Getting Started
The first step before meeting with your assigned Learning Designer is to ensure you have signed the course development agreement sent to you by Miami Online, typically via email. Getting this signature kicks off the process.
Once you have signed the agreement, your assigned Learning Designer will reach out to you to schedule a kickoff meeting, which is the official beginning of your course development.
After the kickoff, the standard course production time is 10 to 12 weeks (3 months), sometimes referred to as a “cohort”. If you feel that you will need more time for development, please communicate this to the Learning Design Manager at Miami Online so that they can plan accordingly.
What to Prepare
Preparing ahead of time typically leads to a strong start to the development of your course. Before meeting with the Learning Designer, there are several items you will want to have available. It may also help to review the Essential Building Blocks of an Online Course post, which goes over many of the elements referenced below in greater detail.
Course Details
You will want to gather the basic details about your course, including:
- Course Title
- Course Code
- Course Author
- Official Course Description
- Is it a Microcredential Course? Y/N
- Course Collaborators (including embedded librarian)
- Miami Plan? Y/N
Key Components
Having gathered the details about your course, next you will want to have the following key components ready to share with your assigned Learning Designer, ideally right from the kickoff meeting:
Syllabus
You will want to have your course syllabus prepared for the kickoff meeting with your Learning Designer. The syllabus should include, at minimum, a course description, department contact information, descriptions of activities and assessments to be used in the course (exams, assignments, discussion boards, etc.), grading scale, late work policy, and expectations for course participation (student and instructor).
Learning Outcomes (Course-level and Module-level)
Whereas you will have your Department/Program Outcomes and Course Learning Outcomes pre-determined, you may choose to create your MLOs once you have determined the specific assignments and activities of your course.
Once you do create your MLOs, it is important to ensure these are connected to one or more of the Course Learning Outcomes, to ensure all of the content flows together.
Required Resources (Textbook, Publisher Content, etc.)
Consider textbooks that are free or low-cost for students. You are welcome to seek assistance from Miami Libraries to find these materials.
Supplemental Materials (Recorded Lectures, YouTube Videos, Online Articles, etc.)
Providing some recorded lectures in your course is a great way to be present in an online course and allow students to learn directly from you! You may still be brainstorming this information, and may or may not have lectures recorded, by the time you attend the kickoff meeting.
As a reminder, be sure to include closed captions on any videos that you include in your course, be those recorded lectures or YouTube videos.
Number of Modules
Consider the number of modules you plan to have in your course. This often varies depending on whether the course will be taught over the course of a full term, or only over a few weeks.
Module Topics
Consider how you might aim to cover one topic per module in your course. This helps keep the course content organized and engaging for students. You may still be brainstorming this information by the time you attend the kickoff meeting.
What if I want to build the course on my own, but still get help as needed?
Miami Online offers the opportunity for instructors to book a Course Design Consultation with a Learning Designer of their choice. These course-design-specific consultation sessions are offered virtually Monday through Thursday.
Note, Course Design Consultations offer same-day assistance and typically last for about one hour. As such, these offer more just-in-time support, whereas signing up to develop your course with a Learning Designer.
