The Future of Education

Except for the need to create an online course in a Learning Management System (LMS) and using technology tools such as online forums, video conferencing, online assessments, group editing of documents, and other technological tools too numerous to mention, there are relatively few differences in planning and designing online courses and traditional face-to-face course creation.  In fact, it is suggested that the design of online courses, follow the time-tested practices and strategies of traditional course design.  The writer believes the backward design model (designing with the end in mind) developed by Wiggins and McTighe is the most efficient and effective approach to course design.  Wiggins and McTighe hold that the process of lesson and course design involves first examining and understanding the desired learning outcomes.  The course designer nexts applies a series of questions to create an assessment designed to measure the extent that the learner has acquired the targeted knowledge and skills relating to the learning outcomes.  Next, the learning objectives are designed in a manner that provides the learner with the requisite knowledge and skills which will allow him to demonstrate his level of mastery on the assessment.  The course designer then uses the lesson objectives to drive the design and establishment of course content. Lastly, the course content forms the foundation on which learning activities and individual lessons are based and created.  Also discussed is the role that formative assessment plays in informing instruction and thereby serves as a tool the instructor uses to further develop and refine the individual components of a course.

Keywords: backwards design, online course design, learning outcomes, learning objectives, assessment, design with the end in mind;