Course Development Path to Success
Weekly Update~Summer 2014 Course Development
March 3 -- March 9, 2014
Weekly Update #5: Assignments and Assessments
Now that you have begun to construct your syllabus and you have developed your learning objectives you should start to think about how you will assess your students in meeting those objectives. What assignments will you use to facilitate and/or measure learning? Some types of assignments are better suited for the online environment than others. Additionally, research suggests that online courses are most successful when they are rich in interactivity and collaboration.[1] Please keep this in mind when you begin to develop your assignments for your upcoming course. The resources below provide a wide range of types of assignments that work well online.
[1] The Institute for Higher Education Policy, ―Quality on the Line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-Based Distance Education,‖ April 2000. Pg. 2-3.
Week 5 To-Do's
2. Consider your course material (your readings, videos, lectures, etc.) and ask yourself how you would like your students to respond to, or interact with, that material. This will help you to shape your assignments.
3. Read through the resources below to get a sense of examples of types of assignments that work well online.
4. Create an outline of 5 assignments/assessments that you will use in your course. The following serves as an example:
- Weekly discussion questions
- Group project
- Case Study1
- Case Study2
- Final paper
Next week we will finalize the development of course assignments after focusing more specifically on interaction and the importance of community in an online course.
Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities
Coffee Chat – What’s your Story? Planning your course through story-boarding and concept mapping
Featured Faculty Member Valerie Nesset (LIS)
Tuesday, April 8, 2014 • 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
381 Baldy Hall, North Campus
Description: This chat will focus on the use of story boards and concept maps to help you organize and present the content of your online course. Some key web-design usability tips (e.g., the ‘three-click rule’) will also be provided.
Designing an Exemplary Course
A four week online course, open to all UB faculty and staff
Course begins on March 17
TLC Workshops:
Designing Online & Hybrid Courses for Understanding and Engagement
Friday, March 7, 2014 • 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
112 Wende Hall, South Campus
Resources
The Assignment tool works essentially like a dropbox in that assignments in UBlearns are submitted directly to the instructor.
The following site should help you to distinguish between journals, discussion boards and blogs aid you in choosing which to use in your course.
The UBIT Communicating and Collaborating site provides useful information on using journals, discussion boards and blogs as well.
Further Reading
Creating Effective Assignments
This site, from the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, provides a brief overview of effective assignment design, with a focus on determining and communicating goals and expectations.
Online Teaching Activity Index
This index represents a compilation of those activities to help instructors plan their online and hybrid courses. A complete description of each activity is given, along with examples when possible. Common educational uses of each activity are discussed as well as common educational objectives. Furthermore, teaching strategies for the given activity are provided.
Click here to schedule a one-on-one consultation with an instructional designer (either as a web-conference or in person).
Please see our professional development site to access previous Course Development Path to Success e-newsletters
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