Simplified Course Design to Maximize Faculty Role in Course Development

1. by Richard G. Mistrick Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering Cathy J. Holsing Instructional Designer, World Campus Simplified Course Design to Maximize Faculty Role in Course Development

2. Authors are the primary members of the development team for the Architectural Lighting Design courses (Architectural Engineering). First course offered: Feb – June, 2000. AE 565: Architectural Daylighting Second course scheduled: January 2001 AE 461: Architectural Lighting Design Practice I Background

3. Responsibilities of the Academic Department: Provide course content: text, ideas for interactive exercises, figures, assignments, exams, quizzes, etc.; Deliver course to students. Responsibilities of Instructional Design Staff: Provide advice on pedagogy and course layout. Design user interface and convert course content into final delivery format. Setup on-line course environment. Course Development

4. Complex programming (HTML, Java, etc.) and customized lessons translate into higher development costs. Complex formats make revisions more difficult and more expensive to make. Course Design Affects Development Time

5. Initial budget projections (in early 1999) for the development of four courses, with five offerings per year, showed a 12-year payback. @ >150 students per year and more than $1000 tuition. High development costs were the main cause, along with high delivery costs. (Budget figures were based on the World Campus’ initial experiences.) The Need for Simplified Course Design

6. Provide high quality course materials. Maintain ability to incorporate links and promote user interaction. Provide some variety in the delivery of course material. Permit material to be tailored to different pedagogical needs. Simplified Course Design Requirements

7. Lectures delivered through linkable PDF’s created in MS Word. Academic department provides material in near final format. Multiple web links used (minimizes development). Supplement PDF’s with animated Powerpoint presentations with sound. Used to present calculation procedures and examples, and to introduce students to software. Course CD to deliver PDF’s and Powerpoint. WEBCT course environment. Solution

8. Develop MS Word lecture files (wysiwyg), specify links and their locations. Develop and narrate animated Powerpoint presentations. Write WEBCT quizzes for each lesson using text-based template. Upload file and add graphic images using WEBT editor. Develop assignments and discussion topics. Faculty Member’s Role

9. Develop a template for the development of course materials (Word/PDF files). Discuss special pedagogical issues with faculty. Finalize course CD from faculty materials (add links, convert to PDF) Design website to accommodate course needs. Role of the Instructional Designer

10. This model has significantly reduced development costs and permits the academic department to perform the majority of the work. First World Campus Lighting course was developed under budget projections. Students in the initial course rated the course materials very favorably. The PDF delivery model developed for this course has been used successfully on a number of other Penn State courses. Success of this Model

11. The reduction in development time required by World Campus staff should enhance their ability to develop more courses with a smaller staff. General templates/Instructions are needed to inform faculty how to apply this approach. Success of this Model

12. Examples: PDF Files

13. LECTURE MATERIAL IN .PDF FORMAT

14. LECTURE MATERIAL IN .PDF FORMAT

15. LECTURE MATERIAL IN .PDF FORMAT

16. Examples: Powerpoint Presentation

17. This Step 3 - Determine the well efficiency • 1. Determine WCR WCR = 5 H (L+W) / (L  W) = 5 (3) (4+4)/(4  4) = 7.5 0.65 2. Look up the well efficiency, well, which is based on the WCR and the well reflectance. well = 0.65 This slide has both sound and animation. It is timed to work properly in Powerpoint 97 or the latest Powerpoint Viewer, but will not be properly synchronized in Powerpoint 2000. Slide Show Navigation (There are some tricks that must be employed to get these to work with sound and animation.

18. Powerpoint slide shows Microsoft has not released a viewer for Powerpoint 2000. Animations must be timed using Powerpoint 97. Not all Powerpoint 2000 functions are available in the 97 viewer. The most missed feature is “hide after animation”. Main Problems Encountered

19. Templates for creating quizzes (avoids the WEBCT editor). Dropbox for Assignments (accessed by instructor via FTP). Spreadsheet Grade Forms. Other Time-Saving Features Implemented in this Course

20. ` Course Home Page

21. TEMPLATE FOR CREATING QUZZES

22. Self-Test

23. List students by code name. List all comments made on all projects. Check the comments that apply to each student. Each student sees a list of all errors made (but no grades). Error list can be saved for future semesters and can be used to improve course materials. Spreadsheet Grading Form

25. Faculty & department must be willing to invest time and money in development. Faculty/department staff must be skilled computer users. Content must be deliverable via the PDF and Powerpoint formats. General Requirements for Implementing this Simplified Course Design Approach

26. A PDF lecture format, combined with Powerpoint presentations provides significant variety and flexibility for instruction, and permits course instructors to develop nearly all course content. Instructional designers must provide faculty with instructions, guidance and templates to facilitate course development in this mode. Summary