INTRODUCTION

In the beginning of the Fall semester 2009, I set out to complete a meaningful and

useful product for my Master’s Project. This report details the results of that quest and the

evaluations of the final result.

I approached my supervisor at Canisius College at the beginning of November about

developing a product for the college. At the time, I was working on an online workshop

for instructors that would help them develop a course for online delivery. One thing that I

needed, that I didn’t have time to develop during work hours, was a take-away

companion for the workshop.

My supervisor had me construct a proposal that detailed my intentions and my

expectations for hours spent on the job. This proposal was approved, by her and the Vice-

President of the department. Development on The Griff Guide to Teaching Online started

immediately after approval.

Learning Standards Being Addressed

The project addresses the following learning standards from the National

Educational Technology Standards, developed by the International Society for

Technology in Education (2009), a leader in setting standards for implanting technology

into the learning environment.

Standard 2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and

Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and

assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content

learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the

NETS.

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 Standard 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an

evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional

practices.

Standard 5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong

learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting

and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.

Purpose

This main purpose of this guide is to provide a reference to all new instructors

teaching online. Instructors who go through the New Online Course Development

Workshop will receive this guide as a take-away. It can also be distributed to the

instructors that are asked teach an online course during a time when the workshop is not

in session.

The secondary purpose is to help make Canisius College online a more

praiseworthy and discussed name in online education. Respect is given to schools that

support their faculty and exemplify their expertise. By making this guide freely

accessible to the public, this product acknowledges these ideas.

Learning Objectives

The following are the learning objectives being addressed in this project.

Participants will be able to:

Technology Objectives:

• Become acclimated to the learning management system environment.

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 • Learn about possible technology enhancements beyond the learning management

system.

Planning Objectives:

• Develop a plan for building their online course.

• Develop a content outline.

• Develop course objectives.

• Address issues of diversity.

• Evaluate via Quality Matters.

Delivery Objectives:

• Develop an introductory folder.

• Choose delivery methods for course content for each week.

• Develop engaging discussions.

• Develop creative activities.

Rationale for the Product

Currently, Canisius College does not have a product like this in place. As online

education grows, there will be, and is, a need for this type of product since (a) new online

instructors will want to have something tangible to turn to, (b) new online instructors will

want something to reflect on after completing the New Online Course Development

Workshop, and (c) new online instructors may need a crash course during a time when the

workshop is not in session.

Intended Audience:

The intended audience is all (current and future) online instructors at Canisius

College. This includes:

1. Current Canisius online instructors;

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 2. Canisius instructors teaching blended or hybrid courses;

3. New Canisius online instructors that have gone through the New Online Course

Development Workshop;

4. New Canisius online instructors that have yet to go through the New Online

Course Development Workshop.

The secondary audience is all other (current and future) online instructors. This

includes:

1. Current online instructors;

2. Instructors teaching blended or hybrid courses;

3. New online instructors.

General Product Description

Guide Title

The guide is titled The Griff Guide to Teaching Online, named after the Canisius

College mascot.

Concept

The Griff Guide to Teaching Online is an instructional, tutorial style product. It is

a guide that provides the user with the basics to planning, developing and teaching a

course online. It is flavored with educational technology enhancement ideas and

educational research to support the concepts. The guide provides many resources for the

instructor to run with, as well as helpful tutorials for the user to apply immediately if they

wish to do so.

Content

The Griff Guide to Teaching Online contains:

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 a) a cover page

b) a table of contents page with a copyright notice

c) content pages

d) open source photos and original screen shots

e) resources provided for the user

f) a glossary of key terms

g) a reference page

Key Terms

There are many (what may be) new key terms that are introduced in this guide.

They are highlighted in the text and clarified in the guide glossary.

Number of Pages

The entire guide consists of 75 pages. It is composed of 1 cover page, 1 copyright page,

1 table of contents page, 54 content pages, 2 glossary pages, 4 resource pages, 1 reference

page, and 11 appendix pages.

Sequencing of Information

The sequencing of information is very important in the guide. Each department at

Canisius College has a different set of qualifications they are looking for when accepting

applications for new candidates. Some instructors may not have had experience teaching,

or taking, online courses in the past. Other instructors may have had experience teaching,

or taking, online courses at a different college. This guide hopes to cater to all levels of

online instructors.

