DGMD E-60 Designing Online Courses

Download the syllabus in PDF form

Harvard Extension School, Fall 2021

Wednesdays, 5:30pm to 7:30pm EST

Format: Online live web conference (attendance required)

 

Instructor: Karina Lin-Murphy (she/her/hers) Student hours to be scheduled karinalin@fas.harvard.edu

Teaching Assistant: Sara Makiya (she/her/hers) Student hours to be scheduled smakiya@g.harvard.edu

 

Course Overview

In this course, students explore the fundamental elements of online course design and how to be practitioners of pedagogy and instructional design in a world where online learning is constantly changing. Students examine and establish the qualities of a good online course through the lenses of foundational learning theories, design-thinking principles, and the practical realities of course design. Over the course of the semester, students create and workshop an online learning project of their choice. Course topics include working with subject matter experts, creating student connection, translating face-to-face learning experiences, selecting online learning tools, designing assessments, and evaluating course success.

 

Pre-Requisites

One of the following courses:

• DGMD E-55 Designing Educational Media
• EDUC E-103 Introduction to Instructional Design
• EDUC E-111 Empowering Adult Online Learning: Exploring Theory and Best Practices

Please contact Karina at karinalin@fas.harvard.edu with any questions regarding pre-requisites, equivalent experience, or the course.

 

Goals

It is my hope that:

• The course provides you with the tools and frameworks to confidently design an online course that aligns with you, your work, and your goals.
• You will leave this course with the brainstorming skills and design savvy to adapt to whatever new technology and online education trends come our way – presently and far, far into the future.
• You will establish a clear vision of your own values, what matters to you in online learning, and a sense of possibility for how you might engage with online learning in the future. 
• Above all, you'll view online learning as an endeavor about people who are teaching and learning … no matter what shape the online course takes.

 

Who Should Take This Course?

This course is for anyone who is looking to develop experience creating an online course or training. You might, for example, be:

• An instructor who is putting your class online.
• A trainer who has been tasked with teaching your colleagues.
• A community organizer looking to reach more people, or an instructional designer working to build classes for others.
• Working in the field or considering a career change or simply looking to gain experience in a growing field.

The best course design teams rely on people from a host of different backgrounds: teachers, trainers, instructional designers, instructional technologists, designers, multi-media producers, graphic designers, writers, etc. Experience in any of these areas should prepare you to contribute to our course community in meaningful ways, and it is my hope that we will have people from a wide variety of backgrounds who can share experiences and ideas with each other. Almost no one comes with experience in all of these areas.

This course is one of the “Applied” course options for those completing the Learning Design and Technology Certificate. This course also fulfills the Instructional Design or Elective requirement for the Master of Liberal Arts Digital Media Design degree.

 

Course Material and Format

Book

How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching by Susan A. Ambrose et. Al. (2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0470484104
ISBN-10: 0470484101

You can buy or rent this book from anywhere of your choice and in the format of your choice (print or eBook). This book will also be available in digital form through our Library reserves for free. 

All other readings/materials will be freely available through the course website.

Technology

Our weekly (attendance required) classes will take place over Zoom. Our classes will involve active participation, discussion, and dialogue. Therefore, you will need:

• The most updated Zoom client downloaded on your computer to join class. Please do not join class via mobile or a web browser! Or while in a car!
• A computer with a working webcam and headphones
• Please consult our web-conference technology guidelines for more information.

Format

A typical week in this course involves:

• Before class:  Reviewing readings or other background materials that are be available in the Modules section of our Canvas site.
• Before -or- after class:  Engaging with classmates between live classes on the course discussion board
• Attending a live class that will generally be dedicated to peer discussion and engaging in collaborative activities.
• After class: Completing weekly assignments listed below. Most of these will work towards your final project.
• After class: Completing brief reflective feedback surveys

The Modules Page will outline everything you need for each week.

