Center for Online Learning

Online Course Design

Introduction
The mission of the Center for Online Learning is to promote quality online courses. There is substantial research to indicate what constitutes best practice in online course design and delivery to achieve good student learning outcomes and satisfaction. It is the purpose of this site to set forth guidlines to achieve that end. If you have comments or suggestions for this page, please contact us via our Suggestions/Feedback form.
Topic	Description	Information
What is Best Practice?	What does the research say about best practice in course design?	Introduction
Implications for Online Courses and Programs	As Georgia Southern moves more degrees to the online environment, there needs to be more conversation within units about aspects of course and program design and delivery.	Introduction
Course Design Principles
The information in this section lays a foundation for thinking about teaching and learning in an online course and how that influences course design. Bloom's Taxonomy is the basis of any instructional design process.
Topic	Description	Information
50 Years of Research on Teaching and Learning	Read how 50 years of research resulted in the "Seven Principles of Effective Teaching."	Introduction
ADDIE Model	The ADDIE model is a five-stage process that helps us think about course design and delivery.	Introduction
Bloom's Taxonomy	Bloom's Taxonomy is one way to think about course design. This section explains how Bloom's Taxonomy promotes coherent, measurable course design.	Introduction
Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction	Dr. Gagné suggests a way to look at how we might sturcture learning events to promote student engagement with content and better learning outcomes	Introduction
Quality Matters	Quality Matters is an organization that looks at the research on "best practice" for online course design. They provide a rubric that lists items for consideration when designing online courses	QM Rubric
Folio Foundation Course (Template)
Topic	Description	Information
Demonstration Course	This is a mockup of Folio Foundation Course (template) that is used for development of online courses. The Folio Foundation Course is based on the research for "best practice" for online course design.	View Demo
Folio Foundation Course (FFC) Template	The FFC is a pre-designed course shell. You may download and import the folio foundation course into an empty shell.	Introduction
File Naming Conventions	Use file naming conventions to help you keep your course files organized.	Introduction
Online Pedagogy
Face-to-face teaching relies on a lot of visual and aural clues. In the online environment, we have to use different strategies to insure effective teaching and learning. The information below presents pedagogical strategies for thinking about teaching and learning in an online environment.
Topic	Description	Information
Instructional Strategies	Student motivation and learning styles; structured instruction; instructional strategies; online lectures and presentations	Introduction
Discussion Strategies	Introduction to using discussion as a means of promoting classroom dialog	Introduction
Guiding the Learning Process	In an online environment, students need explicit instructions to guide the studying and learning process.	Introduction
Formative Feedback	Formative feedback is used to assess teaching and student learning before an exam. It is also used to to assess course design. Formative feedback is always done during the course.	Introduction
Assessments	This area provides some ideas about assessment strategies.	Introduction
Supporting Information
Topic	Description	Information
Copyright	Links to Board of Regents and other sites pertaining to copyright in education.	Introduction

Center for Online Learning

Online Course Design

Introduction

Course Design Principles

Folio Foundation Course (Template)

Online Pedagogy

Supporting Information