Instructional Design for Engaged Adult Learners (IDEAL):

Interactive Online Courses

Dr. Melanie BorregoDr. Brandi Davis Mills

• Course Development

• Instructional Design

• Course Revision Process

Course Development• Alignment of Institutional Learning Objective,

Program Learning Objectives, and Course Learning Objectives

• Appropriate weighting of points and balance of assignments and activities

• Design course for students to have open access to all weeks at all times

• Engaging Assignments• Applicable real-world relevance• Involvement of current events• Challenge students by changing their routine

through course activities and assignments• Develop discussion board prompts that

stimulate conversation between students rather than merely posting information

• Group work

• Variety of Resources• Textbooks (consider electronic) • Readings• Videos• Books• Online resources• Guest lecturer videos• Teleconferencing

Instructional Design

• Clear

• Concise

• Consistent

Instructional Design: Clear

Let students know what is expected

(Discussion board posts, all assignment deadlines, consequences for late work, how grades are calculated, netiquette).

Instructional Design: ClearBegin the term with a button or title that declares “Start Here!” and explain what students need to complete their first week and in what order.

Instructional Design: ClearGive open access to the entire course from day one (at least half the course if it is a long semester).

Whether or not you allow them to work ahead, adult students want to see where they are going so they can better budget their time.

Instructional Design: Concise

Review your writing to make it as clear and concise as possible. Misunderstandings are common online.

Seek feedback from someone not familiar with your content.

Instructional Design: Concise

Students in an online class do not have the benefit of tone of voice or body language—your text, videos, or podcasts will need to be carefully scripted for clarity and concision.

Instructional Design: Consistent

Each week or unit in your online class should be set up the same way. Although the content will vary, the order and presentation should not.

Adult Learners• Motivation

• Experience

• Respect

• Flexibility

Adult Learners: Motivation

Adult learners expect to move from dependency to independence. Structure lessons with this in mind.

Adult Learners: Motivation

Adult learners want to apply what they have learned today at work tomorrow.

Give them the tools they need to apply their knowledge.

Adult Learners: Experience

Adult learners have life experiences to share that can enrich the lesson at hand. Let them lead.

Adult Learners: Respect

Adult learners want to know why they are learning the material. Be ready to explain.

Adult Learners: FlexibilityAdult learners have a lot of demands on their time. You’ll need to be flexible whenever possible.

Not only do adult students require flexibility in terms of deadlines or assignment instructions, they need their instructors available when they are studying, often in the evenings and over weekends.

Adult Learners: Flexibility

Interactivity: Show and Tell

• Polls

• Screencasting

• Teleconferencing

Tools for Interactivity: Polls

• Poll Everywhere• Polltogo• Booroo

Tools for Interactivity

Screencasting: Jing.com

Tools for InteractivityTeleconferencing: https://education.skype.com/projects

Tools for Interactivity

Teleconferencing: http://www.oovoo.com(available for MAC, PC, android, iPhone, FB, etc.)

Resources

• Additional resources for instructors

Resources: Web 2.0 Tool List• TeachersFirst Edge:

http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/edge.cfm

Resources: Literature• NEA’s The Big Read: http://www.neabigread.org/

Resources: Math

• Khan Academy: www.khanacademy.org

Resources: Science• Cells Alive! http://www.cellsalive.com/

Resources: Science• Understanding Science: http://undsci.berkeley.edu/

Resources: History• Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Continual Course Review and Revision

• Collect student feedback• Collect adjunct feedback• Realignment to objectives• Update continually to ensure up-to-

date resources for andragogy and pedagogy