Harry Taylor

Never thought much about a course history, but it does make a lot of sense to keep chunks of information that don't fit in now stored away for another time.  One chunk, learning object, can be unplugged and stored into the repository.  Another that is in the repository can be unplugged from there and pluggted into the current content.  Great time saver.

Clear and concisee communication and frequent, continual feedback remain at the forefront of success, but the last unit added in the importance of student collaboration, giving the students the opportunity to "buy in" to the importance of interdependence and student control working in small groups.

Building a class throug the entire process--plan, design, organization, implementation, etc. are all part of the online course roadmap to a successful class just as in a face to face environment.  The last unit on priorities is the key to maintaining sanity, both in time management for the course and for personal life.  It is totally necessary to block out specific times on a calendar for all the course events so that students and instructors alike know where they are going.  The instructor must also block out times for personal life.  When all is said and done though, it is… >>>

The online environment will run efficiently on the well oiled mechanism of the instructor, support staff and students.  While not being all knowing, the instructor is the hub of the entire operation, having control of the management of time, information and technology.

The seven principles of learning provide a beneficial track to run on, allowing us to focus on the task at hand.  It's not only wisdom for the instructor but also for the students.

reiteration of the synchronous andd asynchronous communication tools.  Provided information in applying these tools properly to fit your class and your students.

Effective communication distills down to the simple acronym--CPA.  Clear, Professional, Appropriate.

The two issuse of motivation and time management were most informative to me, both for the instructor and the student.  The 10 to 20 hours to prepare for 1 hour of class seems to me to be about the same for online or face to face.  The big thing is to motivate the students to realize that the 3 to 5 hours each lesson is a necessity for success (no procrastinating).

In this module, the most beneficial section for me was the discussion on Rubrics.  I have not used them consistently, but it works great as a simple tool (simple being the keyword) for communicating clear and concise expectations and for providing a more standardized evaluation.  This should allow me to better evaluate participation and to provide clearer feedback.

In order to avoid misinterpretation, communication between instructors and students should be clear and concise to speak to different generations of students.