Developing Online Instruction: Partnership between Instructors and Technical Developers

Asynchronous instruction via the Internet is fast becoming the educational delivery mode of choice by employed professionals who are unable to conveniently access higher education on traditional campuses. K-12 schools are also finding online instruction applicable to the elementary and secondary students and to the provision of staff development. A key to this movement is the capability of schools and institutions of higher education to design and develop online instruction. Educators possess the curriculum content and instructional design skills, but few have the technical capabilities to place instruction online. While there is a growing number of technicians with the technical skills, they often lack experience in instructional design. The authors share their experience in designing, developing and teaching two graduate level courses fully online using audio streaming technology. The focus of their discussion is on the team approach to development where the instructor possesses the content and the instructional design expertise, and other team members are skilled in technical development. The observations shared were derived from journals kept by the team and the collection of formative and performance data. The context of their development efforts are described, the team process is reviewed, and suggestions offered on how best to engage instructional and technical developers in a team approach to the creation of online instruction.