Designing Web Based Instruction: How to Put Your Course on the Internet

I have set up two courses that I taught in the past as web based courses of instruction, and have two or three more in the planning stage.

I have been thinking about the process I used to take a course I have taught for many years and convert it into a course of study for the internet. I would like to formalize this process into a document, hence this web page.

To get started with this endeavor, lets make a tentative list of the topics we should consider as we proceed to design a course for presentation on the internet.

How to put your course on the internet: Topics of Concern

  1. The nature of online instruction
  2. Student needs: Who is your audience
  3. Overview of your course: The online syllabus
  4. Presenting course information on the internet: Text
  5. Presenting course information on the internet: Graphics
  6. Presenting course information on the internet: Video
  7. Presenting course information on the internet: Animated graphics
  8. Presenting course information on the internet: Audio
  9. Using a text and other non-online resources
  10. Online resources for your course of study
  11. Assignments, projects, and laboratory experiences
  12. Formative evaluation: Unit or lesson quizzes
  13. Summative evalution: Final exam and/or project
  14. Office hours: Chat with your instructor online
  15. Discussion sessions: Chat with other students online
  16. Question and Answer (Q & A) sessions online
  17. Legal and ethical issues in online instruction
  18. Course evalution

I would like to get your thoughts on these topics. What else should be covered? This list of topics suggests an approach to web based instruction, would you suggest another approach? Please send mail to me and let me know what you think.

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This page last updated 11/30/99 by John Wasson