This guide introduces instructors to the basics to planning, developing and

teaching a course online. The sequence of topics is as follows: 1. Planning the online

course, 2. Forming engaging discussions, 3. Developing creative activities, 4. Assessment

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and Measurement, 5. Building the course in the learning management system. The main

content of the guide is flavored with educational technology enhancement ideas and

educational research to support the concepts. The guide provides many resources for the

instructor to run with, as well as helpful tutorials for the user to apply immediately if they

wish to do so.

Prerequisite Knowledge, Skills, and Resources Required

This guide is meant to cater to individuals that are new to online instruction and

learning management systems. There is no prior knowledge needed. The guide

recognizes all of the levels and attempts to accommodate for the different instructor

levels of experience. By providing step-by-step detailed instructions, online instructor

candidates begin to understand the steps needed to develop an online course and to

engage their online learners. After they learn how to develop content, the guide

introduces them to the basics of setting up the course in the learning management system.

This guide hopes to cater to all levels of online instructors. Each department at

Canisius College has a different set of qualifications they are looking for when accepting

applications for new candidates. Online instructor candidates may already teach face-to-

face courses for the college, or may be brand new to Canisius College. Some instructors

may not have had experience teaching, or taking, online courses in the past. Other

instructors may have had experience teaching, or taking, online courses at a different

college.

Teaching and Learning Online

Role of the Online Faculty

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 Teaching online requires a paradigm shift for instructors. Teaching online is much

different than teaching face-to-face (f2f). The guide encourages instructors to engage in

an interactive exchange of information via the learning management system.

Working with Virtual Students

The paradigm shift in online education is not only for instructors, but for students

as well. Students have to get accustomed to working in the online environment and with

the technology at their fingertips. This guide recognizes that not all students easily adapt

to learning online and offers methods for instructors to better reach all online student

learning styles.

Suggested Resources for the Instructor

Instructors are not required to purchase any supplemental textbooks, software or

resources to follow along with this guide. However, I recommend the Online Teaching

and Learning Series, specifically, Engaging the Online Learner (Conrad & Donaldson,

2004), by Rita-Marie Conrad and J. Ana Donaldson

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Research Question

The research question being addressed in the project is as follows:

What does a new online instructor need to know when developing an online course?

A Focus on Previous Research

The area in question is creating and facilitating an online course via a learning

management system. Previous research has been done by Rita-Marie Conrad and J. Ana

Donaldson for their book Engaging the Online Learner (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004). In

this book they explore the different phases of the online learner and how technology can

be used to help the learner proceed throughout the course. The book gives a good base for

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the different phases of students, and their capabilities depending on their progress in the

course.

The use of educational technologies in an online learning environment is good

practice (Roblyer, 2006) and is encouraged by Canisius College. Educational technology

gurus like Jane Hart (Hart, 2009) and Stephen Downes (Downes, 2009) have also

contributed a great deal to the field of educational technology by helping to blend the

lines between technology, instructional technology and education. The Internet has

allowed for technology staff and instructors to blog about emerging technologies and how

they are being, or can be, used in classes.

Online course developers can also take cues for developing content from

instructional design. ADDIE, the instructional system’s design model can be used to

effectively build an online course. ADDIE stands for Analysis, Design, Development,

Implementation, and Evaluation, and is discussed further in the guide (ISU College of

Education, 2009).

L. Dee Fink came up with a Significant Learning Experiences chart (Fink, 2003).

Each category of the significant learning chart contains special methods of achieving that

learning goal. Online course developers can follow this chart to delivering engaging

content.

Benjamin Bloom’s “Bloom’s Taxonomy” (Bender, 2003). can also be referenced

when developing activities. Each of the Bloom’s levels can guide the instructor to create

engaging discussions. By following the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, instructors can

better reach the entire student population, rather than just select learning styles (Silver &

Strong & Perini, 2000). Bloom’s Taxonomy can also be referenced for developing

creative activities. The activities delivered should pose the appropriate Bloom’s level

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questions for the course level. Activities should encourage students to reach mid-high

level blooms depending on the period in the course.

There were many models of learning that were included in this project in order to

provide future online instructors with a background on educational theories. One of these

models was “The Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education”

(Chickering & Gamson, 1991), which lays a foundation for classroom activities to

address.

Finally, face-to-face research in assessment and measurement can be adapted for

online courses as well. Classroom Assessment Techniques, or CATs, provide feedback to

the instructor about student progress (Angelo & Cross, 1993). Instead of correcting

lengthy papers, instructors can assign quick quizzes weekly.

