Essentials of Online Course Design: A Standards-based Guide

In spite of the proliferation of online learning in higher education, creating online courses can still evoke a good deal of frustration, negativity, and wariness in those who need to create them.

Essentials of Online Course Design takes a fresh, thoughtfully designed, step-by-step approach to online course development. At its core is a set of standards that are based on best practices in the field of online learning and teaching. Pedagogical, organizational and visual design principles are presented and modeled throughout the book and users will quickly learn from the guide’s hands-on approach. The course design process begins with the elements of a classroom syllabus which, after a series of guided steps, easily evolve into an online course outline.

The guide’s key features include:

• a practical approach informed by theory
• clean interior design that offers straightforward guidance from page one
• clear and jargon-free language
• examples, screen shots, and illustrations to clarify and support the text
• a Companion Website with examples, adaptable templates, interactive learning features, and online resources
• a checklist of online course design standards that readers can use to self-evaluate.

Essentials of Online Course Design serves as a best-practice model for designing online courses. After reading this book, readers will find that preparing for online teaching is, contrary to popular belief, a satisfying and engaging experience. The core issue is simply good design: pedagogical, organizational, and visual.

Marjorie Vai has been directly involved with online education and training for almost 25 years. Most recently, she designed and developed the online Masters Degree Program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MATESOL) at The New School, New York.

Kristen Sosulski is the Academic Director of Distance Learning at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.