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Instructional Design

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Instructional Design

The design of your Web-based course is mediated by a number of considerations. It is dependent on your topic, what you expect students to take away from the course, the number of students you are attempting to educate, and the technology and support you have at your disposal. The planning and design stage of development is crucial to the success of your course and you'll want to have as many process questions answered and the layout of your content ready before the actual development begins. If you have not organized your content and strategies before you start building the course, you will probably spend a significant amount of time redoing Web pages and exercises as you realize additional material you forgot to include or find that the technology doesn't work exactly as you had assumed.

• As mentioned previously, take time to consider the transferability of your content to a Web format.
• Review the goals and objectives for the course to confirm that they are achievable in a Web-based environment. You may have to reconsider what you expect to achieve based on the options for delivery.
• Consider whether your current instructional strategies will continue to be effective in a Web-based environment. If not, you'll have to identify new ways to convey the material to students.
• Design your course specifically for the distance learners. Know who they are, their expectations, and their strengths. The design strategies should be based on how you expect your students to learn.

For more on reviewing your course content before you begin, see the Project Checklist module of this course.

Design Topics

• Chunking information
• Designing navigation
• Managing student expectations
• Facilitating interactivity
• Considering adult learner needs and learning styles
• Measuring outcomes