Think about the Move

After you know what type of course you have, you need to answer the question, "what do I want to move online"? The primary reason for considering this question is time.

If you will be adding supplemental handouts and resources to your online course, then you will probably be uploading Word, PDF, and other specific files for your students to download. Because you will not need to reformat them or convert them to a different type, this type of move goes fairly quickly (which is a very good think if your calendar looks anything like this one).

On the other hand, if you are used to displaying a PowerPoint presentation while talking through the lecture in a classroom, moving them online without modification will not result in an effective online course. Because this is such an important consideration, we're going to talk through it on the next page.

Activity

Whether you are a paper-and-pencil type of instructor or an electronic note-taker, now's a good time to begin a course move planning document for yourself. Reflect on your current course; determine what type of course you currently have; jot notes down. Consider whether, as you move online, if you want to retain that same format or move into a different format. Note what components of your course you want to be sure to move online.

Planning is very important.  When you don't move into course planning knowing what your resources are and what you have and are moving, you end up spending a lot of time spinning your wheels and backtracking. For example, if you read about a really cool tool and build your plans around its use only to find out your CMS or your technology can't support it, it's time lost and a lot of frustration.

After you read through the resources from this section, we'll next discuss developing the content.