Summarizing my Learning from PIDP 4150

 Sedi Minachi Journal #3

Objective Questions: My Learning Experiences about Developing an Effective Online Course

In my experience, developing an effective online course depends on how the course provides a sense of leadership to the learners’ community so that they contribute to the learning experience and the development of course content. As stated by Boettcher and Conrad (2010), “Having learners lead activities also supports Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development” (226). In order for the learners to develop skills through an online course, I think it is important that the course instructor assumes the role of coach, shaping, supporting, clarifying and critiquing (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010) instead of directing and telling students what to do.  For example, the instructor needs to empower learners to be self-directed in working on a project whether individually or in a group. In this sense, as stated by Boettcher and Conrad, “Learners then can see themselves as knowledge generators and connectors”, not as those who follow the instructor’s direction. Although designing and implementing a learner-led online course can be challenging and complex, the instructor should clarify the outcomes of an activity such as developing expertise in being self-reliant and problem solvers in a cooperative and engaging process. The objective of this paper is to reflect on the development of an effective online course with respect to my learning experiences throughout the PIDP 4150 course.

Reflective Questions: Matching PIDP 4150 with Learner’s Experience

Through PDIP 4150, I gained knowledge about learning theories (e.g., experiential and transformative learning), teaching guideline/principles, online teaching best practices and teaching tools. As part of the course requirements, I developed my own professional blog and gained experience in working with a partner to complete a wiki project.

This course has become a template for me to use designing effective and meaningful online courses meeting the needs of communities of engaged learners. For instance, I now know to use various online tools to facilitate experiential and transformative learning theories among learners, and to provide an opportunity to them to actively reflect on their new skills. In addition, through this course, I learned about the importance of providing effective and constructive feedback to learners so that they develop writing skills and critical thinking.   

In addition to providing relevant course content, effective teaching, and being available to meet student needs as required, I will ensure learners have access to online support services. Like their counterparts taking on-campus courses, distance education students taking online courses should have access to online support services such as advising/counseling, financial aid, libraries, tech help desk, academic writing centers, etc. 

Interpretive Questions: Moving Forward

The first important fact I learned in this course is that as an online course instructor, my role is to be an accessible, responsive, transparent facilitator open to creative ideas. This is because when online learners do not receive the support they need from the course, they quickly become frustrated and discouraged from finishing the course. This will negatively impact the reputation of online courses, and in particular the course not meeting students’ needs. Therefore, it is important that the instructor provides a nurturing and encouraging environment empowering and supporting learners throughout the course which also implement experiential and transformative learning theories and reflect on skills learned throughout the course. 

Decisional Questions: Applying PIDP 4150 in Designing an Online Course

            As experience has shown, the elearning industry is rapidly attracting students from both the new and older generation of learners. Educational institutions are increasingly offering online courses to students who can access these courses from anywhere worldwide having electricity and internet access.

I think, online courses provide freedom and flexibility to both learners and instructors and teach them to become good time managers. Working as an online instructor is attractive to me and I am eager to pursue my career in this exciting field because it gives me the opportunity to teach from almost anywhere while enabling me to engage diverse students from different cultural backgrounds worldwide from the convenience of my own home.

 All the useful learning theories, teaching guidelines and tips I learned throughout this course have increased my motivation to facilitate effective and meaningful online courses following proven teaching and course design guideline, with transparency being the foundation of my teaching ethics. Nevertheless, my primary goal in designing and delivering online courses is to create an atmosphere fostering mutual learning between the instructor and students and between peers. For me to be a creative and open minded instructor, I will keep abreast of new technologies and online tools and adopt those enabling me to more effectively interact with my communities of learners.

Word Cited

Boettcher, J. V. & Conrad, R. M. (2010). The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical

Pedagogical Tips. Jossey-Bass: Wiley.

Journal # 2: Using Quality Guidelines in eLearning

Sedi Minachi Journal # 2: Using Quality Guidelines in eLearning

Objective: Quality Guidelines

The objective of this journal is to explore what goes into creating and conducting a quality course following guidelines for online course development. Many people know how convenient online or distance education is in terms of the flexibility it provides learners to choose their hours of study and location. Online courses have become increasingly popular since the first online courses following the introduction of the internet in the 1990s, and many learners, especially adults, prefer to take online courses instead of taking in physical classrooms. The goal of educators is to develop knowledge and build skills, and learners are increasingly choosing distance education when given this opportunity. It’s for this reason that educators must provide relevant, quality, effective distance learning courses enabling learners to meet their educational goals.

Negative Reputations in the Absence of Quality Guidelines

While online course instructors may not set quality guidelines, any lack of attention to course quality on their part can lead to chaos and confusion among learners who become less impressed with distance education. In addition, learners have the potential to become discouraged and may not continue enrolling in other online courses, possibly creating negative reputations for online programs.  For example, I took an online ‘mediation and conflict resolution’ course a few years ago through a European institution. I enrolled in it because the course description promised its instructor was a well-known scholar in the field of conflict resolution. However, when the course started, we, the learners were disappointed to learn that an unknown instructor living in a country with poor internet connectivity was assigned to teach it.  The course was a disaster for many reasons I describe below. Firstly, the instructor was absent most of the time and rarely responded to our emails, and tried to justify his unavailability/lack of support by saying to his class that he travelled frequently to participate in various conferences. Secondly, the course objective was vague and did not have clear instructions or guidelines, and the learners did not know what the course expectations were. We found this both disappointing and frustrating. While the students including myself were confused about what to do, a few of us decided to inform the course administrator.

We were further frustrated when we also found her unresponsive and seemingly uncaring. Almost half of the class participants dropped out of the course and those who finished it felt that we did not gain skills or knowledge in the field of mediation and conflict resolution. My final disappointment came when the course finished and I expected to receive a certificate as promised in the course description. Several months passed and I did not receive the certificate or any response from the course administrator. I felt that my time and money was wasted and contacted a scholar who originally told me about this course. To make a long story short, I finally - after one year of ongoing communication with the director of the institution - received my certificate, and the only other good news is that my prodding enabled other students to receive theirs as well.

Quality Checklist for Online Courses

For an instructor to design and deliver an effective online course, it is essential they follow certain criteria and guidelines.  According to Barker (2002), both instructors and learners are interested in acquiring education and training that are effective and efficient. In reading Barker’s “Canadian Recommended E-learning Guidelines”, I gained a better understanding of the importance of the elearning course guidelines and would adopt the following general checklist based on her paper:

Organized: The course should be facilitated in an organized way to minimize confusion and frustration. For example, the instructor should be easily accessible to the learners’ community and have regular office hours. The course syllabus should clearly include course description, learning objectives, completion requirements, course material, additional learning resources, course activities and required assignments. 

Quality Content: The course must have good quality content addressing learners’ needs and identifies course material relevant to the course’s goals and objectives. In my opinion, good quality content not only helps the instructor to ensure the course is learner-centered and meaningful, it also provides learners with relevant skills and knowledge.

Presentation: The material must be presented clearly, professionally and be user friendly.

Technology: The technology needs to be reliable and easily accessible to the learning community wherever they are. Furthermore, it should enable learners to actively engage with each other in the construction of knowledge and should provide assistance, guidance and communication to the learners’ community. It also needs to be easily updatable, reliable and navigable.  

Supports Learners’ self-directed learning:  The course should be designed to respect learners’ flexibility, and allow them to progress at their own pace with respect to interacting with the learning community.  

Admission information: The course should state any admission/degree requirement and prerequisites, the curriculum overview, specific delivery format, and grading methods. In addition, it should state learning assessment procedures and evaluation criteria, tuition fees, books/materials, equipment, institutional regulations, policies on plagiarism, entry-level technical skills, and course evaluations.

Reflective: Personal Experiences

I have taken four online courses including this one. Aside from the negative experience I had during the ‘mediation and conflict resolution’ course described earlier in this paper, my VCC elearning experiences have been great. Like most elearning students, I expect to receive a high quality education, and my goal is to design and deliver an efficient and effective online course so that learners can smoothly complete it successfully. 

Interpretive: Meaning of the Guidelines

            As technology continues to develop and more learners take advantage of online programs, the need for designers capable of creating effective, high quality online courses increases. To create courses of this caliber, I must incorporate guidelines reflective of my learners’ needs and perceptions. The negative experience I had in the ‘mediation and conflict resolution’ online course did not discourage me from taking more online courses. However, it motivated me to become involved in this profession to do this right and design an elearning course based on ethical guidelines maximizing opportunities for the learners’ community to acquire knowledge and meaningful skills.

Decisional: Concluding Remarks

As a growing method of education, elearning courses must be designed and delivered with care within the framework of standard guidelines so that the learners are able to successfully complete their courses and fulfill their educational goals. From my own experiences, and by reading elearning guidelines for creating and delivering effective courses, I learned about the importance of ensuring high quality design in all online courses and am determined to deepen my knowledge of how to do this. Finally, with respect to recommendations offered by Barker (2002), I will incorporate all the standard guidelines when structuring, designing and developing learner-centered online courses. 

Work Cited

Barker, K. (2002) Canadian Recommended E-learning Guidelines (CanREGs). Published by Future Ed

and Canadian Association for Community Education. Retrieved on Dec 18, 2013 from

http://www.futured.com/pdf/CanREGs%20Eng.pdf