On far too many occasions my explaination of the Online Instructional Design Process is met with looks of confusion, disbelief, or simply disregarded as the ramblings of a mad man.  Why?  Because when developing a course of instruction for delivery online, content is the last thing to be collected and assembled; the Learning Activities are always the first.

No online course of instruction can be developed out first identifying the Learning Outcomes; what exactly will the learner be able to do at the end of the module, section, or course.  Because no learning has taken place if a change in behavior cannot be observed, the starting place for the design of any online course are activities that, when completed, will demonstrate comprehension.  The activities must resemble “real world” application as closely as possible and can be in the form of a case-study, role-playing exercise, simulation, or critical reflection.  It is important to note that multiple-choice or True/False questions measure nothing more than a students abiity to memorize and are clear indication poor online instructional design.

Once the learning activities have been designed and “mapped” to a Learning Outcome, only then can the process of content collection begin.  Use of the word “collection” is deliberate.  One doesn’t develop content, one collects it in such a manner that it ultimately provides the reference and instruction necessary to complete a Learning Activity.  The determination of what content to collect is done through the process of Needs Analysis by asking the question “what does the learner need to know in order to successfully complete the activity?”

Think about the online course development process that we see all too often.  First the individual reads a lot of books or perhaps consults a “subject matter expert.”  Perhaps even the same individual fancies him or herself the subject matter expert despite having no recent real-world experience.  Utterly confused by the latest offerings from the various publishers, a decision is made to settle on the title that includes a question bank that can be easily imported into the school’s Learning Management System.

After carefully analyzing and arranging all the content using a JLM (”Just Like Me”) instructional design strategy the individual postulates that if the structure and organization makes sense to them, then it will certainly make sense to the student.  Sitting at their computer the next step is to produce hundreds of PowerPoints, graphics, study guides, and what not so there can be no question that the students have everything they need to be able to recall the facts, terminology, steps, and principles.

After the first pass with the new online course, the instructor realizes all their efforts were wasted as students had a near impossible time understanding the material that was presented.  If the test scores were low, simply apply a “curve” and administration will be happy.  But to ensure the same situation doesn’t happen next quarter, the instructor identifies the areas the students struggled with and simply adds more content.

Dr. Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan of The Thagi Group makes several recommendations on the types of activities that can be used and the type of content that general supports them:

• Textra games combine the effective organization of documents with the motivational impact of games. In textra games, participants read the assigned piece and play a game that uses peer pressure and support to encourage recall and transfer of what they read.
• Application activities involve groups of participants to use the job aid for solving authentic problems. The size of the group is gradually reduced until individual participants are able to perform independently with the use of the job aid.
• If the activity involves the organization of confusing bits and pieces of information, use item processing activities in which individuals and teams generate, organize, and sequence ideas, facts, questions, complaints, or suggestions. This type of activity enables participants to construct meaningful categories and sequences from isolated items.
• Use Bernie Dodge’s WebQuest approach when an activity requires the collection of information that is available on the internet. In this special type of inquiry learning, participants collect information from the Web. WebQuests focus on using the content rather than merely retrieving it. A typical WebQuest requires participants to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the content.