ACA Distance Educator's ToolKit
Summary & Frequently Asked Questions
Assessment:
A key element for success in distance education is the revision, testing, and assessment process. The most mainstream model for Instructional Design and Assessment is the Dick and Carey Model. Please view the Dick and Carey Model presentation (best viewed with Internet Explorer).
User Considerations:
You will want to make the computing and bandwidth requirements for your course very clear. It is recommended that you spend additional time creating a page devoted to technology requirements and issues related to your course.
When designing your pages on your own or in a course management system, it would be wise to consider established Human Factors Guidelines.
Legal Considerations:
Please review and consider your legal obligations to copyright law:
Fair Use (and TEACH Act)Technology Tutorials:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. I have been teaching a course for twenty years. Why can't I just adapt what I have been doing to the web?
A. That depends on what you have been doing. Many faculty have been lecturing three days a week, assigning a few papers, and giving in-class examinations four times a semester. That model doesn't work over distance. Most past successes with distance education have resulted from a systematic redesign of instruction that plays to the strengths of the computer and the web as a communication tool, rather than an attempt at recreating the residential classroom environment using technology.
Q. My textbook publisher includes all sorts of fancy doo-dads on their CD-Rom pasted inside the jacket cover. Can't I just use these?
A. Call the textbook publisher. They typically require a separate subscription license for an electronic course packet, even if the resources are included on a CD attached to the book. It really depends on the publisher's reasoning for including the materials. As another consideration, if you design your course around a textbook CD or textbook website, what happens when you change textbooks?
Q. Although I am a professional college instructor, I'm still a computer novice. Can you point me to a distance educator's guide that isn't so technical?
A. Developing quality distance materials will require a moderate level of computer competence. However, Course Management Systems can lower the bar for entry. Talk to your instructional technology director about what is available on your campus.
Q. I'm concerned that distance learning via the web will be an open door for students to cheat. Is this a problem, and are there any strategies that can help?
A. You can potentially have all of the same honor code violations occur over distance as you can have in a residential course. The best advice is to create a significant number of assignments that involve more than simply looking up an answer in the text (authentic tasks, parsimony, discussion webs, etc). As far as formative quizzes go, keep in mind that the goal is to have the student interact with the material on a frequent basis. If that means that they take the quiz with the book open in their lap, then at least they were actively looking up the answers.
Q. Can you recommend any good books on the subject of instructional design in higher education?
A. Yes. I highly recommend:
Ormrod, J. E. (1999). Human Learning, 3d ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.; Merrill.
Dick, W. and Carey, L. (2000). The Systematic Design of Instruction, 5th ed. New York: Harper Collins Publishing.
Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia Learning. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-78239-2 ISBN 0-521-78749-1
Q. I'm not sold on any of this. I would like to read some additional research. Are there some links?
A. The Ormrod and Dick and Carey books mentioned above reference hundreds of research articles. Additionally, there are a few on the Articles and Research Page.