• Agenda
• Participants
• Promises
• Problems
• Syllabus 
• Disciplinary Resources 
• Text
• E-Mail 
• Discussion Groups
• Assignments
• Exams-Quizes
• Projects
• On-Line Reading 
• Internet Skills 
• Simple Ways to Start 
• Web-Authoring 
• Web Design
• Frames

An on-line course is not simply a traditional course translated into Hyper-Text Markup Language. You need to re-think the content, dialogue, and requirements of your course to respond to both the opportunities and limitations of the Internet. The following pages are a check-list of elements to consider in designing your course. You could combine some on-line elements with some traditional elements for your course, depending on the level of expertise of your students (and you) in on-line technologies, as well as the particular needs of your course.  

The on-line elements of your course might consist only of a Web page with your syllabus, course requirements, and objectives, with the remaining elements taught with traditional methods.  

Advantages:  

• This is an easy way to start using the WWW before you're ready to try more ambitious on-line course work. 
• This is also an effective way to publicize your course to prospective students who are looking at course offerings in your department and on our campus. 

• If you do not require your students to use the Internet for the course, you will have to provide both an on-line syllabus and print copies of the syllabus -- increasing your work, instead of reducing it, and increasing the possibility of mistake. 
• If you require students to use the Internet to get the syllabus, but do not include other on-line elements for your course, you will find yourself making a huge investment of time for training, with minimal benefit for them. 
• For prospective students to learn about your course, you will need an effective plan for on-line publicity (e.g., hyperlinks to your course from the department's home page) and print publicity (e.g., the URL in department brochures and newsletters that will reach the target audience). Your on-line syllabus won't be worth the trouble, if nobody knows about it. 

Examples: 

Philosophy of Law 
Introduction to Ethics 

Previous	Home	Next