Distance Education

Getting Started with Online Instruction

Locate all possible resources and reference which you can use in converting your course for online instruction. Read articles about distance education, web-based training, instructional design, technology education and online learning available in the Internet, library, or publishers. Understand hardware and software specifications. Make sure that your computer is configured (set up) with the correct requirements, such as a web browser.

Talk to other online instructors and ask to see their online courses. Contact Vaishali Sharma, Coordinator of Student Support, Distance Education at vsharma@ccp.edu for possible access to sample courses in WebStudy. Get to know the demands and challenges of online instruction, not only the process of online teaching but also the demands entailed in designing, constructing, and converting your course for online instruction.

If you are decided that online instruction is for you, contact Vaishali Sharma, Coordinator of Student Support, Distance Education for the schedule of faculty training for instructors interested
Discuss your technology background and experiences. Be sure that you are qualified and equipped to meet the requirements and demands in designing, converting, and teaching a course online.

Once registered for the faculty training, gather your course material and content in a single location. Set up a folder for the course materials on your computer and set up a physical folder for non-electronic materials that may need to be converted. Include items such as syllabus, handouts, slide shows, overheads, lecture notes, assignments, online discussion topics, projects, and assessments (exams and quizzes).
Determine in what formats your materials exist. Take special note of items already in an electronic format such as Word documents, spreadsheets, etc.

Based on the approved course syllabus in your department for your course, prepare an online course syllabus in Word format and save it together with your other materials which you researched for your course.
This syllabus should include course pre-requisites, textbook requirement, course description, course goals and objectives, procedures and requirements, assignments, tests, and other activities for the course. This will be very useful when preparing your final course syllabus which you will add to your online course.

Based on the Online Course Syllabus which you prepared for your course, construct a 15-Week Schedule with topic titles on each session. This outline will be the basis of creating the weekly session when you are developing your course in WebStudy. Example is below:

Prepare the materials for electronic delivery. This may include scanning graphics, creating HTML files or Word documents. Consult vsharma@ccp.edu and/or Don Friel, instructional technology specialist at dfriel@ccp.edu for assistance

You will be required to have a website where you are required to post a generic online syllabus that is to be made available for public viewing. This syllabus should be updated to reflect all the updates and changes you made to your course in each semester you are teaching the course online. Contact Don Friel to assist you in creating your website./li>

Be prepared to attend and complete a hands-on faculty training which is designed like a regular class with readings, class participation, assignments, and assessments for each session.
Attending all the sessions and satisfying the required activities and assignments are necessary for completing the faculty training.

After completing the faculty training, demonstrating minimum proficiency in using the WebStudy Course Management System (CMS) in designing, converting, and teaching an online course is a pre-requisite before an instructor is allowed to proceed to the actual course conversion/development phase.