Presentation to accompany my online interview.

1. Online Course Design
Online task by Caspar Groeneveld

2. Steps in course design
1. Course objective / learning outcome
2. Select learning activities
3. Design course
4. Design course activities
5. Assessment
6. Evaluate

3. 1. Course objective / Learning outcome
This course could have as a learning
outcome:
“At the end of the course, students will be
able to identify threats to European
integration, explain their histories, and
recognize differences and similarities
between threats.”
Different modules can focus on different
aspects.

4. 2. Learning activities
• History of threats requires knowledge: e.g.
reading, watching knowledge clips, quizzing
knowledge.
• Recognizing and defining threats requires
comprehension, analysis or synthesis: e.g.
research; reporting.
• Finding similarities and differences requires
analysis and evaluation based on available
material: e.g. discussion; presentation; reporting

5. 3. Course design
• Examine freedom to select platform
• Use consistent design
• Use logical design
• Turn off tools, functions or buttons not in use.
• Only show module being followed
• Only show material up to current week
• If necessary, use other tools when platform provides
unsatisfactory tool

6. Tasks and Activities
• Paced students start at certain time, work in
weeks. For self-paced students, weeks last as
long as they need.
• Next week’s material is made available after
finishing previous week
• Weeks end with assignment
• Discussion boards are open per topic
• Weekly online sessions with teacher, presence
of students expected.

7. Tasks and Activities: Peer review 1
• Introduce concept of rubrics and peer review.
• Rubrics can be applied in some of the other
modules as well.
• Propose set of rubrics and have students discuss
them in a forum.
• Participation in the forum is expected.
• Accept or reject proposed changes and if
necessary have students vote on the final
selection.
• Participation on rubrics is weekly assignment

8. Tasks and Activities: Peer review 2
• Teacher provides an example of effective and useful
feedback.
• Students submit paper proposal for peer feedback
• Students provide peer feedback to two other students
• Handing in paper and providing feedback is weekly
assignment
• Follow the discussion board on the topic to track
problems. If a student is struggling with the task:
– suggest a fellow student who is comfortable with the specific
material to help her.
– discuss the problem in the weekly online session.
– if the problem persists, help the student

9. Tasks and Activities: Wikis
• Students create a wiki lemma in pairs.
• Students have to explain a concept to
peers, placing them in the role of teacher
and making them aware of any gaps in
knowledge they have.
• Students then rate each other wikis.

10. Tasks and Activities: Blog
• Students write a blog post relating course
material on current events. Can be done
alone or in pairs.
• Students comment on other blogs.
• Writing the blog and commenting are the
weekly assignment.

11. Tasks and Activities: Presentation
• Students present a concept in a different
format, e.g. a concept map.
• Presentation can be synchronous or
asynchronous, e.g. during weekly session;
requires other students to be present
• Presentation is weekly assignment.

12. Tasks and Activities: Discussion Board
• Assign roles in a Discussion Board.
• Students may not participate, unless
instructed to do so
• Require students to post and to comment
on posts
• Make a student mediator

13. Tasks and Activities: Assignments
• Have students decide on some of the
assignments
• Advanced students from different
backgrounds have different ideas
• Having influence over the course
increases commitment and community

14. Tasks and Activities: Communication
• Build a Facebook page and invite students
• Allow students to use Skype to contact the
teacher and invite them to Skype each
other
• React quickly to student communications
• Be explicit about the duration of responses
• Strongly invite them in the weekly online
sessions.

15. Thank you

16. Tasks and Activities: example
The next pages provides an illustration of a
module in ‘weeks’; this will not be part of the
10-minute presentation.
Paced students will follow the course in
calendar weeks, self-paced students in their
own time.
Self-paced students cannot do group
activities.

17. Tasks and Activities: week 1
• New weekly material made available.
• Introduction clip stating the course objectives, expectations
and timeline.
• The teachers introduce themselves.
• Timeline is visible and can be subscribed to (.ics link).
• Discussion board is opened and students are invited to
participate. An extra forum is opened where students
introduce themselves and their backgrounds. The teacher
or T.A. provides an example. Typically, just before a
deadline students will find each other.
• Reading materials are made available, can be downloaded
and can be ordered through Printing-on-Demand.

18. Tasks and Activities: week 2
• New weekly material made available
• Open a discussion board for the topic of the week, if new.
• Self test multiple choice quiz.
Obligatory, results do not count for final mark.
Self test is scheduled before plenary sessions.
Self test is available only after watching knowledge clips.
• First obligatory weekly plenary session in Adobe
Connect, Google +, etc. Self-paced students taking the
module are welcome. Session time may be changed
depending on home country of participants.

19. Tasks and Activities: week 3
• New weekly material made available
• Weekly online plenary session
• Introduce concept of rubrics and peer review. Rubrics
can be applied in some of the next five modules as well.
Propose set of rubrics and have students discuss them in
a forum. Participation in the forum is obligatory. Accept or
reject proposed changes and if necessary have students
vote on the final selection.
• Give assignment for next week: write research question,
hypothesis and outline for final report.
• Evaluate the module (first evaluation, mostly technical).

20. Tasks and Activities: week 4
• Students to submit paper proposal and outline by
Monday. Students to comment on and evaluate paper
based on rubrics of three other student proposals by
Friday. Fulfillment of this assignment requirement for final
assignment.
• Weekly online plenary session can provide an example of
effective and useful feedback.
• Follow the discussion board on the topic to track
problems. If a student is struggling with the task:
– suggest a fellow student who is comfortable with the specific
material to help her.
– discuss the problem in the weekly obligatory online session.
– if the problem persists, contact the student

21. Tasks and Activities: week 5
• New weekly material made available
• Discussion board on final paper active.
• Weekly online session can discuss final questions for the
paper.
• Students to hand in final version of paper proposal /
research outline.
• 2nd self-test quiz (unmarked and obligatory).

22. Tasks and Activities: week 6
• Likely no new material for the week, since students will
be writing their paper.
• Weekly online session.
• Discussion board on final paper remains active.

23. Tasks and Activities: week 7
• Hand in final paper.
• Evaluate the module (second evaluation, both on content
and technical).
• Mark will only be available after module evaluation.