David,
You hit the key word in experience!! The more you do it, the more you know what you need in the class.
Shelly Crider
I find the time invested in an online course upfront is well worth the effort. I do not agree with the fact tha tit requires less time to develop these courses. Reason being, many things that may come very natural in a face to face enviroment, a workaround must be created to circumvent these obstacles.
I totally agree with this. We need to meet the needs of all the learners in the classroom, so there are other ways to present information to reach more students. A well designed course will however allow less time grading and answering questions. So, the more time spent initially, the less time you spend later on.
Deb Moerland
Richard,
I totally agree with this! The effort is worth it when you see knowledge being transferred.
Shelly Crider
Deborah,
There are many types of learners from various geographic areas. We may need to change a few things to accomodate our students.
Shelly Crider
Disagree just because of the volume of interactions that an instructor must have with the entire student population. Where I teach we have a saying about "reach every student some way multiple times a day." This will take additional time for the on-line instructor because each communication with the student must be done over technology. However, in an on ground environment, I can reach multiple students simultaneously during the mandated class time. Even if I schedule synchronous chats, most online courses may require only one or two hours per week, whereas I meet ground students at a minimum for several hours 5 days a week.
Hi
I disagree. It definitely takes work to be available 7 days a week on discussion boards, provide email support within 24 hours and grade all submitted work quickly. Add live chats to the mix and it definitely takes time.
Thanks!
Jocelyn M. Dervis
I disagree and think it may take more time for an on-line course just from the premise that you have to take the use of technology into consideration. Let's face it...there is a gigantic difference in what Navigational Simplicity is to my Mother than it is to my son.
My experiences show that the preparation time is about the same. There have been times, however, when I found online courses more time consuming because you need to prepare your discussion questions more carefully. The traditional classroom will often lend itself to a more instantaneous learning environment because when you notice that a student has trouble understanding the material you might stop and offer clarification. Or, you could ask questions as a way of qauging the students' understanding. Obviously, this is not something you can prepare for ahead of time. The online class, however, requires that you plan for such possibilities more carefully.
Les
Les,
The traditional is good about on the spot discussion. You can add to your online discussions. This is one way to keep students checking their discussion board.
Shelly Crider
Comparing development of an online course with development of a resident course is not logical. While the source instructional material may be the same, the delivery of that material is very different. The lesson objectives may be the same, but the strategies to get at them are different.
It takes quite a bit longer to develop an online course since everything has to be built in ahead of time since it is quite difficult to make changes "on the fly" in the online environment compared to a face to face course.
Kathryn,
Good point. This is not really comparing apples to apples, but you do make a good point here with the only the fly changes!
Shelly Crider
I believe you spend more time developing an online course than a tradtional course, because you need to add your presence through substitution media. This requires additional time and effort. Additionally, you to anticipate potential questions which requires additional preparation.
Disagree: I believe that for online learning the student must invest more time to set up guides and prioritize their learning objectives at home even before beginning a topic. It takes more patients and sometimes a bit more research to find the answers to the topic questions on their own, than in a classroom environment they could easily raise their hand or ask he teacher for clarification right away.
Muriel,
Classes tend to get easier each term; however, just when you think you have the perfect class.....the students change!
Shelly Crider
Hi Shelly,
I would have to disagree with this one being that it takes a little more preparation to develop an online course. In an online course development plan you to create or develop questions/content geared around the students not having the same access to certain resources as a student live in the classroom. For example, the compentencies and objectives have to be written as if the students can identify and comprehend the course information without the hands-on help of an actual real instructor in the class.
Ms. Cooper
Romanda,
What is easy for one person (the developer) to understand may be totally confusing to a student.
Shelly Crider
I disagree. Developing my online course took more time than my on-ground course.
Designing an online course takes much more time than an onground course. In the traditional classroom I work from notes, but for online class lectures I have to type out word for word what I would say, checking for spelling, punctuation, etc. There's no room for "winging it" as mentioned in another post. In the traditional classroom I can make changes as needed, but at my school the online class is loaded at the beginning of term and the instructor is not allowed to make changes without approval, so it has to be perfect from the beginning.
I disagree with this. If anything it takes more time as the level of sharing is still different than in a face-to-face course. I can have a stronger influence face-to-face and command the room better as well. For me my level of dynamic teaching is sometimes lost in the online environment. I will also take more time in researching up to date information and spend an overwhelming amount of time since I am not physically there with them. At times it is harder to share ideas and answer questions in an online environment where as in a class room setting we are all there "for the most part" together and sharing at the same time. Where in an online environment there are times I am just recording the presentation with no one else in the room.
Am I totally off topic with this type of rationale?