A Focus on Format

The format of information is also very important for this guide. The creation of

this guide had many different objectives in mind. First, it had to be easily accessible

because it would commonly be passed between people. It also had to be easy to navigate.

Some instructors receiving the guide may not have had experience teaching, or taking,

online courses in the past. Other instructors may have had experience teaching, or taking,

online courses at a different college. Lastly, instructors must be able to build a course

with minimal help with the guide in hand. This is why I chose to go with a tutorial-style

PDF document. This document can also be printed if the opportunity presents itself.

A Focus on Effectiveness

The guide was developed with many different audiences in mind. By providing

step-by-step detailed instructions, instructors will be able to develop engaging courses.

After they learn how to develop content, the guide introduces them to the basics of setting

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up the course in the learning management system. The guide also provides instructors

invaluable resources to help aid them further.

A Focus on Design

Because most of the presentation is visual, there was a huge focus on design. As

part of this project, I met with the Canisius College Creative Services Department. Rose

Twardowski from the department was able to provide me one-on-one guidance. She was

not only able to provide me branding tips, but also Adobe InDesign tips, the program I

chose to use for this project. She also provided me feedback throughout the development

process. There were many College guidelines that I had to adhere to, such as specific

spelling guidelines, design guidelines, color guidelines, and font guidelines.

I chose to learn, and use, Adobe InDesign for this project. Adobe InDesign is a

desktop publishing program that assists users in creating brochures, magazines and

books. Adobe InDesign offers many advantages to other desktop publishing programs

(Lupton, 2008). For one, it allows you to globally manipulate the text by attaching style

sheets to each item. The software is also completely customizable, allowing you to create

your own styles, templates and themes. Lastly, users can easily manipulate text. By

connecting text boxes, users can easily overflow text from one box to the next.

A few of the references were selected with a focus on design. Jim Krause’s

Design Basics Index (Krause, 2004) is a complete guide for designing effective

compositions, components and developing concepts. Ellen Lupton’s DIY: Design it

Yourself (Lupton, 2005) gave me guidance at tackling the entire package’s look and feel.

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 METHODOLOGY

The following describes the methodology that has been used in this project.

Design Elements

The following design tools were used in the design of this product:

a) Concept Map- This was used for brainstorming and identifying topics and

sub-topics (see Appendix A.);

b) Content Outline- This was used for organizing and presenting topics,

sub-topics and key outcomes (see Appendix B.);

c) Design Styles- This was used for branding the product through the color

scheme and font; InDesign styles were used in accordance to Canisius College identity

requirements (see Appendix C.);

d) Page Templates- These templates were used for designing the layout of the

pages in the guide. (see Appendix D.);

e) Storyboard- The version of the storyboards I used were textual in nature. I

simply used a Word doc to lay out the information and then formatted it visually to see

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what it would look like when inserted into InDesign. I realized early on that it would be

difficult for me to lay out such a large body of text visually on a storyboard when I

couldn’t’ accurately depict the size via writing. (see Appendix E.).

Design Considerations

Identity

This project was designed in accordance to all of the Canisius College identity

requirements. These requirements address the College fonts, colors, and design

suggestions. The Creative Services Department was kind enough to give me a few design

samples to look at for reference. The College identity mainly uses thin lines and boxes,

and strictly follows a grid.

Software

I chose to learn, and use, Adobe InDesign for this project. Adobe InDesign is a

desktop publishing program that assists users in creating brochures, magazines and

books. Adobe InDesign offers many advantages to other desktop publishing programs

(Lupton, 2008). For one, it allows you to globally manipulate the text by attaching style

sheets to each item. The software is also completely customizable, allowing you to create

your own styles, templates and themes. Lastly, users can easily manipulate text. By

connecting text boxes, users can easily overflow text from one box to the next.

Clipart

Microsoft Clipart will was used to provide corresponding photos throughout the

document. The copyright statement within the guide makes addresses the images used.

Templates

Each page is formatted the same and follows the proposed templates so the

participants know what to expect on each page, or in a new topic.

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 Styles

The guide also follows a strict set of styles to compose the document. These styles

indicate the specific colors, fonts, weight, size, alignment, indent, and character details

for all of the text in the document. The styles help to indicate the titles and add emphasis

to the highlighted glossary items.

Color Considerations

The Canisius College color scheme is as follows: a) Blue (#002649); b) Gold

(#E0AA0F); c) Orange (#F96B07).

