Online Courses for Learning Skills

Online learning  (or elearning) is constantly growing, with courses on a wide variety of topics available at many websites. Some universities provide free courses on academic subjects. Check the list on the Smart Skills page and more at this Pinterest board.

Courses can vary widely in the content presented and the media they are presented in. So what defines a course?

Course:

1. program of study: a program of study or training, especially one that leads to a degree or certificate from an educational institution
2. class taught at educational institution: a session or series of sessions that students attend to learn a subject, often as part of a school curriculum that leads to a degree or certificate

Whether you are consuming or creating online learning, consider the meat and the sizzle!

The meat…WHAT will be learned? What are the measurable learning objectives?  Course design choices for methods, media, and learner experience are based on the cognitive domain revealed by the measurable verbs in the objectives.

Content: what information is included? Is it logically organized with a beginning, middle & end and presented in small chunks? Does the Introduction explain the benefits of learning, and immediately grab attention? Does it appeal to different Learning Styles (Visual, Auditory, Tactile/kinesthetic)

The sizzle…HOW will it be learned?

In course design, the goal of all choices for methods, media, and engagement is to add clarity and interest:

• Methods– Lecture, reading, demonstration, activities, exercises, projects, assignments
• Media– Handouts, text, presentation, visuals, audio, video

Gamification Pinterest Board | Learn about Gamification with a course at Coursera.org

Resources

• Instructional Design Tools
• [Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheels] provide examples of choices based on cognitive domains revealed by objectives.
• the Rapid Elearning blog (where I first became fascinated by instructional design)

The best courses provide an engaging learner experience with relevant quotes, examples, stories, humor, discussion, questions, interaction, practice, feedback, role playing, case studies, scenarios, simulations, gamification…

Take a look at these highly interactive learning activities:

• Interactives at Discovery Education
• National Geographic – choose Interactive
• UFO sightings at History.com

WHAT will be the outcomes? How will results be measured? How many learners actually complete the course, and did the course really teach what it set out to? Tests, surveys…

• Aligning Assessments with Learning Objectives

Courses on Course Design

• Basic Instructional Design Principles slideshare
• Elearning at How Stuff Works
• Instructional Design Models at instructionaldesigncentral.com
• Case Studies from Kineo.com

Examples of outstanding elearning:

• From Articulate
• From Cathy Moore

Free Downloads:

Course Outline Template (doc)

Methods, Media, Engagement and Tools Card (pdf)

About dailyplanit

I seek to create order from the chaos of complex information. Join me at the Daily PlanIt to gain insights, inspiration, and information to increase skills for a better life. I unlock the power of teaching reading with phonics in the pursuit of literacy at www.phonicspow.com. In my spare time I explore books and movies, often choosing titles available on both screen and page.