Hitchhiker’s Guide to Course Development

Site Purpose

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Course Development is designed as a resource for individuals with varying levels of course design experience.

Individuals new to higher education can use this site to help design their first classroom based course integrating technology where appropriate.

Experienced instructors, being encouraged to place materials within a learning management system, can use this site to decipher the differences between Web-Presence, Web-Enhanced, Web-Centric and Online courses and how to plan courses for online delivery.

Instructors of online courses, looking for new ideas and ways to improve their course, can use the site to improve content development by finding sources for pre-developed content and ideas to improve student centered learning.

Instructional Designers and Instructional Support Staff can use this site as a reference for themselves or as a resource for the faculty they support.

Content

The navigational approach of each individual through this tutorial will vary depending upon where they are on the course development spectrum; however, we thought it would be helpful if some direction was provided. So here it is.

There are three (3) primary content sections within the Hitchhiker’s Guide to Course Development.

1. Planning Courses: Online and Classroom
2. Content Development
3. Assessment and Evaluation

As well as four (4) ancillary content sections.

1. Course Design Types: Web-Presence, Web-Enhanced, Web-Centric, and Online
2. Professional Resources and Associations
   
3. Other Tools and Techniques: Learning Management Systems and selected external resources
4. Web based Learning Units: links to learning units that available for adoption from around the internet.
   

Accessing the Content

Materials can be accessed by clicking on the links under “Course Categories” on the left-hand-side of the screen. Some of the modules will allow you to visit them as a guest, but others require a valid user account. If the information on this site is of interest to you, please take a moment to create a user account by clicking on the “Create new account” link located on the left-hand-side of this screen.

The first time that you login to the site or access an open module as a guest the copyright statement will be displayed. Please review the statement. If you agree to the abide by the copyright guidelines click the [Yes] button – the materials that you requested will then be displayed. If you do not agree with the copyright guidelines click the [No] button – the system will then log you out.

Once the copyright agreement has been accepted by an account it will not be displayed again. If you wish to review the agreement again it can be accessed by the clicking on the “Copyright” text on any screen or the link located on the right-hand-side of this screen.

Other Resources

At the end of each module, wherever possible, there are links to additional Resources and Tools that apply to the topic covered on that section. The ancillary sections provide access to even more resources as well as background information on a number of learning management systems and about the site itself.

When selecting external (off-site) links it is important to note that the link will open in the same window as the Hitchhiker site as required to meet accessibility standards. Simply use the browser back button to return to this site or right click the link to open it in a new window.

News Feeds and other RSS Content

Throughout the site there are selected RSS feeds that will assist you in keeping abreast of what other educators have to say about teaching and learning. For example several feeds are listed on the right-hand-side of this screen.

Many of the tutorial sections within the guide also display feeds that complement the topic under discussion in that area. If you have a favorite blog, podcast site or wiki that you would like to share with this community please post a link and short description to the "Your Recommendations" forum.

Site Links

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Course Design is fluid and new information will be added as it is developed. That being said, narrative such as list items not currently hyperlinked are areas where new content is under development.

Site Feedback

Finally, we would appreciate it if you could complete the User Survey after you have explored the site. The responses we receive will help us make modifications to the site to better serve the needs of the intended audience. If you have any recommendations for content not currently covered within the guide, please feel free to contact the site designers through the "Suggestions" forum.

Thank you and enjoy the site.