A Step-by-Step Guide to Course Development and Design

After reading this textbook, you are ready to start designing your own online course.

This chapter contains a tutorial video and a “Online Course Development Process Guide” that provides a step-by-step summary of the key stages involved in creating and delivering an online course.

Tutorial Video

Watch this video on course design offered by the Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL):

Online Course Development Process Guide

The following guide is divided into three parts: (1) course design, (2) course development, and (3) course delivery.

PART ONE: COURSE DESIGN

Learning Objectives/Outcomes

• Write Course-Level Objectives (CLOs)and Module-Level Objectives (MLOs)
  • List the CLOs of the course. 
  • Develop the MLOs of your course modules/weeks.
  • Both CLOs and MLOs should precisely describe what students are to gain from instruction and should avoid vague terminology.
  • Use measurable verbs.

Assessments

• Identifying Course Assessments
  

• • Assessments should:
    • evaluate learner progress in achieving the stated learning objectives or mastering the competencies.
    • measure the stated learning objectives (CLOs & MLOs).
    • align with the learning objectives to ensure that all learning objectives are appropriately measured throughout the modules and course.
    •  include student self-evaluations, quizzes, exercises, discussions, student-led learning projects, and exams.

Learning Activities

• Identifying Course Components

In addition to the knowledge content that will be delivered to the students, identify the other components of the course that you would like to incorporate to facilitate the learning process. Some examples would be:

• • A syllabus
  • A communication component which may include group discussion, e-mail communication, etc.
  • A record keeping component to track student progress
  • Obtaining copyright clearance for the materials if necessary
  • Making a list of the content topics and supplemental materials that need to be developed

• Design Course Structure

• • Divide content materials and course components (where appropriate) into modules.
  • Create a course plan for content material units. The plan would map out the organization and connection for individual units.
  • Also, in this step, map out the alignment between objectives, activities, and assessments.

• Instructional Strategies

• • Identify information delivery strategies (e.g., lecture notes, presentations, videos or lecture notes plus video demonstration).
  • Align the instruction with the objectives and assessments.
  • Develop a comprehensive student activity plan, which will allow you to achieve the stated course objectives.

• Online Resources (Library)

• • Research online/digital resources and materials that could be available for your students in your discipline.
  • These materials may include journal articles, online books, freely available multimedia, tutorials, etc.
  • If you need assistance, reach out to the university librarian.
    

PART TWO: COURSE DEVELOPMENT

• Content Preparation

• • Convert all content to digital formats (Google documents, HTML format, PDFs, mp4s)
  • If you need assistance, contact the university IT desk or an instructional designer

• Using a Learning Management System

• • After all the materials have been developed, the next step is to build the actual course in the LMS.
  • The LMS could be Canvas or Blackboard.
  • This would involve several steps:
    • Creating a course site on the LMS.
    •  Learning to use the LMS.
    • Transferring all content materials into the LMS.
    • Setting up course components in the course site.
    • Setting up class management options in the course site.
    • Making modifications if necessary.

• Testing the Course and Course Sign-Off

• • After the complete course has been built on the LMS, test all aspects of the course from the student’s perspective. You may want to ask for assistance from IT.
  • Items to check include:

• • • Content accuracy
    • Content display
    • Internal and external links
    • Functionality of individual course component

**Possible Focus Questions:

• Is the course activated?
• Is there an initial announcement or START HERE section?
• Are essential first week components such as the syllabus available?
• Are the assignments linked to the grade book?
• Do the tests or quizzes work?
• Does the course teach to a wide range of learning modalities?
• Is it ADA compliant?
• What degree of interactivity does the course have?
• Does the course make use of the tools available in the LMS?
• Is the course interactive?
• Are the media files associated with the course functioning correctly?

PART THREE: COURSE DELIVERY 

This stage takes place when the course is actually being offered. It involves managing all aspects of the course.

 The tasks include:

• Communicating with students through announcements and e-mail
• Conducting online discussion with students
• Monitoring student discussion groups
• Collecting, grading, and returning assessments
• Updating content
• Tracking and monitoring student progress
• Archiving course and other materials
• Collecting and analyzing feedback on the course for future use

Good luck in your online teaching and learning endeavors!