I filled in some gaps in my knowledge and the class stimulated ideas on how I want to do my class.
At the beginning of the class, we received a long list of things to do. While we weren't expected to do it all in one week, that fact was not clear. It almost overwhelmed me into dropping the class. I'm really glad I didn't though. I learned a lot even if I did not get a class up and running.
Inclusion of overall & inclusive considerations, plus specific details and essential links, e.g. the Glossaries. Understandable for a beginner such as myself + extensive opportunities to expand learning.
There is so much content, as a beginner I think it should be a 12-week course. I would gladly pay the $ cost because there is so much more I could learn from the links given time to fully utilize them. However, thank you all for a very informational learning opportunity! DLA
Resources on finding popular classes, sample blackboard lessons with explanation of how to do it, talk about outlining and how web classes are differently laid out
start each week with a discussion topic from teacher, so we have something built in to discuss
LOTS of Resources! Plenty of references and links to other sources to help us and get us thinking about possibilities. Thorough, detailed explanations.
I use a Mac, so Internet Explorer was not an option for me. I did go to the library, as suggested, but still was unable to download (or even view) the Web-safe 216-color palette from the Lesson 8 on producing your own graphics. I did find the lessons very interesting and full of valuable information. Good job! Thanks Gary!
The wealth of information was very valuable for future study as I continue to build online classes.
It would be very helpful to actually have this a class with assignments that needed to be met and evaluated by the instructor. There was little sharing between students on the discussion board and even less sharing about the classes that had been created so we could learn from each other.
The generous use of supplementary materials and resources was especially appreciated; the break-down into homogenous and well-defined Lessons was good; loved the cartoons; the Instructor's inspirational, You-can-do-it tone.
More personal feed-back and dialogue with the Instructor would have helped with the sense of isolation I sometimes felt; short quizes on the order of the final quiz with the correct answers throughout the course; some mock-ups(e.g. on the Black-board system)using the current course as a sample.
It was very well structured. Basics points carefully underlined. Best lesson of all: #9 on streaming multimedia. It was just pack of great details. It was also a very motivating lesson I just couldn't wait to finish it so I could try your ideas with my own material. Once I did I was very satisfied with it. Lesson 9 to me was worth the value of the entire course alone. I was looking on the following lessons for something similar but I couldn't find it.
Other lessons that I enjoyed in lesser degree were 6 through 8, 10 and 12. Same reason, I was able to apply them to my own material in my own computer/ server/etc.. and see the results. The other lessons were just informational only, nice to know.
The first lessons are too slow. They need something practical to apply to one's own material/ project. I got a little motivated until lesson 6. #9 got me really going but then lesson 10 and the others slowed down a little again although they kept me going to the end.
Like I say, lesson 9 was worth more than the cost of the course. Thank you for the oportunity.
All the extra links to hlep in the future.
Have a few more assignments on building the website.
The number of sites and the resources that are available -- especially the free ones.
1)You want discussion? Ask pointed questions.I didn't feel I had anything to say. 2)I wasn't fully prepared to work on my own course, Perhaps you could suggest people work on something silly (like how to make a bed)just to get a "feel". It might help remove inhibitions and stress over content. I'm sorry I didn't think of it for myself before today.
I appreciated your honesty, your tell-it-like-it-is personal experience, your expertise, all the resources you provided, the well organized content, mixing words with graphics, your quick response to Posts. Good job!
I think the biggest drawback for me is that you made it sound easier than it actually is to have a class online by the end of the 4th Lesson; at least as far as I remember, that was what your course overview stated. I think more realistically by the end of the 8th class.
Maybe try prodding a bit harder to get people to place classes up there. As a class, communications began dropping off at the point you asked us to Post our class.
This really opened my eyes to all of the technology available for teachers who instruct online. I really had no idea there were so many products available, and this helped me achieve my goals of learning more about this style of teaching.
Offering some evaluation of assignments would motivate students to complete them and submit to the discussion board. The assignments do not have to be lengthy, but some feedback would be helpful for newbies.
The variety and depth of information on the subject of WBT was impressive, and the many educational URL's you took us to will be my library on this subject going forward.
I think you pulled together as good a course as one can pull together on WBT. I just don't think the personal touch and interaction that comes with the classroom can be duplicated, so WBT will always be lacking to some degree. I still consider WBT a reasonable alternative method of presenting course work.
I discovered a wealth of information I never knew existed regarding Web Based Training. I am an affiliate instructor for the University of Idaho teaching online courses for middle and upper division students. I would highly recommend this course to anyone contemplating, or teaching on line courses.
