USU ITLS online program

The Utah State University's Instructional Technology & Learning Sciences (ITLS) department decided to move all classes online starting in 2010 for the Master's of Science degree in Instructional Technology. I was hired in August of 2009 by the ITLS Outlook team to help design the online program. I worked mainly under the guidance of Professor Sheri Haderlie and USU's FACT (Faculty Assistance Center for Teaching) Center's Kevin Reeve.

Contribution

I spent countless hours researching best practices of online courses. This was necessary because the ITLS online program will first be a hybrid program taught simultaneously on-campus and online in an asynchronous environment.

I worked on a team to layout what courses will be offered, and developed actual content and instruction for the following courses:

• INST 4010 Principles & Practices of Technology for Elementary Teachers
• INST 6245 Interactive Multi-Media Production
• INST 6100 Strategies and skills for online learning
• INST 6105 Distance Learning Tools
• INST 6350 Instructional Design Process 1
• INST 6505 Foundation of Instructional Technology
• INST 6520 Design & Development Studio 1
• INST 6540 Learning Theory

I worked in Blackboard to customize a framework that would give the new online course a fresh appearance (something that is normally lacking from Blackboard Vista online classes). To do this, I applied my knowledge of JQuery to access parts within Blackboard that are normally not editable due to Blackboard being a closed application made by Java.

Reflection

When I first started this job, I really did not know what to expect. It was a challenge to work with faculty as subject matter experts when their main priority is in their own personal research. I have learned many things through this job:

• how to prioritize my time
• how to have patience
• how to research and develop classes that are aligned with best practices
• how to present and demonstrate project outlines to an audience
• how to communicate to make sure my thoughts get through to a team
• how to communicate what is exactly needed to get what is required completed on time