Developing and delivering a quality course for online delivery can be intimidating, particularly if the instructor has never taken an online course as a student nor seen what is possible in the online arena. SUNY Online has created this site to provide a sneak peek into some exemplary course elements across a variety of disciplines.
It’s not as difficult to create an exemplary course as you might imagine. Exemplary courses don’t necessarily require high-end multimedia productions or lots of bells and whistles. In fact, some exemplary courses have very little integrated technology beyond the learning management system itself! What seems to matter most to online students are a small number of achievable course design and delivery practices. In fact, the instructional practices highlighted below foster student learning and engagement; create a sense of community; address stated learning outcomes and objectives; and produce the largest individual effects on students’ overall course satisfaction.
“Net satisfaction (the proportion of students very or somewhat satisfied) for courses employing 0-2 of the recommended online instructional practices was 43 percent compared to 61 percent for courses using 3-5 of the practices, and 74 percent for courses using 6-8 of the practice.” (1)
Below you will see a number of courses that provide examples of the instructional practices highlighted above. Each course video is accompanied by a list of features that promote active and engaged learning.
Discipline: English/Literature
Campus: Jefferson Community and Technical College
Discipline: Human Resources
Campus: Ashland Community and Technical College
Exemplary features:
Discipline: Business
Campus: Washtenaw Community College
Exemplary features:
Discipline: Mathematics
Campus: Beaufort County Community College
Exemplary features:
Discipline: Psychology
Campus: Big Sandy Community and Technical College
Exemplary features:
Discipline: Health Sciences
Campus: Ashland Community and Technical College
Exemplary features: