Bad Online Courses = Drop-Outs
Another hazard: Students in many online courses tend to drop out, or
to do less well than they would have in a face-to-face course. A major
reason is that text designed for print is harder to read and respond to
on the computer monitor. British Columbia's Open Learning Agency (OLA)
is keenly aware of these problems, and its expertise is in strong demand
- not only in Canada, but in countries like Mexico and India, where OLA
is designing whole distance-education systems. Recently I spoke with David
Porter, executive director of learning systems at OLA, about what it takes
to write courses for the online medium. For many online writers, he told
me, the career path may be as "subject-matter expert" or as a media-smart
editor. "We use a team approach," Porter says, "that consists of an instructional
designer, instructional media producer, graphic artist, instructor/tutor,
and various editors (copy and substantive). In most cases we hire a subject
matter expert to write the materials, but our assumption is that this
person does not necessarily have a deep, formal background in ... the
appropriate use of instructional media." A subject-matter expert needs
"knowledge at a high level that is current and relevant," says Porter.
"Experience with distance and distributed learning is another criterion,
as is the ability to work in a team environment and take direction from
a project manager who sets design and writing tasks. For academic disciplines,
subject-matter experts might be professors or technically trained professionals
with Master's degrees or Ph.D.s." A writer might create brand-new material
(for niche courses) or "wrap" available resources (Web sites, texts, videos,
etc.) for more generic courses like introductory English or psychology.
The subject-matter expert works with the instructional designer, who functions
as a managing editor. Does it help to get formal training? "Instructional
design and course authoring techniques would be a good background to have,"
says Porter. (Training is often hard to find, however; OLA is launching
its own Learning Systems Institute this summer to provide just such skills.)
Avoiding the Shovelware Trap
Simply knowing different software applications may not be enough. "Most
software that includes a developmental environment for authoring online
has an implied instructional design embedded. Unfortunately, in many cases
this results in the automation of lecture notes and produces a kind of
shovelware that may or may not be effective," Porter says. Apart from
writing skill, what does a course writer need? "The biggest assets," he
says, "would be current, relevant knowledge of the subject area and its
creative presentation; the ability to function as a team member; and the
ability to write to specification. In this sense it would be more like
magazine writing than writing a novel. Unfortunately, I have seen projects
killed off at the first draft stage because the subject-matter expert,
while knowledgable, was way off the mark from an instructional perspective."
Keeping the learner in mind is critical. "The biggest job I have with
my instructional designers," says Porter, "is to help them understand
their role as project managers; to explicitly describe the course from
a learner/customer perspective in the planning document (business plan);
and to clearly map the expectations (via contract) with the course writer
for writing content, selecting resources, creating activities, and matching
assessment strategies with course outcomes - the logical links between
the beginning and end of a course." For online corporate training, emphasis
is on measurable results: Improved performance and demonstrated skill
mastery. What's more, says Porter, the results must advance organizational
goals or the financial bottom line. "Most companies spend big money on
training and expect measurable performance as an outcome. So training
programs tend to build performance measures into courses that can be validated
explicitly in a workplace context." Payment for OLA's online writers is
strictly fee for service, says Porter. "This can vary based upon their
knowledge, experience, online cachet, and their demonstrated ability to
work to specification in the team environment." Relatively inexperienced
subject-matter experts may learn through a series of small contracts,
he says. Regardless of experience, fees are negotiated case by case. "It
has a lot to do with whether there will be a lot of original writing,
or whether the course will simply be a 'wrap.' In all cases, we purchase
all rights. There is no royalty relationship." (Some other institutions
do pay on a royalty basis, however.)
Think Multi Media
You can't really specialize in one medium, says Porter. "We expect our
writers to think about print and electronic presentations of the
content in all projects. The reality is that learners are the driver
and they come in many flavors and from multiple situations. We expect
to produce our courses in multiple media - print, online, and CD
- and for each the expectations for presentation are slightly different."
And the career prospects? "The demand for effective course writers
in the electronic space is going to go way up over the next five
years," says Porter.
