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Designing an Effective Course Overview: Providing Clarity for Learners
An essential aspect of creating a successful online course is designing a course overview that offers learners a clear and structured roadmap for their learning journey. A well-constructed course overview not only fosters a positive learning experience but also ensures that students can confidently navigate the course materials, activities, and assessments. Here are key elements to consider when designing your course overview:
- Welcome and Getting Started Content:
Start your course with a warm and inviting welcome message to engage learners from the outset. Provide clear instructions on how to get started, including steps for accessing the course materials and understanding the navigation. - Comprehensive Orientation:
Offer an overall orientation or overview of the course to set the stage. This should include module-level overviews, making it easy for learners to grasp the course structure. Providing a clear outline of what to expect in terms of content, activities, assignments, due dates, interactions, and assessments is essential. - Access to Technical Help:
Ensure that learners have easy access to technical support. Clearly communicate where users can seek assistance with any technical issues they may encounter during the course. - Course Delivery Method:
Clearly state the course's delivery method, whether it is fully online, blended, face-to-face, or web-enhanced. This information helps learners prepare for the type of engagement and learning experience they can expect. - Technical Requirements:
Provide guidelines for successful participation by outlining technical requirements. This includes browser version compatibility, mobile access, requirements for accessing publisher resources, secure content, handling pop-ups, and any hardware such as microphones or webcams. Ensure that learners can meet these prerequisites for a smooth learning experience. - Accessing course and SCORM Content:
Offer guidance on how to access content on the platform and any specific instructions for accessing SCORM content, if applicable. This ensures that learners can navigate the course platform with ease. - Clearly Defined Learning Objectives:
Course objectives or learning outcomes should be clearly defined, measurable, and directly aligned with learning activities and assessments. This alignment ensures that learners understand the purpose and relevance of the content they engage with. Tips for Defining Learning Outcomes: backward design principle https://tlc.ontariotechu.ca/teaching/course-design/backwards-design.php - Contact Information:
Include contact information for the course instructor, department, and program. This ensures that learners have a clear channel for communication and can easily reach out for support or clarification.
Last modified: Tuesday, 31 October 2023, 3:42 PM
Fac.Dev