The product font scheme is as follows: a) H1: Goudy Old Style, bold, size: 20

point, Blue (#002649); b) H1b: Goudy Old Style, bold, size: 21 point, Blue (#002649); c)

H2: Goudy Old Style, bold, size: 14 point, Black (#000000); d) H3: Goudy Old Style,

bold, size: 12 point, Black (#000000); e) Paragraph text: Goudy Old Style, regular, size:

12 point, Black (#00000); f) Key terms: Goudy Old Style, regular, size: 12-14 point,

Orange (#F96B07).

The product color scheme is as follows: a) Background color: White (#FFFFFF);

b) Tip box color: Orange, Transparency 30% (#F96B07).

Design Principles

There was special attention paid to instructional, visual, and usability design

principles. a) The content sequencing method used was sequential, starting with the main

title, then topic, then sub-topics for each presentation. b) Special care was given to

positive negative space in the relationship between the content and the background. c)

Careful attention was paid to balance. College materials were used as a reference for

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balance design. d) Items that belonged together were grouped together, in order to pay

attention to proximity. All items are contained in the pages, and do not run off the pages

or get entirely too close to the border. e) All items are left aligned in the guide. f) High

contrast improves readability. Only dark colors are used on light and all medium shades

are used as accents. g) The entire design scheme, lines and fonts are repeated to tie all

elements together. Graphics are placed in similar parts of the pages. h) There is a focal

point on each page. i) Dominant items have emphasis, and glossary terms are highlighted

throughout the document. j) The same design and color scheme is used on all pages to tie

them together and adhere to the Canisius College identity. k) In general, the layout

approach is top-left to bottom-right. l) Lastly, a glossary and appendix were used for

added usability features.

Development Tools

There were many tools used in the development of this product. Adobe InDesign

was used to develop the guide. Microsoft Word was used to develop the documentation

for the guide, before it was placed into InDesign. Microsoft Clipart was used to provide

corresponding images for the guide. Lastly, SurveyMonkey.com was used to poll

colleagues and participants in order to gather feedback.

Evaluation Process

A survey was administered at the beginning of the term to my colleagues at

Canisius College. My colleagues were surveyed on the potential needs of online faculty

and throughout the online course development process. A few months into development,

an e-mail progress check was sent out to the same colleagues. The replies to this e-mail

began the revision process for this project. Lastly, a final survey was sent out to faculty

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and staff for their input on the final version of the guide. The feedback from these

surveys and the progress check e-mail can be found in the Appendix of this report.

Limitations of the Project:

There are certain factors that limited the product in various ways. These include

the following:

1. Advertising the guide: Once the guide is complete, it will be e-mailed to

current, and future, participants of the workshop. However, it will be up to the

deans, directors, and chairs to make sure the experienced online instructors

receive the guide.

2. Technology: The Adobe PDF format was chosen with the user in mind.

However, there may be a few instructors that will need to download a PDF reader

in order to access the document.

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Description of Project Results

Overall, I am very pleased with the way the guide turned out. My biggest

advantage was the amount of experience I had at my fingertips throughout the process. I

was able to survey my colleagues before I began building the workshop to see, in their

experience, what they felt new instructors needed to know before teaching online. I

applied the results and feedback directly into the workshop and guide. Throughout the

process, I was able to consult with my colleagues on different ideas I had.

I was also able to meet with Creative Services, who helped a great deal with the

design of the document. I learned a lot about the different policies of collegiate identity

and communication. I was able to directly apply my new design knowledge to the guide,

unifying it with the rest of the College materials.

Lastly, I had my colleagues review the guide a week prior to completion. This

feedback helped the most, as they caught the grammatical errors, and design flaws, that I

overlooked. I was able to re-work the guide for the final version, based on their

suggestions. Designed with maintenance in mind, it is a document that can be easily

updated in the future. We came up with the concept that the document will be uploaded

to one location on the Web, and then it will be linked to in many locations. This will

allow the links to stay the same, even if the document is updated. Appendix i. provides a

copy of the final version of the Griff Guide for Teaching Online.

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Description of Evaluation Results

The survey results at the beginning of the project really helped to shape the

direction of the project. For the most part they either confirmed ideas that I’d had for the

project, or offered suggestions that I hadn’t thought of. One of the things that I was

unfamiliar with at the beginning, and even at the end, was all of the Canisius College

resources I should include. The surveys that were administered before and after the

project really helped to clarify that. Even in the end, the final survey results brought up

including references to the Canisius College library in some of the help areas, a resource I

hadn’t thought of.

