Content for online courses

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by brianswilson, Dec 9, 2001.

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  1. brianswilson

    brianswilson New Member

    I am an instructional technologist at a company that publishes college
    textbooks. I'm currently developing a content model for college Web-based
    distance learning courses. Having spent the last several years developing
    instructional technologies and content for online training in the business
    world, I'm familiar with capabilities provided by technology, content
    standards, best practices, and in general what sorts of things work well
    "online." However, distance learning in the academic world seems to afford a
    whole different set of challenges and opportunities.

    I'm curious if any of you have come across research/documentation regarding
    students' and instructors' experiences in higher ed distance learning
    courses. Of course, I'm especially interested in issues related to content.
    (By "content" I mean print and electronic textbooks, software simulations
    and other "desktop software," Web-based tutorials, assessment activities,
    collaborative learning tools, and so forth).

    In my discussions with students and professors, I've begun to identify
    several issues with which those involved in distance learning currently
    grapple (usability problems, bandwidth issues, inappropriate use of text and
    media, etc.), but I'm eager for any additional insights that will help me to
    design content that is useful and effective for Web-based distance learning.

    I appreciate any URLs, book titles, and other information that you might
    pass on. Thank you in advance!

    -- Brian Wilson
     
  2. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    These are matters more often explored on the other two major news forums in this field, AEDnet, and DEOS, the one at Nova Southeastern, the other at Penn State, and I can never remember which.

    (But I can remember the acronyms: Adult Education Network; Distance Education Online Service)
     
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    DEOS is at Penn State. I get their news serv daily. Ho hum.

    Rich Douglas
     
  4. Bill Highsmith

    Bill Highsmith New Member

    If you're an instructional designer, I'm sure you're aware of these standardization efforts, but I'll list some related links anyway:

    International Forum of Educational Technology & Society
    Formal Discussion Initiation
    Beyond Classroom Solutions: New Design Perspectives for Online Learning Excellence
    next discussion: http://ifets.ieee.org/discussions/discuss_january2002.html

    past discussions: http://ifets.ieee.org/discussions/discuss.html

    The above organization is a subgroup of the IEEE Computer Society Learning Technology Task Force (LTTF, http://lttf.ieee.org/). This group manages these standards efforts:
    P1484.1 Architecture and Reference Model Working Group
    P1484.2 Learner Model Working Group
    P1484.3 Glossary Working Group
    P1484.4 Task Model Working Group
    P1484.6 Course Sequencing Working Group
    P1484.7 Tool/Agent Communication Working Group
    P1484.10 CBT Interchange Language Working Group
    P1484.11 Computer Managed Instruction Working Group
    P1484.12 Learning Objects Metadata Working Group
    P1484.13 Student Identifier Working Group
    P1484.14 Semantics and Exchange Bindings Working Group
    P1484.15 Data Interchange Protocols Study Group
    P1484.16 HTTP Bindings Study Group
    P1484.17 Content Packaging Study Group
    P1484.18 Platform and Media Profiles Study Group
    P1484.19 Quality System for Technology-Based Life-Long Learning Study Group
    P1484.20 Competency Definitions Study Group
    LTSC Sponsor Executive Committee (SEC)

    Even if you are not specifically interested in these technical aspects, your may find a lot of collateral overlap in the papers and journals.

    See also:
    SCORM: Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) http://www.adlnet.org/ http://www.adlnet.org/sitemap/ourstory_about.cfm

    Instructional Managment System http://www.imsproject.org

    Learning objects: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CIE/AOP/learningobjects.html
    http://www.adlnet.org/sitemap/ourstory_about.cfm
     

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