Avoiding The Unintended Consequences Of On Line Course Delivery
1. Avoiding the Unintended Consequences of On-line Course Delivery Richard A. Smith, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor and Instructional Technology Program Coordinator School of Education University of Houston-Clear Lake Caroline M. Crawford, Ed.D. Associate Professor, Instructional Technology School of Education University of Houston-Clear Lake Greater Houston Education Collaboration UH ATT Technology Lab April 13, 2007
An automated process I particularly appreciated was an Advanced Web Design class taught by Dr. Kidney in 2004 as an on-line course. Management of Computer Resources is my eighth and final on-line class at the University of Houston Clear Lake. I have enjoyed five face to face classes as well.What I particularly liked about his course was the rapid identification of learner characteristics and goals. By design, he created a dual track experience geared for either the typical student experience or the challenge student experience. Those choosing the typical assignments and completing the work could expect a B in the course, but those who wanted to put in extraordinary time and effort could pick the A plan. I personally liked the A plan because it directly applied to my job skills, and I preferred to spend the time and effort to get everything I could from it. One of my peers preferred the B plan due to schedule demands, and her desire to concentrate on other demands. We all enjoyed the class, custom designed for the needs of the students. The same core elements were required, but Dr. Kidney recognized not all students were looking for the same thing in his classes. A possible improvement could be to further define learner characteristics and goals prior to each class, to further refine content and practice, within the scope of the course.