Quick Steps To Developing An Online Course Archives > Quick Steps To Developing An Online Course
By Priya Williams
Analysis - Start with a thorough analysis of what the web course is expected to achieve. These objectives will be your roadmap to guide you during the rest of the process. Don't shortcut this step in web course development process.
Instructional Design - Rewrite the course to make it as compact as possible. Chunk the content into small easy-to-digest pieces. Keep the student in mind as you write. Include keywords in the text for promotional purposes. Keep it simple - you don't know who your students could be and from which part of the world. Clearly outline the objectives of the course and what the student will learn upon completion. These objectives should be measurable for students to measure their progress. Also provide summaries and quizzes. Manage the expectations. Clearly outline the requirements and resources that the student will require to complete the course successfully.
Interface Design - Finalize a tested working template with simple and user-friendly navigation. Many ideas that work well on paper may not work at all in HTML. Provide a link to a Help or FAQs page.
Development - Develop the graphics optimized for the web. Using the template, add the content and graphics to create the HTML pages. Install the cgi scripts eg. Discussion Forum, Quiz scripts, Calendar etc. and add links to them within the HTML pages. Insert any Java coding that may be required. Develop an Administration manual (can be an HTML file) with details required for site maintenance eg. URLs, logins, passwords and web server administration details.
Evaluation and Approval - Test the online course on a sample of the targeted students. Evaluate the performance of the course and make changes accordingly.
Promotion - Add keywords, meta tags, titles etc. to the pages. Submit and register the pages with major search engines.
Site Maintenance - This will be an ongoing process. This includes moderation of discussion forums, fixing bugs and making other corrections, making changes for promotional purposes, adding new links, pages etc.