This was a great course. I don't have any suggestions at this time.
hard to say - just a very uninspirirng course...
Liked that the lessons provided lots of information. Supplemental information. Easy to do lessons on own time to fit in with busy schedules.
More scheduled time to chat. The discussion board was good. Wished there was more input from other students. My first experience with web based class was favorable. Thank you.
The availability of information regarding WBT.
As a working mother of two children, I found it very hard to set time aside at home to complete the lessons. I would prefer to attend a face to face class where I was required to attend and held accountable for the work. I did not find the discussion board useful. I believe, an in class live discussion would have been much more productive. Although the class provided a tremendous amount of information.
The valuable information and many sites to visit as part of creating on online course. It made me realize the inline training is not for me.
Lots of great information in the course content and in the links to resources - both hands on software and reference material. Lots to work with going forward!
The course content was very well written with lots of links to other sources which leads to credibility. The content depth was great, much more than I anticipated when I signed up - so Thank You!
The discussion boards may have been utilized more if the were directed questions to begin a discussion. Having the students pose a question, just did not seem to work.
A tremendous amount of information.
You should review all links prior to offering the class to make sure they still work properly. In addition, I'd like to see a quiz offered for each lesson (unless I missed them). It would keep me on my toes better. Unfortunately, I was not able to complete the class in the time allotted, but probably will take you up on retaking the class. Thanks so much for all your help Gary.
Plenty of information but it was presented in short bursts to be "do-able." Nice design of the pages.
An unscored quiz at the end of each lesson to make us aware of what to expect for the final exam. Fix the typos.
great links and resources easy to navigate nice mix of media clear & concise language
answer specific questions raised in discussion section
we never had the chance to see others' courses and to have mine evaluated
The learning materials were engaging. I got a good feel for the material using available time (which was in short supply). It got me started on developing a class while I was taking this class. I learned a lot in a short time and have lots of great reference materials to go back to. Thanks!
It's easier to ignore a non-credit online class than a face-to-face class! The instructor did a nice job trying to get students engaged and I did respond to all the emails by checking the site.
Lots of supplementary material
There are many typos in the text.
Quick communication with instuctor. Good choice websites.
Clearer directions with importing items to blackboard.
Convenience
Registration needs to be processed in a timely manner. I only had time to complete this course during the summer because I was off from teaching public school. I signed up in early June so I could begin the session on time. However, I was finally notified in mid July that I was given a refund and that I could join the class for free. This I was expected to catch up with lessons 1-8 and still complete the course on time. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time and was only able to print copies of the course and try to ,master knowledge of the course in the upcoming weekends. I regret registrating for this course and should have found a more reliable class to join. I will not be recommending this course to anyone else in the future.
Thank you - I have no suggestions - this was a great course.
instructors leadership and interest. This class was way more information than I needed, but I'm glad the information was provided.
Goood class and good structure, but shouldn't be attempted unless a committment of time is made to the course material.
this was way over my head most of the time largely because I took on other responsibilities and attempted to pursue other interests at the same time. Couldn't devote the time needed. Even so, I got what i needed from the material.
I enjoyed reading the material and following the suggested links.
I got my moneys worth many times over.
I LOVED THE MATERIAL.
(I did not do all of the exercises.) I am not as interested in the instructional design theories as much as the how to. I have my own style and will try to adopt it to the web.
However, it was still nice to read about the theory of how to do it "right".
I would produce a video to watch instead of reading that would discuss the lecture. I am more of a visual learner.
With my busy schedule, it is all about being able to do the work in my own time, at my own pace. This particular course filled a huge need that I had not seen before. Great job!
I was hopeful we would cover more was to develop the course material for a web-based class. Some of this was covered in lesson ten, but this course was mostly about the technical side of developing a web-based class (which I also needed!).
It was a good introduction to the topic. An advanced level of this course would maybe sell?
Have your text edited for grammar, punctuation, etc., as it was distracting for me.
Gary seems like a likable, amiable fellow.
May work for those with "Web-Based Training" interests, rather than for Teaching on the Internet
1. Include content on web-based conferencing and using Powerpoint presentations over the web
2. Enhance content by being clear on what the main points of each lesson are, vs. interesting sidelights. As technical details appeared, it was not always clear if these were tangents or vital pieces of information. The narrative style of the lessons, while folksy or endearing, tended to be less clear about what the key learnings were supposed to be.
4. Include a few group chats or discussions, in a synchronous manner in order to create some dialog among students.
5. Revise Course Offering description and retitle it Web-Based Training, until web conferencing and online meetings are adequately covered in the content.
