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Instructional design resources

Past and Future of Instructional Technologies Video (requires QuickTime)
Judith Boettcher, former executive director of CREN, answers questions from the CIT staff on the past and future of instructional technologies after last year's IITAP event.

Affecting student learning through technology
A vivid graphic model depicting how retention rates vary by Web delivery methods, and how various learning styles come into play. The site gives examples of how different methods and technologies are used. The larger site includes an excellent "webliography" and references.

Creating Community Online: Negotiating students' needs and desires in cyberspace by Sharon G. Solloway and Edward L. Harris
This article provides both a critical look at online teaching methods and valuable anecdotal experiences. It discusses the accomplishments of two professors in the education department of Oklahoma State University who decided to teach a doctoral level course online. They learned a great deal from their experience, and so can you.

Another Look at the Tower of WWWebble by Judith Boettcher
Judith Boettcher's article appears in the October 1999 issue of Syllabus Magazine. (You can download a version in PDF format here.) In this article the author takes a look at the four levels of "Course Webness" and their associated design times. Her clear and concise definitions can help you determine the nature and scope of the online component of your course.

Other relevant Syllabus Magazine Articles by Judith Boettcher are

• Turning the Kaleidoscope: Teaching and Learning Patterns in 2007 What Will We See? [Jun 99]
• What Does Knowledge Look Like and How Can We Help It Grow? [Sep 99]
• The Shift from a Teaching to a Learning Paradigm: Achieving Balance
• Communicating in the Tower of WWWeb-ble
  Extract
  Complete [Sep 97]
  Update [Oct 99]
• How Many Students Are "Just Right" in a Web Course?
• How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Distance Learning Course?
• The Dangers and Pitfalls of Communicating with Students
• Development Time, Costs and Instructional Design of a Web Course

Educators can sign up for a free subscription to the Syllabus magazine.

Learning Communities: Getting Started- An MCCCD Monograph by Geri Rasmussen and Elizabeth Skinner The Web can aid you in building a stronger educational experience by facilitating the commingling of courses. Learning communities are students joined by interest in common topics; they are enrolled or major in courses with similarity of subject or concern (e.g., sociology, psychology and anthropology). This paper has three parts: (1) An Overview of Learning Communities, (2) Examples of Three Different Types of Learning Communities, and (3) Steps for Initiating a Learning Community.

In the Kitchen-Designs for Telecollaboration and Telepresence
The author gives a definition and several real life on-line examples of different types of interactive collaborative projects. Specifically, she discusses interpersonal exchange, information collection and analysis, and problem solving. (This site is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of "Virtual Architecture," by Dr. Judi Harris.)

Collaboration = Community (In Online Courses) by A. Nadine Burke
Advice from an experienced instructor. The author contends that in order to build communities, students need more than chat and bulletin board postings, that the instructor must allow for collaboration among students. She discusses how to incorporate collaboration into a literature distance education course. She also reflects on her experiences from teaching other Internet courses.

Tips for Learning Expeditions and Communities of Practice by Lisa Kimball
This paper will help instructors facilitate discussion on-line. It is a perfect source of information and advice for those unfamiliar with facilitating communication on the Web (including those familiar with the tools and technology). The topics include initializing the conference structure, creating the framework for, facilitating discussion, developing the group, and managing content.

Online Teaching Tips
Offers tips that apply to standard websites and to course materials presented in WebCT. Most could apply equally as well to other courseware packages. Some tips have more to do with web design issues while others are more pedagogical in nature.The author presents her points in straight-forward, organized manner. The advice is succinct and specific.

Teaching Successful Telecourses
An article with background on distance education and specific suggestions for creating effective content online. With brevity and enthusiasm, it provides some important "dos" and "don'ts" forthe instructor about to begin his or her first experience in online education.

A Template for Converting Classroom Courses to Distributed, Asynchronous Courses by Lowell H. Roberts
This site provides a list of suggestions for the course designer. A quick recipe for planning an online course and a sound evaluation tool.

Implementing Online Pedagogy
A terrific blend of suggestions for and examples of placing content online. Many step-by-step suggestions for posting content online with interesting and helpful examples. The target audience is university professors placing supplementary content online and integrating it carefully with classroom work. Each concept is brief and effective with a link to a sample of the concept presented. Specific areas covered include promoting interactivity, creating on-line labs, and evaluation.