3 Things I Learned from previous 700 courses

I have had two 700 courses already, so I cannot comment on the Introduction to Distance Education and eLearning article. As instructed during the class, I will instead cover three things I learned from my previous 700 courses.

1) In the Ins and Outs of LMSs course, I learned that when I design a course, I should consider adding these dynamic elements:
• Implement a quiz at the beginning of the course to check the prior knowledge of each learner. This would then allow you to develop a more individualized learner contract with each learner. Each learner would then be able to have a negotiable set of objectives.
• Implement a weekly schedule to give each learner the opportunity to meet with the instructor synchronously to go over the learner contract. This would enable modifications and amendments to the learning contract as the learner’s needs change during the course.
• Add more quizzes and use them as knowledge check milestones instead of using them to affect the learner’s grade. The learner would need to pass the quiz before moving on to the next week’s learning activities.
• Add a group collaboration activity for one or more of the “Apply” activities as this will increase learner to learner communication and learning.

2) In the Ins and Outs of LMSs course, I discovered the following pro and con associated with using Moodle:
• Pro: Course creation functionality -The weekly format made it easy to set up the course and I liked having an introductory bucket before the weekly buckets. This made it easier to keep all of the Getting Started activities in one place. I also liked the variety of communication tools and collaborative activities offered by Moodle, the ability to create my own web pages within Moodle for content, and the ability to link to resources outside of Moodle.
• Con: Course creation functionality: UDUTU does not link up well to Moodle. There has to be an easier way. Also, it would be nice if Moodle had its own whiteboard tool instead of having to use an external whiteboard like DimDim.

3) In the Web Conferencing course, I discovered that the poll feature within Adobe Connect is useful checking the prior knowledge of participants as well as testing their knowledge after delivering instruction. Furthermore, a blended approach such as the use of a brief power point lecture, a video, and a group collaboration activity seemed to maintain engagement. Unfortunately, Adobe Connect does not record the breakout rooms for the group collaboration activity.