-
If the school where you teach is purchasing courseware, push to
become part of the process because all stakeholders need to have a
say in the decision (Palloff & Pratt, 2001).
-
If you are asked to participate in discussions about the evaluation
of courseware be sure to consider how well it complements the
content of the courses and how easy it is to use. For example, if
the course is a mathematics class where students will need to
complete mathematics problems, a whiteboard may be a necessary
component of the courseware. In a course about creating podcasts it
would be important that the courseware allowed for that. (Hosie &
Schibeci, 2005).(Palloff & Pratt, 2001).
-
The most important considerations when selecting or creating
courseware for online learning are, "[...that is easy for students
to access, use, and navigate" (Palloff & Pratt, 2001, p.26).
-
While it may seem like a good idea to include all sorts of new
technologies in a courseware site, if the online students struggle
to access it, it is useless. Palloff & Pratt state that "courseware
should be:
Functional offering the functions necessary to design and
deliver the course
Simple to operate for both faculty and students
User-friendly, visually appealing, and easy to navigate"
(2001, p.27).
|