The project progress e-mail was also really important, for a few reasons. For one,

it helped to confirm that I understood the suggestions and had applied the suggestions

correctly. Secondly, the design of the guide was headed in the right direction. Lastly, the

e-mail began the revision and editing process. I realized that it is especially important to

have more than one editor for a large body of work, such as this guide, because every

individual will look for different discrepancies within their expertise. I was very fortunate

to have individuals whose expertise was editing, technology and copyright within my

group of colleagues.

Lastly, the final survey provided some reassurance that the guide met everyone’s

expectations. I was surprised to see some future thinking comments in the results such as

ways to enhance the document, possible items to add in the future, or the concept of the

document changing over time based on faculty feedback. In a way, these comments gave

me hope that the guide would prosper for years to come. The feedback from these

surveys and the progress check e-mail can be found in the Appendix of this report.

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 CONCLUSIONS

Summary of the Project

Key Learnings

There were many key learnings I discovered throughout this project, some that I

hadn’t even realized until I completed the guide. For one, I realized that it was really

important to allow ample time for people to reply to surveys. This was something I didn’t

think of because I am usually a quick responder. Secondly, I realized that it is especially

important to have more than one editor for a large body of work, such as this guide,

because every individual will look for different discrepancies within their expertise. I also

learned a whole new program for this project, Adobe InDesign. I now feel confident

enough to use it for other projects. Lastly, I learned that it is important to keep others

updated on the progress of the project, as they will likely be willing to help along the way

and offer advice. This happened with the design, concept and copy (as in text) of the

project.

Pluses

I think the biggest plus of the project is being able to see immediately how the

guide is received by the faculty. I’ve had a lot of feedback from my colleagues on the

project, but I am most interested to hear the reactions of the faculty. Their opinion will

count the most because they will be using the guide as a reference when building their

own courses. Secondly, this project is a resume builder. I am now able to add this great

body of work to my portfolio.

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 Potentials

The secondary purpose of this project is to make Canisius College a more

praiseworthy and discussed name in online education. Respect is given to schools that

support their faculty and exemplify their expertise. By making this guide freely

accessible to the public, this product acknowledges these ideas. I will be interested to also

hear the responses from other schools about this guide.

I also asked that this guide be the property of both Canisius College, and myself.

This product will hopefully spread throughout the online education and ANGEL

communities, helping to build my own personal brand.

Concerns

My only concern is maintenance. This guide will have to be maintained by

someone who has knowledge in Adobe InDesign. This program is not available on every

computer on campus, and doesn’t come with most Adobe suites. Every time the guide is

updated, the online version will also have to be replaced.

Difficulties

The most difficult part of the project was getting all of the edits completed. This

was the largest body of content I have ever created, and I don’t claim to be a good writer.

There were many spelling and grammatical errors that I didn’t catch, that were mentioned

in the surveys and progress check e-mail. There were many suggestions for new content,

or about the already existing content. I am very fortunate that I had colleagues that cared

as much about this project as I did. I wish I did have a little more time to include the

suggestions that came in for the final survey.

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Recommendations

My recommendation for those attempting a manual or guide of this scale is to

evaluate the project scope very closely. I would recommend leaving 1-2 months for

revision time, and to have several individuals edit the document. As I mentioned, had I

left myself enough time, I would have made some additions for the final print version.

Questions for Further Study

Because the guide will be administered to new online faculty, it must stay current

will all College policies and practices. One of these practices is the use of a learning

management system. The ANGEL information will have to be updated to accommodate

any new versions of ANGEL, or be redeveloped if a new learning management system is

selected.

Also, the guide mentions current educational technologies. This portion of the

guide will also have to be updated as technology trends change. In the future, the College

may wish the Guide to also include devices, as well as Web resources.

Conclusions

For my Master’s Project, I developed an instructional product for faculty. The

Griff Guide to Teaching Online is a tutorial style product that provides the user with the

basics to planning, developing and teaching a course online. It is flavored with

educational technology enhancement ideas and educational research to support the

concepts. The guide provides many resources for the instructor to run with, as well as

helpful tutorials for the user to apply immediately if they wish to do so.

I am very pleased with the way the final project turned out. I learned a lot about

the process, and am thankful that this project received the support that it did from my

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colleagues. The administered surveys gave me hope that this guide will prosper for years

to come.