Grading

In general, this class will have weekly assignments of two varieties: waypoint assignments and landmark assignments (described below). Those assignments will be clearly marked with what variety they are. With a few exceptions, assignments are generally due the Sunday following class at 11:59PM EST.

Waypoint Assignments – 10%

Landmark Assignments – 20%

Participation (Discussion Board + Class) – 10%

Discussion Portfolio –10%

Final Course Design Project – 40%

Final Reflection – 10%

Waypoint Assignments – 10%

Waypoint assignments are low stakes assignments designed to help you practice the course content of that particular week or keep you on track with making progress towards building your final project. They are pass/fail.

Landmark Assignments – 20%

Landmark assignments are designed to give you an opportunity to practice a central learning goal of our class (think: a big design exercise) or practice designing a key piece of your final course design project. These assignments are also a way for us to give you feedback so you can continue to build on and refine your final project. Landmark assignments are given a formal grade and feedback from us.

Participation – 10%

Your participation grade will be an overall grade based on your weekly participation course discussion board (Yellowdig), class attendance and participation, and completing feedback surveys. Please note class attendance is required.

As a reminder: rolling all these forms of participation together acknowledges the many ways you can be an active contributor to our class community. If you are not one to speak up a lot in class, that is okay! You can use the class discussion board or Zoom chat to share your ideas and give feedback. 

 

The goal of our online discussion board is thoughtful engagement of course concepts and the ability to share ideas with and learn from your peers. I'll give you prompts to get started each week, but you are free to post about anything related to the course--even if the topic is from previous weeks.

 

Feel free to have fun with your responses -- want to post a (short!) video or audio recording instead of typing? Great! Would you rather draw something or share a resource that you found online? Go ahead. Need advice on your project or a challenge you're facing in your actual work? Ask your peers. The discussion board is a space for you. But please note, this is not an invitation to over-achievement. Keep it short but thoughtful. Be mindful of your own time and the time of your classmates. We’ll spend time making a discussion portfolio rubric together as a class.

Discussion Portfolio – 10%

Towards the end of the semester, we’ll be asking you to submit three of the discussion posts that you wrote during the semester. This is where we will grade the quality of your discussion participation. We'll talk more about what this means as the semester progresses. 

Final Course Design Project – 40%

This course will center on a major project in which you will design, build and evaluate one week of an online course or a training of similar scope. The subject of the online course or training is completely up to you. We'll work on this project throughout the semester and share ideas along the way so that we can all learn from each other. 

Final Reflection – 10% 

The final reflection will give you an opportunity to think in depth about your own learning this semester. You'll have a choice for the format of this reflection, and we hope that you'll choose the one that is most useful/interesting for you:

• Weekly learning journal
• Reflection paper
• Portfolio

More information on the final reflection will be provided during the semester.

What Grades Mean

100 – A++      (You just changed the game in online education and/or you created work that would be among the best of online education if you launched it in the real world today, i.e. an A++ is a major accomplishment)

97-99 – A+     (Stellar work that goes above and beyond)

93-96 – A       (Extraordinary work that exceeds expectations)

90-92 – A-      (Excellent work that fulfills expectations)

87-89 – B+     (Very good work that fulfills expectations)

83-86 – B       (Good work that meets expectations)

80-82 – B-      (Work that meets expectations)

77-79 – C+     (Work has good qualities but does not quite meet expectations)

73-76 – C       (Work has good qualities but does not meet expectations)

70-72 – C-      (Work does not meet expectations or is missing a component)

67-69 –D+      (Work does not meet expectations or is partially incomplete)

63-66 – D       (Work does not meet expectations or is incomplete)

60-62 – D-      (Work is incomplete)

Below 59 – F  (Work is incomplete)

0 –                  (Work was not submitted)

Please note: Harvard Extension School does not give grades above A on transcripts.

