Getting lost within an online course is one of the most common frustrations for online learners. To help learners easily navigate and understand how content is presented, a typical online course is structured week-to-week, just like a traditional classroom course. In step 3, to help learners navigate within your online course, you will establish a repeating pattern by using a weekly template to create your weekly modules for your course.
There are seven components to the weekly module. The following is an overview of each of the seven components.
Primary Objective(s): Learning objective are the foundation of each weekly template.
- Every topic has a primary objective.
- Topics accomplish a single learning objective.
- The objective is the foundation of the topic.
- The results of all the topic components are judged against the objective.
Let’s look at how each component is based on the primary objectives.
Title
- Base the title on the objectives.
- The title announces the topic and makes a promise.
- The title is a promise to the learner they will achieve what the title implies.
Introduction
- Base the introduction on the objectivea.
- A good introduction is short. A couple of sentences are usually enough.
- Help the learner see how the topic relates to the course.
Overview/Summary
- Base the summary on the objectivea.
- The summary is an overview and preview of the topic.
- The summary is a recap of the main points in the topic.
- The summary gives the learner another chance to learn.
Activities
- Choose activities based on the objectivea.
- Learning activities are a combination of absorb, do and connect activities.
Assessment
- Base the assessment on the objectives.
- A topic assessment verifies the objective has been accomplished.
- Choose an authentic assessment that will measure the success of the topic.
- The authentic assessment is often the activity for the topic.
Link to related material: Topics must offer a variety of learning experiences and reference resources. Topics must offer a variety of learning experiences and reference resources.
- Hyperlinks make it easy for learners to read related topics and references.
- Link to other topics, rather than include their information.
Return to Step 3 – Creating Topics.
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