I liked being able to actually develop a class, perform all of the steps and see how it looks.. The additional links and material really added to this class
I think it should be longer..not the material there is plenty of material.. I liked going to all of the links that took a lot of extra time. Personally I took this class on my own and had to "find" personal time to do it. I wish I had more time and the class was stretched over a longer period for those students like me.
I also wish I could have "saved" the audio files on my IPOD or other device. AT work even at lunch I could not access due to "security" and firewalls.
Thanks for a very well informed course!! I enjoyed it immensely!!
I would recommend this class to friends and co-workers.
Flexibility, no assignments due at specific times
The strong points were the links for me. The class opened my eyes to many options on how to supply my class information to my web conferencing classes.
Update your documentation on how to set up Blackboard. I realize you want the class to figure it out. But, I can't get away with that with my courses.
It took what I considered complex technology and made it simple and easy to do. Plus there were many information resources available to enhance the learning. I enjoyed starting of with the humor to feel less stressed whne jumping in to the lesson.
I discovered that I needed face to face learning as an add on. This would have been perfect for me if I had the lessons for a week and then some face to face discussions. When I got stuck, I had a hard time comprehending how to get unstuck. I know there was the discussion board but I didn't know how to distinctly "tell" my experience and wasn't sure what was appropriate and what was not after the "technology" talk.
This is the first time I've taken a course online, so I have no benchmark to respond to question 1 above. The strong point of the course for me is the abundance of links. I didn't have time to explore all of them, but I've copied them and look forward to spending more time learning from them.
I wish there had been more activity on the discussion board. At the beginning when people were posting, I was a little behind and didn't post much. Later when I could post more, there seemingly wasn't anyone on the discussion board any more. I know this was a small class, but too bad the community component was missing.
Links and info
Using link text instead of just "click here" so that it can be copied and pasted if needed.
All of the resources. The instructor had us jump right in by creating a class online. That gave me impetus to work on my online academy classes.
I like to read what others have to say on the discussion boards. I am more of a reader than a participator. I learn from others.
I am so new at this, I don't feel I can judge what should or not should not be in this class. this was my first on-line course and I really enjoyed it.
Lots of reference materials... links to websites, articles
Having specific questions that should be answered on the discussion page.
Organization, presentation, information presented,and discussions.
None...I thought course was well presented and definitely worth the cost!
Gary trying to get the discussion board going...good links to broader info
maybe do one lesson for the class as a webnar or web conference
Teleconferencing can be introduced .
For me the technological information. I don't expect to teach for a company and already have teaching experience so while that part of the course was interesting it wasn't the most practical for me. I did appreciate the information on the "how to do it" much more than the "why" or "what."
Again for me, it would be to have more information and practice on the technology available and how to use it.
I liked all of the resources. I also liked the real audio and would have liked to hear more of Gary sharing his experiences. I think that was one of the best parts of the course. I think it was well organized. It wasn't too overwhelming. I think there should have been some sort of homework with each lesson rather than with just a few of them. I feel I learned some good things from this course -- and the resource links were incredible.
Some of the links did not appear to work. It would be nice to see in parentheses the actual url for the website in addition to a statement to "click here".
The amount of information provided in the lessons. The amount of information made available through links.
I really appreciated taking a WBT about WBT. I think it is a great example of teaching and learning. It is important to experience what your potential students may experience. Another strong point was the instruction itself. I appreciated how "personable" a feel the language had.
I am a quiz person. It would have helped to have more assessment- it would have helped me be more focused.
The teaching modules, Gary's stories of how he got started in WBT, it made me think how using WBT can overcome barriers to providing continuing education, e.g. distance. I enjoyed Gary's humor, really cool gifs at the beginning of each lesson, the instructional design, ability to get me motivated to start my own web-based business, (I met with 13 social workers today who all thought teaching the topic content via WBT, that I have proposed, will be beneficial to clients/students), seeing the benefit of e-learning. I am going to miss this class, so I will be sure to sign up for another WBT from Growth Strategies!
I loved the course!
The assignments that had us actually creating a web page and all of the informational aspects were great!
Nothing-it was a really good class. Thank you so much.
Learning at your own pace
Make the time for this class a little longer
The content was well paced and where appropriate there were links to a whole array of resources.
This follows on from Q5, at times there were so many links and resources that one felt overwhelmed. I feel it would have been useful to have some of the resources linked together at about lesson 9 or 10 to show how the various pieces can be joined together from the various lessons. In other words, a complete web site with a page for each student showing the courses he has taken and or needs to take, a couple of demo lessons and possibly an automated test or quiz. The same idea would have been useful for the Creating Web Sites Course.