REFERENCES

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Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques A handbook for

college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bender, T. (2003). Discussion-based online teaching to enhance student learning:

Theory, practice, and assessment. Sterling, Va: Stylus Pub.

Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1991). Applying the seven principles for good

practice in undergraduate education. New directions for teaching and learning,

no. 47. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass.

Hart, J. (November 15, 2009). Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009. Retrieved November

20, 2009, from http://c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/

Downes, S. (November 20, 2009). Stephen’s Web. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from

http://www.downes.ca

Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to

designing college courses. Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series. San

Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass.

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (2009). Technology

Facilitation Standards. Retrieved on September 20, 2009 from:

http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTechnologyFacilitatorsand

Leaders/Technology_Facilitation_Standards.htm#Plan

Krause, J. (2004). Design basics index. Cincinnati, Ohio: How Design Books.

Lupton, E. (2005). DIY Design It Yourself. Chronicle Books Llc.

Lupton, E. (2008). Indie publishing: How to design and produce your own book. New

York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Roblyer, M. D. (2006). Integrating educational technology into teaching. Upper Saddle

River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

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Silver, H. F., Strong, R. W., & Perini, M. J. (2000). So each may learn: Integrating

learning styles and multiple intelligences. Alexandria, Va: Association for

Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Tardiff, E. (2008) Developing an Outline. Retrieved on December 5, 2009 from:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/printable/544/

APPENDIX

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Appendix A. Concept Map

A concept map is a special form of a web diagram for exploring knowledge and

gathering and sharing information.

Appendix B. Content Outline

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 This content outline was developed as a full sentence outline according to the

Purdue University Writing Lab, OWL (Tardiff, 2008).

I. This guide will introduce you to the basic concepts of setting up your first online
course at Canisius College.

A. This manual is a guide for those teaching or wishing to teach online.

1. Although this guide was created with Canisius faculty in mind, its
secondary purpose is the general public interested in online education.

2. The Griff Guide to Teaching Online is an instructional, tutorial style

product. It is a guide that provides the user with the basics to planning,
developing and teaching a course online.

3. Users will meet the technology, planning and delivery objectives.

4. This guide is meant to cater to individuals who are new

to online instruction and learning management systems.

B. The Seven Principles of Effective Online Teaching provide a set

of guidelines for teaching online.

C. Teaching online requires a paradigm shift for instructors and

students.

1. Instead of lecturing to students, instructors engage in an

interactive exchange of information.

2. Students need to become accustomed to working in the

online environment and with the technology at their
fingertips.

II. Instructors must carefully architect an effective online course that

caters to different learning styles and meets the course objectives a
virtual environment.

A. There are many current strategies for planning an online

course.

1. “ADDIE” can be used to effectively build an online

course.

2. One of the dilemmas that plagues online learning is

managing course size.

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 3. The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm is a model that
speaks to the Jesuit teaching-learning process, addressing
the teacher-learner relationship, with practical meaning
and application for the classroom.

4. We are educating students for jobs that haven’t even

been created yet.

B. It is important to identify the key learning goals and objectives

(or outcomes) for your course.

1. What are Learning Goals?

a) There is no right way to develop learning goals. In

fact, there can be many different way learning
goals are developed.
b) Identify course goals to students and increase
awareness of their own learning.
c) Make your goals specific, not generic.

2. What are Course Objectives?

a) They provide a means for students to organize

their efforts in accomplishing that objective.
b) The ABCD Model of Writing Learning Objectives
describes the audience, behavior, condition and
degree of the learning process.

3. Goals are general; objectives are precise.

4. Outcomes are complex statements that speak to the

compilation of mastered skills, concepts and knowledge.

a) Describe what students can do with what they will

learn in the course.
b) Try the Teaching Goals Inventory, developed by
Angelo and Cross (1993), an instrument that will
help you develop teaching goals.

C. Plotting out your course outline is an important part of the

course planning process.

D. Develop a content template.

E. Develop a syllabus.

26
 F. There is help available at Canisius College.

III. We will now focus on the development and delivery of your course
content (what you would like to teach the students).

A. In 1997, Campbell and Smith created a paradigm comparison

chart that was used with permission for L. Dee Fink’s book:
Creating Significant Learning Experiences.

B. When developing a course, instructors should try to best

organize it in the eyes of a student.

C. When teaching online, you often have to create your own

content.

