Throughout this series, we’ve unpacked the three presences of Charles Sander Peirce’s Community of Inquiry (CoI) model. In my previous posts, we’ve looked at social and teaching presence. Cognitive presence, the final presence, combines both social and teaching presence. Today we’ll discuss how you can incorporate cognitive presence in your online course. Continue reading “Communities of Inquiry (CoI): Cognitive Presence”
Tag: Course Development
Communities of Inquiry (CoI): Teaching Presence
In my last post, I introduced Charles Sander Pierce’s Community of Inquiry (CoI) model and discussed the importance of an instructor’s social presence in an online course. Continue reading “Communities of Inquiry (CoI): Teaching Presence”
Review: Tim Slade’s “The eLearning Designer’s Handbook”
***Model eLearning has no affiliation with Tim Slade. We purchased the book on our own, and we’ve provided an honest review based on our opinions.***
It’s often said that instructional designers (ID) fall into the field of eLearning. Some, like Michelle, have a whole career of experience before making their way into it. Others find their skill-sets and interests draw them into the field. Elearning designer Tim Slade had a similar experience, and that led him to write, design, and self-publish The eLearning Designer’s Handbook: A Practical Guide to the eLearning Development Process for New eLearning Designers. Continue reading “Review: Tim Slade’s “The eLearning Designer’s Handbook””
3 Things I Learned Working with Subject Matter Experts in my First Year as an ID
In my first year as an instructional designer (ID), I worked with college faculty to develop the courses they had taught face-to-face into online courses. I was eager to dive into my new role, create successful courses, and stick to a 3-month timeline for each project.
A few key lessons that I encountered in those early days continue to guide my work. Continue reading “3 Things I Learned Working with Subject Matter Experts in my First Year as an ID”
Improve Your Course Content: Active Voice
Content is difficult to read on a screen. If you want students to engage with your online course, you need to improve the cognitive load. The best practices used for writing for the web include active voice, positive tone, the inverted pyramid, chunking text, bullet and number lists, and descriptive headings. In this post, we’ll examine how to improve the readability of your course using active voice. Continue reading “Improve Your Course Content: Active Voice”
Visual Tools: Convert Your Content into a Format That Pops
Are you an instructor who’s thought, “I have all this content that my students need to know—why aren’t they getting it”? Have you considered converting that bland text into a format that pops? Let’s discuss why you should consider using visual tools to bring your information to life. Continue reading “Visual Tools: Convert Your Content into a Format That Pops”
5 Ways to Write Relevant, Engaging, and Useful eLearning Content
Writing content for an online or blended course is different than lecturing in a face-to-face course. Great eLearning content doesn’t just happen—it is intentionally designed to reach the student at their moment of need. As you develop your course, keep these five tips in mind to write relevant, engaging, and useful eLearning content. Continue reading “5 Ways to Write Relevant, Engaging, and Useful eLearning Content”
So you want to be a subject matter expert?
Sure. You’d be glad to develop an online course. How hard could it be? You’ve been teaching for years now. This should be easy. Maybe you can focus on the project next weekend. Continue reading “So you want to be a subject matter expert?”
Course Development: It’s not magic
It’s tempting (and common) for members of the academic community to think that converting a face-to-face course to an online or blended course produces a special brand of magic. It’s just not true.
After building over 100 online courses, I have come to believe that the process is anything but magic! Of course, I’m always looking for that one spectacular experience…but honestly—even if it is spectacular—it involves hard work.
It is good old-fashioned respect and communication that seems to be the magic—not the new 5-week format, the online portfolio, or the 5-star learning management system. Of course technology needs to be there and work well, but it’s the human involvement that makes it sparkle. The next time you face a course development, incorporate these five tips for success! Continue reading “Course Development: It’s not magic”
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