Thinking About the Context of Your Course

Thinking about the context of your course

Completed sample LDA 1: Thinking about the context of your course

Why is the course required?

A needs assessment is carried out to determine if there is a necessity for a new course or new learning materials to be developed.For example, it may be that there is a problem with the current course or that there is something new that students need to learn.

Write briefly about the need for the new course or unit to be developed
You need to determine if there is an existing version of the course you are designing. If so, what is the perceived purpose for this revision, new version or entirely new course? Is there a new audience coming into play? Is there a need for flexibility and distance? Is online education one possibility or are there others, such as blended learning?

‘Multimedia in Agricultural Communication’ would be a new course for undergraduate students majoring in agriculture communication at Purdue University. The two professors who oversee the programme want to expand and update their current course offerings and outline a need for a course addressing the multimedia demands and skills required in order for today’s agricultural communications professional to be successful. The professors would like the course to be flexible, adaptable, and possibly online for counterpart programmes, such as that at The Ohio State University, to implement into their programmes.

What is the context of the course?
Next, consider the external factors influencing your course design (for example, professional standards, accreditation, disciplinary requirements, geographical and cultural factors).

Describe your online course/unit.

In today’s communications industry, the lines are blurring between reporters, photographers, editors, print, digital, and video. Along with the growth of multimedia tools such as smartphones and iPads, professional communicators are now expected not only to write a report, but also to take photos, shoot video, and use social media to communicate the new information. ‘Multimedia in Agricultural Communication’ would be an undergraduate course designed to prepare agriculture communications students for using multimedia tools and social media to meet the demands of today’s communication trends.

How does the context relate to the larger environment?

The ‘Multimedia in Agricultural Communication’ course is offered within the Agricultural Communication programme at Purdue University.

What is the course purpose or course aim?
Provide a broad description of the purpose of the course in terms of what learners will take away from the experience.

To develop a hybrid course that introduces learners to multimedia concepts and usage in agricultural communication. Undergraduate students obtaining a degree in agriculture communication need to be aware of, and gain experience with, today’s multimedia communication. It is important for students in the course not only to learn communication theories and tactics for using new multimedia and social media tools, but also to have experience putting these principles in to practice through hands-on experience developing multimedia communications projects, trends and tools.

Learning environment analysis

The learning environment includes both physical and pedagogical characteristics. The goal of learning environment analysis is to describe where the course/unit will be used, how it will be used, and how it will be sustained in its use.

For our purposes we will also need to know if the larger environment in which the course sits will be fully online or blended.

The two main aspects of an environmental analysis are the learning environment and the support environment. The learning environment refers to the classroom, office, home or laboratory where the learning and teaching occurs. The support environment refers to the factors outside the 'classroom' (class, office, laboratory, etc.) that support the successful completion of the course.For example, having a reserved computer lab available to students every other week for drop-in help sessions, and the need for that computer lab to have the proper software.

Consider the following questions and give responses both for thelearning environment and the support environment (sample answers have been provided for the first question). Please note, you do not have to answer each one.

Learning environment / Support environment

Where will the course be used (all possible sites; in class, in lieu of F2F class)?

/ The teacher and students will meet face-to-face every other week. F2F classes will consist of discussions of readings, guest speakers, and technology/tool demos. Weeks that are online will also include discussions of readings. Online weeks will also serve as time for students to check out multimedia tools such as iPads, cameras, etc. to work on their multimedia projects. / A student group will be created on the LMS/VLE and also on Facebook (or other social media site). Within the group page/thread, students will be able to post queries and suggestions – and will be able to get help and support from their peers.

What will the lifespan of the course be? How long will the course be used until it is changed or withdrawn?

/ Note: based on above response this may change from a blended to a fully online course in alignment with needs of students/instructor. / Note: based on above response this should be revisited annually given development of new collaboration technology. Is Facebook still the preferred social media for students?

When will the course be used by learners (morning/evening, semester)?

/ It is anticipated that the online portion of the course could occur, or rather be utilised by students at any time of the day within a given semester. At the end of the semester the course will be 'closed' to students. / It is anticipated that Facebook or other social media environment or support environment will be utilised by students at any time of the day within a given semester and revisited after the course closes. In some cases the students may continue on with this portion of the course long beyond the course end date.

What are the purposes of course use (teaching, job requirement/enhancement, and reference)?

/ The purpose is twofold: enhancing necessary job skills and references for future coursework. / n/a

What are patterns of course use (irregular/infrequent/ scheduled)?

/ The course will be piloted in the first semester it is offered and then scheduled for each autumn semester. / n/a

Do learners need particular training to be able to use the environment effectively?

/ Students are anticipated to be new to the online environment and therefore will need training and/or tutorials available to them. We plan to incorporate several tasks to allow students to practice the necessary skills. / This will be a student-driven support environment. We do not anticipate the need for training in the use of Facebook.

Who will disseminate the course via delivery? (Are you working with the teacher or a coordinator who will not be teaching, etc.?)

/ It is anticipated that a departmental coordinator will oversee several sections of the course with each section being taught by a different teacher. / While the Facebook support environment will be established by either the coordinator or a teacher, only one Facebook group will be created for all sections.