D. Choose a delivery method.

a. Stay consistent.

b. Decide on a method.

c. Basic delivery options include flat web pages and e-mail.

d. Intermediate delivery options include presentations and

podcasts.

e. Advanced delivery options include web conferencing and

screencasting.

E. You may also wish to provide external resources to guide the

students’ personal research.

F. It is important to keep in mind ADA compliance and citations.

G. There is help available at Canisius College.

IV. Discussion Forums are often the primary means of communication

in an online course.

A. Good discussion questions cannot be answered by simply “yes”

or “no”.

a) Every discussion forum should include clear directions.

b) Questions can Directly Relate to Bloom’s Taxonomy.

27
 A. Each discussion should encourage one of the three following
interactions within the course: instructor-student, content-
student and student-student.

B. Discussion Forums do not always have to be about simply asking

and answering. They can encourage creativity.

a) Looking for some discussion activity ideas?

b) Discussions do not simply have to be Q+A, you can also

include multimedia for your students to interact with and
comment on.

C. You will find that moderating discussions can take up a

significant part of your time.
D. Grading discussions can be time consuming.

G. There is help available at Canisius College.

V. Activities are the main form of “Student to Content” and “Student to

Instructor” interactions in online classes.

A. Web-based learning is supported by Internet resources.

a) There is an abundance of free online tools at your disposal.

b) Create a variety of student learning activities.

B. When providing instructions for an activity, be absolutely clear

about your expectations for the project.

a) Break your instructions into steps.

C. Citations, plagiarism and objectives are all important issues to

address when developing activities.

D. Rubrics are scoring guides used by instructors to help when

grading student learning and effort. Rubrics help to make
grading consistent.

a) Holistic rubrics allow the instructor to grade one attribute,

like a presentation, with a series of levels, such as
inadequate/acceptable/sophisticated.

b) Analytic rubrics are used to assess multiple attributes

simultaneously with in the same levels.

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 c) Set the Scale and Define the Ratings. Set the scale for
ratings and define them with descriptors.

d) The activities delivered should also pose appropriate level

questions.

e) Develop one rubric template for all of your activities.

f) Describe the levels of quality and what each level looks

like.
A. Activities don’t have to focus directly on the weekly topic, even if
they should reinforce the weekly objectives.

a) Instead of requiring that your students learn all of the

same information in the same way, you can creatively
design self-taught activities.

B. There are many tools you can use for activities.

a) Drop boxes can be used for student submissions and

attachments.

b) Collaborative Web pages for people to share, create, and

edit.

c) Create and share online documents, spreadsheets and

presentations.

d) Consider creating multi-week projects for students to work

on.

e) Materials on the Web that are freely available to all.

G. There is help available at Canisius College.

VI. There are many different purposes of assessments, but they are all
mainly designed to help teachers find out if, what and how the
students are learning in the course.

A. Effective instructors understand that it is not enough to simply

deliver a course.

B. Instead of correcting lengthy papers, assign quick quizzes

weekly.

C. There are many different types of assessments to deliver.

29
 a) Focus on Milestones.

b) Include project based assessments.

c) Assessment takes place every week during the class

activities, as well.

D. Classroom Assessment Techniques, or CATs, provide feedback to

the instructor about student progress throughout the course.

E. Assessment projects differ from assessments in that they are

carefully planned vs. the spontaneous pop-quiz.

F. Canisius College recommends using the Quality Matters Rubric

when evaluating your online course.
G. It is important that all instructors address and advise students on
the consequences of plagiarism.

VII. Canisius College currently uses ANGEL Learning as their learning management
system.

A. The Power Strip is an example of a global ANGEL feature.

B. Each course has three main navigation aids: the course or group
Map, navigational breadcrumbs, and the main tabs within each
course.

C. The course homepage include nuggets and announcements.

D. The Calendar tab presents your course calendar.

E. The Content tab contains the main course content.

a) Content is added by clicking the Add Content link and

then selecting the content item to be added.

b) The “Rearrange” link will allow you to rearrange

content on your page.

c) You can move items into folder via the “Move Item”
tool.

d) All content items can be date restricted.

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A. The Communicate tab contains access points for all the
communication tools for your course or group.

B. A wide variety of reports can be configured, run, and saved.

C. The Automate tab allows access to the Agents Console.

D. The Manage tab contains all the course tools needed by the
course editor to conduct and manage the course.

E. When setting up the Gradebook, you must first decide how all
the grades will be calculated for a final grade.

a) The Gradebook Wizard will appear the first time the

Gradebook is entered within a new course and can be used
initially to set up the Gradebook.