 

Expectations and Policies

Class Participation and Attendance

This course is built on collective brainstorming and the workshopping of ideas. Class participation — both in the web conference meeting and on the discussion boards — is extremely important. We would like everyone to be seen and heard during class as you will be working regularly in small groups. We expect you to actively attend web conference classes (with a functional camera and microphone) and participate in online discussions regularly). If you have any questions or concerns, please email Karina.

That said, we understand many of us are joining class from spaces we didn’t plan on joining from and that life sometimes interferes with class. While we encourage you to limit distractions during class, please do not worry about occasional interruptions in class or needing to turn off your camera for a bit for privacy. If you will miss a class session, please let us know! You can generally miss up to two class sessions without it affecting your participation grade. Beyond that, we will take attendance into consideration when calculating participation. 

Our Community

The concept of learning and education is something that has influenced all of our lives in different ways. It is my intent that we, collectively, actively work together to create a classroom environment where discussions (agreements and disagreements alike) are met with respect and all feel comfortable to voice their opinions. Additionally, please let me know how you'd like to be addressed and referred to in accordance with your identity. We will take time in our first class to change our names in Zoom to reflect this as well.

It is also my intent to design this course that is respectful of the diversity of needs in our course. Your suggestions and feedback are welcome via email or our weekly feedback surveys. 

Getting Help

Student Hours

Optional student hour appointments are available to you. The time will be dedicated to helping you work through whatever you need to work on, be it your project or a general question you may have. We will post times where you can sign up for an appointment – the times will vary between weeks to accommodate different time zones. You are welcome to contact us at any time for an appointment if those times do not work for you.

Course Q+A Board and Email

Please post general questions on our course Q+A board. Please email us or contact us via Canvas Inbox for private questions. We will try our best to answer them within 24 hours on weekdays, and within 48 hours on weekends. 

Extensions on Late Work

This course is designed so that each part builds upon the last and gives you the chance to get feedback on components of your final project before the project itself is due. Chronically late work misses out on the opportunities for feedback from us and from your peers. That said, we are not clock watchers: the difference between an assignment submitted at 11:57 PM and 12:03 AM is meaningless to us!

We also know that you all have work and family obligations that might occasionally get in the way. Please get in touch with us if you need an extension on an assignment – there is no reason too small nor do you even need to provide an excuse.

However, unexcused work that is more than two weeks late will lose 10% of the grade and will continue to lose an additional 10% for each following week that it is late. In fairness to the teaching staff and classmates, feedback will also not be provided for work that is two weeks late. Once you fall behind in this class it is very difficult to catch up and we want to help keep everyone on track.

Some assignments, such as the project presentations and anything requiring formal peer review, rely on the responsibility of all course community members in order to function. Late work will only be considered for these in case of true emergency.

 

Academic Integrity

Extension School Policy

You are responsible for understanding Harvard Extension School policies on academic integrity (https://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/student-conduct/academic-integrity) and how to use sources responsibly. Stated most broadly, academic integrity means that all course work submitted, whether a draft or a final version of a paper, project, take-home exam, online exam, computer program, oral presentation, or lab report, must be your own words and ideas, or the sources must be clearly acknowledged. The potential outcomes for violations of academic integrity are serious and ordinarily include all of the following: required withdrawal (RQ), which means a failing grade in the course (with no refund), the suspension of registration privileges, and a notation on your transcript.

 

Specifics for Course Design

In online course design, we consider it acceptable to create online assignments and activities that are inspired by others and to link to/incorporate open source materials into your work. This does not mean, however, that you can copy/paste another person's assignment and call it your own or try to pass off text that was written by someone else as if it were your writing. Inspiration is good. Duplication is not.

If you're creating your final project with a subject matter expert, working on the project with a team of people in your actual job, or intend to use your final project for this class simultaneously for another class, we should have a conversation so that we're all on the same page. If you have questions about plagiarism or academic integrity, please ask them before you submit your work.

