Read these tips and words of encouragement (and thanks) submitted by students graduating from Indiana State University.
Note: The Office of Distance Support Services is currently surveying Indiana State University students who plan to
graduate (or complete their chosen program of study or coursework ) in December 2005 or May 2006. Please encourage your
distance students to participate. For instructions and a link to the survey, visit Student Success Survey
Indiana State University has agreements in place to foster cooperation
with several universities around the globe.
The following scenario offers a few questions (and answers) as the
faculty member and the instructional designer engage in a discourse about
the development of an international distance education course.
Faculty Member: An agreement has been signed with the University of ___ (one of ISU’s partner universities), and we will be jointly teaching a distance course in Blackboard. I will be traveling there at least once per semester to provide face-to-face sessions, and there will be faculty exchanges.
Instructional Designer: That's exciting! Have you or your international partner had any experience using Blackboard?
..........
Faculty Member: No, neither my colleague nor I have used Blackboard. We have developed a syllabus, chosen textbooks, and will jointly develop and deliver the content. Undergraduates at both universities can enroll in the course. The content will be organized by theme. Do you provide pedagogical
as well as technological training?
Instructional Designer: Yes. Programs and workshops are in place to integrate pedagogy with technological training. I can work one-to-one with you, or you can attend a variety of workshops and programs such as Introduction to Online Pedagogy Using Blackboard or Advanced Topics in Instructional Technology.
..........
Faculty Member: Have you provided any training for ISU's partner universities?
Instructional Designer: Yes, a number of programs and workshops have been provided and personalized for visiting faculty. Faculty members from Thailand, Japan, Russia, China, and Morocco have participated in one-to-one or one-to-many pedagogical and technical training sessions over the past three years.
In some cases, this training has been supplemented by the instructional designer in the international partner's host country.
. . . .
Faculty Member: Interesting. I'd like to start working on the course right away.
Instructional Designer: Okay. You already have a syllabus, and you will be using themes. This tells me how you will organize your content, and how you might use Blackboard. I can create a development site for you right now. We can begin working with your syllabus and discussing other ideas such as communication with the learners; assessments; and discussion board and chat management. I have some rubrics that I can share with you for use with the discussion board and chat. This is a starting point and I am sure our discussions will evolve from there.
..........
Faculty Member: Okay. Sounds good. Let's set up an appointment time, and I'll bring the syllabus and some content. I'd also like to use Breeze Presenter and Breeze Meeting. Can you work with me on these so we can use them in our course?
Instructional Designer: Certainly. Breeze can be a great tool in the online environment. I am excited about working on this course. Let's get started!
..........................................
Cleo Magnuson is an Instructional Designer in the University's Center for
Teaching and Learning. If you have questions on this article or another instructional
design topic, contact Cleo at (812) 237-7941 or
extcleo@isugw.indstate.edu
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THOUGHT FOR December:
People seldom see the halting and painful steps
by which the most insignificant success is achieved.
-- Anne Sullivan
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Interaction is published by the Office of Distance
Support Services - Indiana State University.
