Designing Online Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

Design is critical in online learning. This chapter reviews research and practice on designing effective online courses in higher education. Firstly, the importance of design in online learning is described including asynchronous, synchronous, and bichronous delivery methods, as well as the significance of course organization and meeting learner needs in online courses. Secondly, we provide a brief overview of online course design research in higher education. Thirdly, standards and rubrics for online course design from US colleges and universities as well as professional organizations across the world are reviewed. Fourthly, we describe a research-based and validated online course design element rubric, which includes overview, course presentation, interaction and communication, assessment and evaluation, and student support. Fifthly, the chapter describes how instructors can be prepared for and supported in online course design, incorporating administrator support, pedagogical support, technology support, and personnel support. Sixthly, the role of instructional designers in online course design is described. The chapter concludes with recommendations for instructors and designers and topics for future research.

A double-edged sword: Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of online teaching and learning in higher education

“…They should further offer teachers the opportunity to develop their own course designs, incorporating and experimenting with instructional strategies, which are central to successful online and blended teaching and learning experiences. These include, for instance, engaging students in and promoting interaction during online activities, which were identified as main challenges in our study, confirming what previous studies had already found (Lee et al, 2011;Martin & Bolliger, 2022). Nevertheless, it is worth noting that such elements -interaction and engagement -were also perceived as beneficial elements.…”

“…Another technology-related element refers to digital skills The efficient use of technology depends on these, or lack thereof, and to some extent so does designing effective pedagogies for online teaching and learning (Martin et al, 2019;Martin & Bolliger, 2022). Such as other studies have found (Rivera-Vargas et al, 2021), our study indicates teachers perceived OTL as an opportunity to develop their digital skills.…”

“…Another crucial aspect is obviously that professional learning covers and supports the development of online teaching competences. Recent studies (Martin et al, 2019;Martin & Bolliger, 2022) found the competences teachers perceived as most important relate to designing effective pedagogies for online teaching and learning (including planning activities that provide students opportunities for interaction and engagement, and assessments), responding and giving feedback (synchronously and asynchronously also as a means of students' guidance and self-regulation), scheduling fixed time to execute tasks and knowing the technical aspects necessary to operate digital technologies.…”

“…Teachers should be knowledgeable of different pedagogical approaches to structure OTL and feel confident enough to employ different strategies to engage students in the learning process. Presence (in all its dimensions), interaction, a sense of community, participation, collaboration, involvement and communication are essential elements to cater for in the design of OTL, which are linked to better learning outcomes and achievements (Lee et al, 2011;Martin et al, 2019;Martin & Bolliger, 2022;Oliveira et al, 2021).…”

“…Such elements pertain to feedback, self-regulation, collaboration, planning, pedagogical innovation and pedagogical practice. Concerning feedback, teachers consider OTL as a facilitator for the provision of instant, more timely and more personalized feedback to students, which is known to be associated with teaching presence, better learning outcomes and achievements (Lee et al, 2011;Martin et al, 2019;Martin & Bolliger, 2022), and to enable and enhance students' self-regulation (Joosten et al, 2021;Wandler & Imbriale, 2017). Teachers struggling with the lack of feedback (in both directions), mostly due to the nature of the learning technologies used (cameras off, lack of nonverbal communication elements, etc.)…”