Course Revision Project

1
Course Revision Project
BENEFIT 100 Online Fluency in Information
Technology

• June through October
• 2006

Presented by D.A. Clements, Christi Ruscigno, and
John Stephens
2
Agenda

• Investigation
• Improvements and Accomplishments
• Remaining Tasks
• Suggestions

3
Investigation
4
Investigation

• Discussion
• Analysis
• Development of priorities and tasks list

5
Discussion

• Course Improvement Meetings (April-May 2006)
• Participants
• Larry Snyder
• Grace Whiteaker
• Bill Corrigan
• John Stephens

6
Analysis

• Grace Whiteaker
• Assessed course
• Developed a Priority List
• Listed tasks under each priority for
• instructional designer
• course developer

7
Improvements Accomplishments
8
Improvements Accomplishments

• Restructured content
• Improved navigation
• Integrated new and revised content
• Modified course format to facilitate maintenance
  and future revisions
• Selected and integrated new texts with course
  materials

9
Restructured Content

• More and better segues and connections between
  course elements
• Introductions
• Lead-ins
• Summations
• Mention of future topics and directions

10
Restructured Content

• Improved consistency of overviews, objectives,
  and summaries, etc.
• Created Style Guide for consistency

11
Restructured Content

• Re-ordered content and reduced page lengths
• Quicker downloads
• Less clicking and scrolling

12
Restructured Content

• Increased use of sidebars to call out important
  features, for example,
• animations,
• videos,
• online resources,
• key concepts, etc.

13
Restructured Content

• Consolidated dual tracks-labs and lectures-into a
  single track
• Moved all informational content from lab to
  lesson track

14
Restructured Content

• Applied consistent style and structure to Labs
• headers
• introductions
• objectives
• pagination
• labeled exercises

15
Improved Navigation

• Renumbered assignments and labs to correspond to
  lesson numbers

16
Improved Navigation

• Grouped course elements on a consistent basis,
  i.e.,
• Readings on first page of a lesson part,
• Readings
• Activities at end of a lesson part includes all
  tasks to be completed, including self-study
  exercises.
• Activities Page

17
Improved Navigation

• Created consistent, condensed, informative banner
  navigation on every page
• name of Unit and Link to beginning
• name of Lesson
• name of Part and links to beginning of all Parts
  in this Unit,
• next page and previous page arrows

18
Improved Navigation

• Added continue links at end of reading materials
  on each page
• Added return to home to banner image on every
  page

19
Improved Navigation

• Created lists for ease in returning to ad hoc
  elements
• online resources
• videos
• animations

20
Integrated New and Revised Content

• New metaphor assignment
• New basic labs in lessons 5 and 6
• New figures and illustrations
• New spreadsheet module
• New JavaScript demo buttons in programming
  lessons vs. screen shots
• Increased resources for Mac and Linux users

21
Modified Format to Reduce and Facilitate Future
Maintenance

• Where possible, changed link to a site home page
  and gave search instructions-excellent practice
  after the search assignments
• Consolidated links on the electronic resources
  page for easy future checking
• Pulled links out of the text into sidebars that
  pointed to electronic resources page

22
Integrated New Texts with Course Materials

• Replaced two JavaScripting texts with QuickStart
  to JavaScript by Forest Lin
• Integrated assignments from new book into Unit
  II-Programming

23
Remaining Tasks
24
Remaining Tasks

• Redesign illustrations
• Redesign Pre-Lesson Web site
• Revamp registration process and database backend
• Personalize course
• Accumulate data on course durations and
  completions
• Publicity
• Arrange multiple hosts for course
• Increase licensing of course materials

25
Redesign Illustrations

• Redesign illustrations-e.g., banners, icons,
  figures, layout, etc.-throughout online course
  and Pre-Lesson
• Add some new illustrations, e.g., search using
  Boolean comparison operators

26
Revamp Registration Process And Database Backend

• Upon registration and first entry into site
• Welcome Video featuring Larry Snyder
• Video tour demonstrating course elements,
  navigation, and status page features, e.g.,
  bookmarking
• Course overview (5 slides)
• Personal status page
• Student Gateway (Breeze)

27
Personalization

• Status page
• Shows student
• scores on quizzes
• course elements completed
• last page studied
• when leaving course, student is asked if they
  would like to set a bookmark
• allows student to
• set duration for study prompts (automated
  reminder emails)
• print certificate of completion at end of course

28
Accumulate Data On Course Durations And
Completions

• Expanded database will track
• study durations
• course completions
• student quiz scores
• to flag necessary course revisions
• other aggregated marketing information
• geographical location

29
Publicity

• Currently, 2535 students have participated
• We could triple that with publicity

30
Marketing Promotion

• Licensing of course content

31
Multiple Course Hosts

• NSF
• University of Hawaii
• Selected community college partners

32
Discussion