Active Online Courses
Course Syllabus
Dates & Times: This one or two credit course
is setup to run for six weeks from Monday to Sunday. Participants are expected
to login daily and can expect to spend between 6 and 8 hours weekly for one
credit or 10 to 12 hours weekly for two credits. At least an hour a weekday
should be set aside to participate in the class.
Instructor:
Shirley Freed, Ph.D., Instructor of Record
Professor of Education, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI
freed@andrews.edu
Other instructors listed on the AVLN
website.
Credit Options:
3 quarter graduate credits from La Sierra University.
2 semester graduate credits from Andrews University.
2 semester undergraduate credits from HSI/Griggs.
1 38 clock-hour PAC.
Course Description:
This course is intended to provide support and guidance for six weeks of developing
an online course. Each week participants will have assigned portions of the
course to complete, feedback and discussion with fellow participants, and
resources to assist in completion of that portion of the course under development.
Depending on how much time a participant has available to work on the course,
at least one module will be completed. Participants will also develop and
plan and template for the rest of the weeks of the course. Depending on time
and materials already prepared, participants may complete two or three modules
or more.
Learning Online with AVLN:
Online learning with AVLN is based on a participatory model where each individual
is required to actively engage in conversation and the development of knowledge,
skills, and beliefs. You can expect to interact with the concepts of the class,
the instructor(s), the other participants, and your previous experiences.
You will notice the integration of spiritual activities throughout the course.
If you have special learning needs, please contact one of the instructors.
Prerequisites:
- Have already taken Active Online Teaching
or have taken an interactive online course before (discussion, interaction
with instructor & learners, etc.).
- Preferably have already taught the class you're working on face to face
before you plan to put it online in this course.
- A syllabus completed. (It may not have the online components it needs,
but it should be a syllabus complete for how you taught (or would teach)
it face to face.)
- Access to Word, OR Adobe
Acrobat (full version to create PDF files) OR an HTML authoring program
(FrontPage, Dreamweaver, or Netscape Composer).
Course Objectives: Participants
will:
- Identify the critical components of your course. Share initial thoughts
on how those components will translate online (may/may not).
- Identify outcomes that will translate easily online and which will be
assessed.
- Share feedback with colleagues on materials and resources developed.
- Learn to create links in course materials.
- Create a template for course modules.
- Apply principles of copyright in developing course materials.
- Develop a plan for learning experiences and interactions online.
- Develop a plan for integrating faith appropriately in your online course.
- Develop assessment strategies for course components.
- Write initial communication for begining the course.
- Decide how to orient students to your online course.
- Complete syllabus adapted for online learning.
Required Textbook:
Modes of instruction: Students in this course
will create components for an online course, give and receive feedback from
colleagues, access web sites and reading materials, and experience various
instructional strategies online.
Getting Help: In an
online course, it is especially important to be able to get help when you
need it. Your instructors will make every effort to respond to your emails
within 24 hours. We also have tried to include as much step-by-step instruction
as possible. If necessary, you can email an instructor to set up an online
chat to assist you in a synchronous written conversation.
Privacy: Because we
are using online courseware, only the participants in the class will be able
to join discussions. Your assignments are submitted either directly to your
instructor or posted in the class Discussion area. You will have the choice
on how much information you wish to share with the other participants in the
class.
Course Organization and Requirements:
Each module has three sections: Course Components, Resources, and Community
Feedback.
Course Components
Each week you will develop selected components for your online course. Use
the Resources to assist you in this task.
40 pts weekly x 6 = 240 pts
Resources
This section includes resources, readings, and step-by-step instructions.
Use them needed; print as needed. The resources are not required reading,
but offered to assist you in creating each week's course components.
Community Feedback
Each week you will post the assigned components for feedback. You are expected
to give thoughtful feedback to at least two colleagues weekly.
20 pts weekly x 6 = 120 pts
Suggested starter words for feedback:
a. I particularly liked . . .
b. You might want to look at these resources . . .
c. Did you think about . . .
d. I wondered about . . .
e. I've been successful with similar activities when . . .
Graduate Credit Requirement
If you are taking this course for graduate credit, the textbook The
Virtual Student: A Profile and Guide to Working with Online Learners is
required reading. A 5 page reflection paper on the book is due at the end
of the course. Feel free to share insights from the readings during the course
as well.
100 pts
Final Project
Each week you will complete parts of the course. However, for credit,
you should have the following completed:
Complete module template and two modules. 290 pts.
Total
1 credit: Total 500 pts.
2 credits: Total 750 pts.
Certificate
A certificate of completion is essentially the same work as one undergraduate
credit.
Schedule:
This course is organized on a Monday to Sunday week, so that
you can use the weekend to catch up if necessary. However, you are expected
to participate in discussions and assignments throughout the week.
Bibliography:
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Technology and the New Competition in Higher Education. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Khan, B. H., (Ed.) (1997). Web-Based Instruction. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
Luskin, B. (2002). Casting the Net over Global Learning: New Developments
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Palloff, R. M., and Pratt, K. (1999). Building Learning Communities in
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Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (2001). Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom
: The Realities of Online Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Palloff, R. M., and Pratt, K. (2003). The Virtual Student: A Profile and
Guide to Working with Online Learners. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Rudestam, K., & Schoenholtz-Read, J. (2002). Handbook of Online Learning:
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Rowley, D. J., Lujan, H. D., and Dolence, M. G. (1998). Strategic Choices
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Stevenson, N. (2002). Distance Learning For Dummies. Hoboken, NJ:
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Warschauer, M. (2000). Electronic Literacies: Language, Culture, and Power
in Online Education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Association.
Weigel, V. (2002). Deep learning for a digital age: technology's untapped
potential to enrich higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Weller, M., & Lockwood, F. (2002). Delivering Learning on the Net:
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