Gary is an awesome instructor. He explains details so I could understand the concept. I have taken many of his classes, enjoyed each one, and love his sense of humor! He gives very clear instructions and expectations. Thank you!
Maybe a little more description of computer terms. I wasn't familiar with some of them, but was easily able to find out what they are.
Related links.
A method to organize the links provided.
Easy to read. Material presented clearly and logically. Gary modeled the content he was teaching. Fun graphics. A huge database of extra resource links.
Allow students to move faster through the course rather than waiting for days between releases.
Lots of materials. Covered a lot of ground.
U of Wisconsin links, I forgot which lesson, were so very helpful and more.
There is more that caught my attention, but my mind is a blank right now. Too bad I did not keep a journal throughout this class with my feelings and things of interest that I found. It would have helped me to answer this question better.
This course was a fabulous introduction on how to design, develop, and implement an e-Class. We have a three day class at work on this. I have not taken it, yet I think your class is excellent and most likely goes beyond what is being introduced to us at work.
Transfer the course to Moodle. (1) It gives you experience with a new LMS. (2) It is free. (3) You can talk intelligently about it, from experience and weave this into your existing course. (4) Gives you experience taking something from one LMS to another LMS.
I love all the links to other resources, glossaries, etc. Keep it up-to-date. I also love the links to other e-Class training from universities and colleges. Gives me opportunity to learn more and hear what other people are discovering and learning about implementing e-Classes and staying current with the cutting edge of what is going on in this world of e-Classes.
Consider Thiagi's 4-Door Approach to e-Class training, http://www.thiagi.com/
Find a way for the students to keep a journal during your class, so you as the instructor can monitor the progress of your students and detect any shortcomings in the training or with your students' progress. Write me if you figure this out. I would love to know how to implement and experiment with the journaling idea.
1) I could do the lessons at times and places when I had a block of time available and I was motivated and focused to learn. 2)I could spend as much time as needed on the tasks and I did not feel pressure to keep up with others. 3)I could do the lessons in my jamies and take a break whenever I needed. 4) I could do the lessons while on call and not have to get anyone to cover for me.
The class content is targeted for those teaching in business environments. Although the same basic principles would apply to more factual and science based teaching, I would have liked have seen more examples of how to set up web-based lessons with this type of material.
How comprehensive the course was. At times almost overwhelming. The participation and availability of the instructor.
I am not sure we made the best use of the Instructor's knowlede and skills to address the issues each of us may be dealing, althrough the opportunity to do so was there.
How best to get the students to take advantage of that opportunity is the question.
You might consider reducing the number of links and put those into a reference bilography of useful sites and articles related to Teaching on the Internet. The lessons themselves were well structured and follow in an organized sequence so I won't change any of that.
Perhaps the addition of some problem solving teaching on the internet cases, so the student could express how the would handle it and why.
The involvement and "online presence" of the instructor was outstanding.
Sampling what your students may use and learning about sourcs on the web.
It exposed me to resources that I had no idea existed. Most of them free.
I think the course description should give a clearer picture of the time investment. I ended up spending much more time on this class than I anticipated.
Teaching on the Internet was an excellent introduction to handling a web site of this type. Interaction between instructor, other students, and conference capability was beneficial as soon as the students learned how to manipulate basic functions. The information provided in text form for each student was superior. The introductions were well written and comfortable to read. Students are made to feel that they are welcome and instructors are ready to help them. Blackboard was a gold mine. Inspiration was helpful. All links were interesting and readily available. The scope of what is possible was very well done.
Splitting the course in two might be beneficial. For those familiar with using the computer, but new to internet instruction, have a Basic Teaching on the Internet course. Follow it with an Advanced Teaching on the Internet course. That would warn the student that there are levels of competency needed to begin with. It would prevent a course from losing students who couldn't keep up and who had to leave because of a bad experience.
Having been a supervisor of secondary-school and adult- education student teachers in my past, I believe that your course instructors must remember that, when subject matter fails to be understood, the fault can rest not only with the student who fails to understand. Most importantly, that is not the whole picture. Failure of a student to understand can also come from the instructor's methodology in teaching the subject matter. Good teaching requires an instructor's constant self-examination. Knowledge of subject matter is crucial; but conveying it in a learnable way is equally crucial. When students don't grasp content, who's failing? The student? Or the teacher? Without this line of thinking, on the part of the instructor, professionalism vanishes.