Week Two: Composing Clear Online Assignments
Materials in online classes, especially assignments, must be clearly written. Writing for an online environment requires that we pay close attention to providing clear directions, instructions, and resources that assist students in completing writing assignments.
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Online writing assignments must be clearly written, using "straightforward, plain, and linguistically direct language that clearly communicates course requirements" (OWI Example Effective Practice 3.1). However, few instructors receive direct instruction themselves on how to write assignments and instructional materials that meet these requirements.
This week, we will be reading chapters in Beth Hewett's Reading to Learn and Writing to Teach which identify key goals and strategies for creating clear online writing assignments. Then, we will draft an online writing assignment using the principles that she discusses. Finally, we will be sharing these online writing assignments and providing comments for each other (using the comments tool in Google Docs) to help identify strengths and challenges in those online writing assignments. |
2.1 Activity: Online Writing Assignment
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The heart of your online course are the assignments that you create in order to help students reach the goals and outcomes of the course. Building on the brainstorming work that you did in Week One, you are going to write an online assignment for a first-year writing class (. To do this:
Once you have completed developing the assignment, post it to the 2.1 Discussion Board in Blackboard. To do so:
Do not just paste the URL of the Google Doc into your message. The Google Doc should be a working hyperlink (that opens in a new window) that your classmates can click on to access your document. To create a working hyperlink to a Google Doc in a Blackboard Discussion Forum:
For more on the differences between presentational and content delivery, see Cason, Jacqueline and Patrician Jenkins. “Adapting Instructional Documents to an Online Course Environment.” In Online Education 2.0: Evolving, Adapting, and Reinventing Online Technical Communication. Kelli Cargile Cook and Keith Grant-Davie, eds. Amityville, NY: Baywood, 2013. 213-236. [I can get anyone who is interested a scan of this book chapter.] |