How Does Course Content Differ Across Modes of Instruction?
How are Course Component considerations different across modes of instruction?
Face-to-Face
A welcome message should kick off the first day of class. Course expectations and format should be explained clearly to students.
A traditional syllabus should follow all UWW guidelines (Links to an external site.) approved by the faculty senate. The syllabus should make clear all course expectations, deadlines, and grading bases.
Face-to-face sessions may use learning content like video clips, audio clips, physical objects, or laboratory equipment. Be sure to properly plan for safety, accessibility, and proper function before the class period.
Physical materials such as textbooks and articles should be available through the bookstore or library. Graduate classes require students to purchase books and may thus also post this information for students to purchase through other vendors. Be sure to follow copyright law in regards to copying of journal articles.
Hybrid
If the class begins with a face-to-face sessions, a welcome message during that first session would be like that in a purely face-to-face class. If the class begins with online interactions, follow the tips for an online welcome or "start here" module.
The syllabus for a hybrid course should follow all UWW guidelines (Links to an external site.) as with a face-to-face course. Additionally, a schedule clearly specifying which work is completed online and which sessions are face-to-face should be specified. Face-to-face sessions still require preparation (up to three hours per one hour of class time) in addition to the work required for online "sessions", so be sure to remind students of this.
Instructors will hopefully use rich content both in face-to-face and online classes using the suggestions from each of these modes.
Physical materials are often used in a similar manner to face-to-face classes. Be sure to communicate clearly with students when they are expected to read from content posted online and when they are to read from the physical materials for the online class periods.
Online
A "Welcome" or "Start Here" module should set the tone for the course by using the same format as the other modules (as much as possible). A media rich video welcome from an instructor can give a personal warmth to the introduction. To make an equity-focus apparent, be sure to acknowledge that students come to the class with a variety or prior experiences, situations for completing work, and other abilities and traits. Ideally the welcome should be accessible and have captions or a transcript available.
For a syllabus, the online integration offers the ability for instructors to integrate the syllabus into the course materials. For example, in Canvas, if due dates are assigned to all readings, videos, activities, and assignments, they auto-populate the course calendar. Many students use the upcoming deadlines displayed in Canvas as their tool for prioritization.
Online learning content consists of all of the readings, activities, and rich media included in course modules. Text can be more accessible to students with slow internet access at home. However, rich media provides greater depth of learning as well as instructor presence for many students as well. Instructors can create their own mini-lecture/mini-presentations through solutions like Kaltura (integrated into Canvas), QuickTime Pro, or PowerPoint with embedded audio narrations. Sometimes instructors can also link to pre-created multimedia content like publisher created content, Khan Academy, VideoLectures.net, iTunesU, Forum Network, Merlot, and Creative Commons.
Physical materials are important, even in an online course. A textbook may still be required. Make sure references to it in the online course are clear (don't assume students automatically link what online modules go with certain pages or chapters in the textbook). Additionally, journal articles may be included. If copyright laws permit, electronic copies may be linked from the campus's library collection or legal versions made available for download. Open Educational Resources (OERs) are designed as free textbook replacements, often with multimedia supplements. Resources include OpenStax, OER Commons, and CCCOER.