• Recognize that Blackboard is an online delivery system
• Identify features, advantages and disadvantages of online delivery system
• Define instructional strategies and elements which comprise an instructional strategy
• Define instructional methods
• Define instructional format
• Define instructional management namely, learner-led, instructor-led, instructor-facilitate and self-paced
• Identify when and how to use groups
• Recognize selection of grouping should be based on performance objectives.
• Define types of interaction
• Recognize the most common instructional methods in online learning and list advantages, disadvantages for each method
• Select instructional method(s) for each learning component of your lesson
  
  

Introduction

You have analyzed your students, yourself and your lesson, created lesson goals and objectives and finally sequenced and organized your lesson. What next? It’s time to consider design, and more specifically, how to present content to your learner. But before considering content just yet, let’s think about content presentation relative to the other parts of your lesson.

Lessons may be broken down into 5 instructional components: Pre-instructional activities, Content presentation, Participation w/feedback, Assessment,
Follow-through activities. For the rest of this tutorial, we are going to use these terms to organize lessons. However this unit focuses on the instructional strategies, methods and formats used as you present your instruction.

Instructional Strategies – what are they?

Now that the delivery medium is out of the way, what is the next step to putting your lesson online? The next important step is selecting the instructional strategy you will use for your lesson. To answer this question, you have to first know what constitutes an instructional strategy. Think of instructional strategy as the BIG picture. Let us explain…

An Instructional Strategy is comprised of several elements namely the instructional method, format, management and finally the type of interaction that is designed for your lesson. Let us take Lecture as an example.

Example 1

Here Lecturing would be the instructional method used using the instructional format of face to face delivery. Lecture is an instructor-led management approach. The main interaction using this method is learner to instructor and the activity does not require learnerss to be split into groups. Analyzing instructional strategies for each instructional method used will become an important activity for an instructor while planning a lesson. Here are two more examples.

Example 2 and 3

For an in-depth overview of instructional strategy and its elements, review the narrated presentation.

What instructional method should I choose for my online lesson?

The first step in deciding upon the instructional strategy is to identify the instructional method that you plan to use. What are your options here?

Review the Instructional Method Matrix handout and their advantages and disadvantages. The table will provide you with examples of different instructional methods used here in online courses.

Online Delivery?

An important step in the instructional design process is to choose the medium to distribute your training. For example, will your training/teaching occur face-to-face, online, blended? Luckily for us, and for this course, this consideration has been decided. You are in this training because you are already assigned to teach in the online medium. Therefore understanding the complexities of teaching online, it advantages and disadvantages are important to your role as an instructor.

Blackboard is a learning management system (LMS) or course management system (CMS) that is in place at USF. Blackboard is designed to allow faculty and students to participate in classes delivered online or use online course materials to complement face to face courses (blended courses). It is crucial to remember that Blackboard brings together many online teaching tools such as content pages, discussion forums, emails, blogs, wikis, assessment etc to form an online delivery system. The integration of many teaching and learning tools is one of the strongest features of a course management system. Other Universities have employed other course management systems such as Web Vista, Angel, Desire2Learn, Moodle and Sakai. This Online Delivery Handout will explain asynchronous and synchronous elements, advantages and disadvantages of online learning format.
For a review of Blackboard’s tools, you can visit Module 2.

Learning Activity #1:
Using the Instructional Method Matrix handout, complete and submit the
Selection of Instructional Method Worksheet using the Blackboard Assignment Tool.
An ETA instructional designer will review your work and provide individual feedback.

End of Unit 4.1