Introduced by Mary Elizabeth Parra, Pam Quinn discusses the

Pam Quinn
Creating Distance Learning Courses
Introduced by Mary Elizabeth Parra,
Pam Quinn discusses the Challenges
Creating Distance Learning Courses
Mary Elizabeth Parra: On behalf of the
Dallas County Community College
District, Texas’ largest undergraduate
institution, we are proud to present
select podcasts, in partnership with
Apple Computer, from the 2006 DOD
Worldwide Educational Symposium. To
discuss our 35-year history in designing
distance learning courses and the
challenges we face, here is Pam Quinn,
the District’s Assistant Chancellor of
Educational Telecommunication.
Pam Quinn: In designing courses for
distance learning, it is important to keep
the end-user in mind, not only in terms
of creating learning objectives but in
designing the navigation within the
course as well. Good design means to
create a course that is convenient for
the students to find the activities,
practice tests, and other content
elements.
Here at the Dallas TeleCollege, our
instructional designers identify course
goals and define a learning objective for
each learning unit while working in
partnership with a full-time faculty
member from one of the Dallas
Community Colleges. The course goal
and unit objectives are written from a
student’s point of view and address the
question of “Why is this important to
me?”
Creating student centered learning and
enhancing the learning experience for
students who learn in many different
ways are the underlying concepts that
impact the design of interactions that
occur in a virtual classroom. For a
distance learning class to be effective,
interactions should take many forms –
student to faculty, student to student,
and student to content. These
interactions are key to establishing a
community of learners and incorporating
student-centered learning in a real way
for learners of all types. By designing
course elements that appeal to diverse
learning styles, learning effectiveness
increases and students are better
prepared to relate their educational
experiences
to
their
real-life
experiences.
Good course design will always have
the challenges of time and dollars.
When we say “time,” we mean in terms
of the faculty time and commitment to
meet course development deadlines.
And dollars, relate to paying faculty for
their time and expertise in working with
instructional
designers
to
create
effective learning tools.
But, the Dallas County Community
Colleges recognize that students have a
choice when it comes to educational
institutions and providers. Therefore, we
must continually strive to offer high
quality and a positive learning
experience for all our students.
(Transcription provided by TechSynergy) http://www.tech-synergy.com
DOD Worldwide Education Symposium 2006
July 17-21 2006
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