PPEL – Successful online courses

Young, Y; Cornelious, L. (2005). Preparing Instructors for Quality Online Instruction, available at http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring81/yang81.htm. Accessed on 22-11-2009.

In this article the authors talk about the key aspects of designing and providing successful online courses. They mention the following criteria that should be taken into account:

• the challenges and obstacles that the online instructors have to go though. Most of the online instructors were in-classroom teachers a few years ago. Some of them need to learn how to work with the technology in order to be able to provide good online support to their learners;
• Online instructors are changing their role of leading speaker to the role of a facilitator
• The learners themselves also have a new role
• Use of new technologies
• there are new ways of interaction and communication between the learners, the learners and the teacher and the learners and the material
• There are new ways of learning and evaluating. trying to ensure academic honesty and integrity in online courses is another challenge for instructors
• The instructor and the learner have to develop a new attitude towards learning and teaching
• The need of developing an online learning community

I agree with all the aspects above. The teachers that provide online courses but also the classroom teacher have to develop technical skills. The students nowadays ask for that. Our society is more and more turned towards technology and the school needs to provide students with tools to follow that.

In the article it is mention the 10 keys to quality online learning courses:

• Knowledge is constructed, not transmitted.
• Students can take full responsibility for their own learning.
• Students are motivated to want to learn.
• The course provides “mental white space” for reflection.
• Learning activities appropriately match student learning styles.
• Experiential, active learning augments the Web site learning environment,
• Solitary and interpersonal learning activities are interspersed.
• Inaccurate prior learning is identified and corrected.
• “Spiral learning” provides for revisiting and expanding prior lessons,
• The master teacher is able to guide the overall learning process. (p. 6-17)

This article also points the factors that can influence the learner in achieving successful learning outcomes.