The E-learning Planning Process

The Importance of Elearning Planning

The VPODDDA (Vision, Profile, Objectives,

Design, Development, Delivery, Assessment) Course Instruction Cycle The VPODD (Vision, Profile, Objectives, Design, Development) ELearning Planning Model Iterative Refinement Reusable Elearning Resources

 Provides a frame of reference for considering all the

important elements needed in an effective elearning course Helps you focus on elearning pedagogy as well as on technology Helps you set realistic goals

 The Vision Phase develop overview of the course

Course content
Organization of topics Goals of the course

 The Profile Phase - Collect and assimilate

information about the course

Prerequisite knowledge (students) Hours of instruction Class enrollment

Required expertise (instructor)

Location of class

 The Objectives Phase - Formulate course objectives

(statements of measurable behaviors---student outcomes) The Design Phase

Identify learning activities Design the resources to be used in the activities Organize activities into coherent whole

 The Development Phase prepares lectures,

assignments, tests and other resources conceived during the design phase The Delivery Phase
Students are attending class Instructor is facilitating learning Instructor is processing student feedback

 The Assessment Phase obtaining formal feedback

Student performance
Instructor performance

Based on the first five phases of the VPODDDA course instruction cycle

Vision Profile Objectives Design Development Delivery Assessment

 Assumptions about the instructor

Is subject matter expert
Has access to a LMS Possesses the requisite computer skills for creating an

elearning course Will actually plan and develop his/her own instructional environment

 Create a vision for how you want to use elearning in

your course
Why do you want to use elearning? What do you want to accomplish? Can elearning enhance your current teaching practices?

What are your teaching strengths and weaknesses?

Collect and process information about yourself as the instructor, the students and the environment in which you will deliver the course.

 Instructor Profiling
Is your knowledge of elearning adequate to plan and

develop an elearning course? Are you willing to commit to obtaining knowledge about elearning ( time-consuming and ongoing)?

 Student Profiling
What are the demographics of your class?
Will any of your students have disabilities? What instruments and procedures will you use to

determine whether your students have the required prerequisite knowledge and technical skills to undertake your class? What are your students learning styles?

 Environmental Profiling
What is the anticipated size of your class?
What computer technology is available to support the

development and delivery of your course? Will your course be offered totally online or in a hybrid delivery mode?

 Two categories:
Course content objectives, which are specific and stated

in measurable terms General knowledge objectives address knowledge derived from any course, i.e.
Critical thinking skills
Verbal and written communication skills Lifelong learning skills

 Design Phase: conceive and design the individual

resources of your course Development Phase: create and implement these resources and organize them on your coursesite

 Four categories of resources

Getting-started resources
Course content resources Policy and procedures resources Course and coursesite assessment resources

 Getting-started resources:
Course syllabus
Welcome message posted as an announcement Staff information An introductory electronic discussion to get students

comfortable with the elearning environment How-to tutorials on coursesite orientation

 Course Content Resources

Content delivery resources, i.e., lecture notes, slide

shows, multimedia presentations Assignment resources, i.e., reading assignments, group projects and or discussions Student assessment resources, i.e., tests, selfevaluations, peer evaluations, grading student participation in online discussions

 Policy and Procedure Resources

Policies must be posted regarding How to submit assignments electronically What to expect when a technology failure occurs and an assignment is due What kind of student email you will answer and how promptly What you will and wont do for students who need help

 Policy and Procedures Resources

Procedures are plans for dealing with foreseeable events

that will affect your students use of course resources

What you will do if you are teaching a class and the

technology you need to conduct it fails How to deal with students who have very weak communication skills How to deal with students who are incompetent in using the computer

 Course and Coursesite Assessment Resources

Instruments to assess the success and usability of your

coursesite
How easy it is to use your coursesite and related resouces

Whether the leaning activities led to obtaining related

course objectives How good a job did you do as an instructor

In any phase of the VPODDDA instruction cycle, you can return to one of the VPODD planning phases to change your elearning course.
Formative evaluation (conducted during the course) Summative evaluation (conducted after course delivery)

 A learning object is a specific learning activity or

chunk of instruction, (i.e., discussion questions, lectures, slide shows). Objects can be reused and repurposedshared by other instructors who teach the same course or different courses. Standards are critical.