Accessibility

Harvard Extension School is committed to providing an inclusive, accessible academic community for students with disabilities and chronic health conditions. The Accessibility Services Office (ASO) (https://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/accessibility-services-office-aso) offers accommodations and supports to students with documented disabilities. If you have a need for accommodations or adjustments in your course, please contact the Accessibility Services Office by email at accessibility@extension.harvard.edu or by phone at 617-998-9640.

Advice from Previous Students

There's a great community of people who have come before you in DGMD E-60. And there's nobody to give you better advice than your peers to help you succeed in the course.

Here's what they had to say:

• “This doesn't need to be a stressful class. If you pace yourself, show up, and start your project early, you will learn more by not needing to rush through things.”
• "Don't try to rush to complete the assignments just for the grade. Step back, look at the bigger picture and think about what you're actually learning and enjoy the journey as a whole."
• "Organize yourself in a way that you don't miss any activity or assignment. Not only will you be on track, but you'll also have less anxiety when preparing for the final project."
• "Take advantage of your peers and their input. The breadth and depth of experience and talents is a remarkable way of enriching your project and the resources included in it."
• "Get started on your final project early! It’s already chunked out, but if you want to create something really good, the more time the better."
• "Chances are you will be stepping outside of your comfort zone for parts of this course. Your way of thinking about learning and teaching may be challenged - embrace it! That's what learning is!"

 

Course Schedule (Subject to Change)

Class #	Date	Topic and Assignments Due
1	9/1	Hello! ·       Getting to know each other ·       Class overview ·       Navigating our Canvas site ·       Design thinking   Waypoint Assignment: Interactive Syllabus
2	9/8	Learning Theories ·       How we learn - Bloom's Taxonomy, Fink, and beyond   Waypoint Assignment: Your Learning Theory (discussion post)
3	9/15	Impossible Design Challenge ·       Bringing face-to-face to online ·       Prototyping in online course design ·       Signature pedagogies   Landmark Assignment: Impossible Design Challenge
4	----	Community and Presence, Part 1 ·       Instructional Designers and subject matter experts ·       Instructor presence and voice ·       Instructional design principles   This will be a fully asynchronous week. There will be no live class.   Waypoint Assignment: Final Reflection Selection
5	9/29	Community and Presence, Part 2 ·       Building community in an online class ·       Online course formats: synchronous, asynchronous, and self-paced   Landmark Assignment: Final Project Proposal
6	10/6	Technology, Part 1 ·       Learning new technology ·       Choosing and evaluating ed-tech ·       Learning platforms   Waypoint Assignment: Submit your project URL
7	10/13	Learn by Doing ·       Activities in your online course ·       Motivation and gamification   Landmark Assignment: Plan an activity for your project
8	10/20	Technology, Part 2 ·       Building your course with ed-tech
9	10/27	Assessments ·       Building assessments in your online course ·       Learning goal alignment ·       Evaluating student learning   Landmark Assignment: Build an assessment for your project
10	11/3	Content, Part 1 ·       Creating and curating engaging content for your online course ·       Alignment  ·       Essential questions   Waypoint Assignments: Create a content mind-map and plan
11	-----	Nuts and Bolts ·       Course organization ·       Visual Design ·       Accessibility ·       Copyright This will be a fully asynchronous week. There will be no live class. Waypoint Assignments: Create a course organization plan, copyright plan, and an accessible Canvas page
12	11/17	Content, Part 2 ·       Selecting content type ·       Creating content ·      Curating content and OER
---	11/24	Thanksgiving Break
13	12/1	Quality and Evaluation ·       Evaluating quality in an online course ·       Rubrics ·      Your online course values Waypoint Assignment: Course self-evaluation (optional) Discussion Portfolio due
14	12/8	Project Presentations and Feedback  Waypoint Assignment: Peer Feedback
15	--	There will be no live class.   Final project due Wednesday, December 15th Final reflection due Friday, December 17th

 

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