F. Instructors can see whether there are assignments to be graded.

a) Student assignments that are submitted to a drop box can

be graded using a grading rubric.

b) A number of factors can be used to grade a discussion

forum.

G. The course mail system is accessed through the Communicate

tab.

H. The Roster tool, within the Manage section, enables you to add,
edit, or delete users in a course or group.

I. Good practice dictates that courses need to be backed up on a

regular basis.

31
Appendix C. Design Styles

The following are the design styles used for this project.

Color

32
 Fonts

The typefaces approved for all official Canisius College communications are Goudy,
Univers and Today. Goudy was chosen for its traditional character and ease of
readership. Univers and Today, both modern sans serif fonts, give a contemporary feel in
combination with Goudy.

33
 According to the Canisius College Editorial Style Guide

on-line
• Hyphenate

34
 Paragraph Styles

In order to ensure consistency, paragraph styles were created in InDesign.

35
Appendix D. Page Templates

The following are the page templates used for the guide.

Template A.

36
Template B.

Template C.

37
Topic template

38
 Full highlight template

Top photo template

39
Bottom photo template

40
Text in highlight template

41
Appendix E. Storyboards

42
 The version of the storyboards I used were textual in nature. I simply used a Word

doc to lay out the information and then formatted it visually to see what it would look

like when inserted into InDesign. Here are a few examples:

43
Appendix F. Online Course Development Workshop Survey
44
 This data was used to construct the Online Course Development Workshop, and

later used to construct the beginning of the guide.

45
46
Appendix G. Project Check E-mail

The e-mail was sent during the development of the guide. This data was used to

begin the editing process and to discover suggested additions.

Leah,

Wow, you’re quick! I’ve just done a quick scanning and, so far, I like what I see. I’ll
take a closer look over the weekend.

Have a great Thanksgiving and safe journey. See you Monday!

Estelle

************************************************
Estelle M. Siener, Director of Academic Computing
Information Technology Services, Canisius College

Leah:

This is a wonderful start! I like how you've incorporated so much learning theory. I do
have some suggestions (spelling, formatting), but the content is exceptional.

Pat

************************************************
Patricia Coward, Director of Center for Teaching Excellence
Canisius College

Pat later submitted complete edits to me. We met for over an hour to review the edits and

revisions, as well as a few suggested additions she thought of.

Damn girl, you’re good. This is beautiful. I’ve only scanned it so far and have read
portions and I already feel better prepared for the next semester. Much of what you have
written Leah pertains to face to face faculty as well. I’ll give a thorough reading (proof)
later but Wow! Well done. You will make these programs a success Leah. I’m glad
you’re on board.
Joe

*************************************************
Joseph F. Rizzo, Academic Technology Specialist/ Part-time Instructor
Information Technology Services, Canisius College

Leah:
Wow – a lot of work.

47
Just few notes:

According to the college’s style guide online is a hyphened word online

On page 24 you have a double |

When you have lists if you indent the copy under the “dingbat/number” it is easier to
read.

I think is it looks great. It is a communication piece with a lot of information which

seems to be easy to navigate. Did you want a new photo for the cover? By the way, I
don’t remember if I told you, but since this is an internal piece PR doesn’t need to see the
copy.

Sincerely
Rose

*************************************************
Rose Twardowski, Associate Director of Creative Services
Creative Services, Canisius College

Rose later suggested revisions and a photo for the front page.
Ok, I went through the ANGEL section and inserted some comments.

I'll be back in the office from noon-1pm if you want to talk about any of them (or if I
need to clarify anything). Overall, I think it's pretty good, but it has a bit of an
inconsistent feel to it...some of the directions are thorough, while others are vague. I
know it's hard to balance it out :(

Chris

*************************************************
Chris Filkins, Academic Technology Specialist
Information Technology Services, Canisius College

Chris helped to edit the ANGEL portion of the Guide. We brainstormed many directions

to go in, and decided the simpler, the better because we had so many other resources

already for faculty.

Appendix H. The Griff Guide Final Survey

This data was used to make any final edits and changes to the guide, as well as to

get feedback on the final version.

48
49
50
51
52
Appendix I. The Griff Guide to Teaching Online

53
 This is the final version of The Griff Guide for Teaching Online. It begins on the

next page.

54