Open
Course Evaluation
This week for my Walden University Master’s Degree
in Instructional Design Distance Learning EDUC 6135-1 class, I am asked to
evaluate an open course for good distance learning design. Open courses are now
available at major universities, such as Yale, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, and Harvard, and include many of the typical college course
subjects. Upon completion, many of these courses award learners a signed
certificate. The advantage of these open courses is that they offer learners an
excellent way to achieve personal learning goals in a noncompetitive grade free
environment. Coursera© is an example of an open course site that advertises itself
as an education platform that partners with top universities and organizations and
offers free courses with the goal of improving lives, families, and communities
(Coursera©, 2014).
Many universities and colleges have chosen to create
their own open course site rather than partner with a learning platform or
community in order to have greater control over their course content. Stanford
is offering some of its most popular engineering classes free of charge to
anyone around the world anywhere at any time (Stanford, n.d.). Stanford
Engineering Everywhere (SEE) is available by clicking the Get Started link on
their welcome page. The courses are protected under a Creative Commons 3.0
license which allows others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform, or build
upon the existing materials for any purpose including commercial use (Creative
Commons, n.d.). However, if the materials are revised or repurposed in any way,
attribution must be given. Correct attribution, under Creative Commons 3.0, will
include the name of the creator, copyright notice, license notice, disclaimer
notice, and finally a link to and the title of the original materials (Creative
Commons, n.d.). The specific course I am going to evaluate is Introduction to
Computer Science, Programming Methodology located at http://see.stanford.edu/see/courseinfo.aspx?coll=824a47e1-135f-4508-a5aa-866adcae1111
and offered by SEE.
Before delving into an evaluation of the course, it
is important to first frame the course by learner audience and the context of
its use. For effective distance learning course planning, it is important for
the instructor to know the number of students, technologies available to them,
and cultural, social, and economic backgrounds so they can effectively and
carefully plan the types and levels of interaction that may be implemented to
ensure quality learning experiences (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, &
Zvacek, 2012). Since the Programming Methodology course is a first year introductory
course to all other computer programming courses offered at SEE, the audience
of the original classroom instructor-led course was typical first-year college
students in their late teen or early twenties. However, as a distance learning
course that is offered anywhere and anytime, learner age is not limited. The
audience will be individuals interested in pursuing knowledge about basic
principles of computer programming. Their culture, social, and economic background
as well as the technology available to them will also vary widely. Learners may
or may not be interested in continuing computer programming beyond this
particular course. The audience will most likely be self-directed adult
learners who are pursuing or already involved in careers that require some
knowledge of computer programming principles (Knowles, 1970). They may choose
the open course format as a way to refresh themselves on basic programming
principles, as a personal goal for general knowledge, or as a career enhancer. Completion
may lead to further interest and pursuit of an accredited degree from the
university.
Given the potential for widely varied learner
technology backgrounds, it was necessary to make the course available at the
lowest technology accessible level. Though not specified, SEE appears to have
intentionally kept the access requirements low and easy to achieve. All that is
required to access the course is an adequate internet connection, modern
computer and browser, PDF reader, audio/listening capability, and the ability
to view videos in YouTube©, iTunes©, WMV, or MP4 formats. The course is
extremely well structured flowing from basic introductory programming
principles to a fully developed computer program assignment. After listening to
several lectures, I decided that it would be personally beneficial and would provide
a good understanding of basic computer programming methods. The instructor is
very engaging and well-organized. The course syllabus follows a calendar schedule
and outlines expectations of the adult learner to facilitate a readiness to
learn (Knowles, 1970). Additionally, handouts are available for every lecture
to provide examples, further information, and assignment instructions.
Examinations are offered as a form of self-assessment; however, again there is
no formal grade for this course. From a perspective of taking an instructor-led
classroom and placing it online for access anywhere and anytime, they have
provided a well-structured and accessible online course. However, from a good
distance learning design perspective, much improvement is needed.
Learners will access this course in both time and
space-shifted manner, which is advertised as a benefit in the course
introduction; however, this makes course design difficult since designers
cannot adequately predict who will take the course (Simonson, Smaldino,
Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). The course is very pedagogical by design - meaning
that it is designed for instructor delivery. It does not include good design
principles for distance learning. As a distance learning product, there are no
statements of course outcome, no activity based learning, no learner
interaction opportunities, and no learner support system. The course is simply
not designed with the distance learner in mind. The class is designed to be
interactive in the instructor-led classroom with designated section leaders
helping learners in small groups to grasp concepts. According to Graham,
Cagitlay, Lim, Caner, and Duffy (2001), online instruction should provide clear
guidelines for interaction; cooperation among students; opportunities to
participate in course projects; informative and acknowledgement feedback from
instructors; course deadlines to keep learners on task; tasks that challenge learners;
and choices for course projects. The instructor-led class may have potential
for these qualities, but it is not possible in the online version since the
format is video lecture with handouts only and no chance of collaboration or
learning activities within the online learning environment. Finally, the course
is not contained within any type of course management system. This prevents the
learner from tracking their progress and the institution from the benefit of
any course evaluation tool. A CMS could have been used to host course
communication, topic discussion, and group projects as a minimum. However, as a
free product, it is understandable that the expense of these improvements would
not allow for their inclusion in the course.
In final evaluation of the Computer Science distance
learning course at SEE, I have noted that the course is engaging and well-designed
as an instructor-led course. It does serve the purpose of providing education
to anyone, anywhere, and at any time. However, as a distance learning course it
is missing some very specific design elements to assist online learners. First,
it should be placed into a learning management system. To further enhance the
distance learning experience, course outcomes, opportunities for interaction,
course projects, feedback from instructors, deadlines, challenging tasks, and
more learner choices should be incorporated. The first principles in creation
of a distance learning system is the system itself, and the creation of
successful courses requires a system’s approach (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright,
& Zvacek, 2012). The system is missing in the course from SEE, but this
fact does not negate the course’s value in presenting information online. It
accomplishes its goal in presenting information to a wide audience much in the
same way as online reference manuals and other internet resources.
References
Coursera.org.
(2014). About. Retrieved from https://www.coursera.org/about/
Creative
Commons.(n.d.). Attribution 3.0 United States (CC by 3.0 US). Retrieved from
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
Graham,
C., Cagiltay, K., Lim, B., Craner, J., & Duffy, T. M. (2001). Seven
principles of effective teaching: A practical lens for evaluating online
courses. The Technology Source, 30(5), 50.
Knowles,
M. S. (1970). The modern practice of adult education (Vol. 41). New
York: New York Association Press.
Simonson,
M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012).Teaching and
learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston,
MA: Pearson.
Stanford.edu.
(n.d.).Welcome to Stanford Engineering Everywhere (SEE). Retrieved from http://see.stanford.edu/default.aspx
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