For our week 5 application, reviewing open course websites, I chose Open Yale (http://oyc.yale.edu) to see how well it was designed for distance learners.
While the class does appear to be carefully planned as far as the instructional material goes, it does not appear to be designed for a distance learning environment. The course material is the same material given in a classroom setting. Each class has a video, audio, or a transcript you can choose from of a professor teaching the material in front of a classroom. It also provides PDF documents of the mid-term and final for the class.
According to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2009), faculty should do more than simply have course handouts and lectures displayed on the web and call it teaching online. Without additional online activities for students, it’s almost as if they were attending the class themselves, only instead of sitting in the classroom they are sitting at home (or wherever there is internet connection). “Online activities for students should have specific pedagogical or course management purposes.” (p. 248). Unfortunately, the only online material present in the Open Yale courses are videos of the actual lecture, and copies of the tests handed out in class. There are no additional online activities, designed specifically for the distance learner, or collaboration efforts to aid online students with communicating with other learners.
Simonson et al. (2009) discusses several fundamentals of teaching online and gives advice to help aid faculty in creating effective online learning courses. One of the recommendations is to ensure the organization of the course is clear to students and properly display the expectations and requirements to complete the class. One thing that Open Yale succeeds on is creating an online syllabus that goes over the description of the course, what the requirements are, and how the grading is done. Students will be able to know what the expectations are before continuing to the class material.
In addition to being clear on the requirements, Open Yale administers test questions applicable to the course material as it relates to the field. Simonson et al. (2009), recommends avoiding objective online testing, as these types of questions are “…not likely to be typical applications of the course material in the real world.” (p. 250) While the questions themselves are relevant and apply directly to the knowledge necessary to acquire, the tests are not administered in an online format. The mid-term and the final are PDF documents available on the web. It even comes with an answer key to grade your own test. Students would need to demonstrate a high level of discipline in studying without an instructor available to answer questions. Students on are their own in each course they choose to take.
Simonson et al. (2009) goes on to discuss the importance of integrating powerful web applications, applying adult learning principles, extend the course readings beyond the classroom required text, and assist students in this environment with learning the different technology tools. These are all valid recommendations, but clearly not what Open Yale had in mind when choosing to upload class courses online. While there is no question about the quality of the instructor and course materials, or that it is designed for adult learners, there is, however, a lack of web integration, collaboration between students and instructor (and students to students), and nothing reaching beyond the actual classroom to try and expand student interest and knowledge.
Open Yale did not incorporate online activities to engage students in this course. There are no ways to communicate with the instructor, chats, projects, online quizzes or tests, or even a discussion board for online collaboration.
The bottom line is Open Yale has great learning material, available free to anyone wanting to learn the subject, but not designed for an online learning environment. Simonson et al. (2009) states, “…courses previously taught in traditional classrooms may need to be retooled. The focus of the instruction shifts to visual presentations, engaged learners, and careful timing of presentations of information.” (p. 127) To save time (and probably money), classes are simply uploaded to the website, for others to download; no communication or collaboration necessary.
References:
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Instructional design for distance education. Teaching and learning at a distance: foundations of distance education (4th ed., pp. 125-247). Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson
Online video lectures and course materials — open yale courses. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2011, from http://oyc.yale.edu
