Choosing a course design approach

Our team decided to propose and design the course called Advanced Modelling and Character Animation. The main reason for choosing this course was the positive feedback from students on the 3D Animation course they study in the second level. This encouraged us to consider a follow up course for the third level which would provide the students with advanced modelling and animation skills, preparing them better for the industry.

Based on the students’ feedback and animation industry demands, we managed to identify what learners need from this course. From the five curriculum planning models proposed by Knight (2002 p 170-171), rational planning and assessment-led planning were considered for this course as design approaches as both models start with the identification of learner needs. We have decided to adopt the rational planning model as it is suitable for a team exercise on course development: being a structured model, each aspect of developing the course can be set as a separate group task (e.g. learner needs, learning outcomes, teaching strategies, etc). The course design approach was discussed with my mentor, which agreed with Knight’s argument that in real life the course design approach would not be as structured.

Moore and Kearsley‘s (1996) general principle (see below) were discussed in the last group meeting as a good guidelines to evaluate the course design.

The course rationale was outlined as a course for original and creative minds who want to explore specialist areas of animation and develop a portfolio ready for industry.

References

Knight, P. (2002) Being a Teacher in Higher Education, Buckinghamshire: Open University Press ISBN 0335209300

Moore, M., and G. Kearsley. 1996. Distance education: A systems view. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.

Twelve general principles to consider when evaluating any course design: Moore and Kearsley (1996)

1. Good structure—Course materials must be well defined and display internal consistency among different parts of the course.
2. Clear objectives—Identify suitable learning experiences and subsequent evaluation.
3. Small unit— The content and course organization should be presented in small units, preferably that correspond to a single instructional objective or learning activity.
4. Planned participation—Opportunities for student interaction should be embedded throughout the course materials.
5. Completeness—Extensive commentary or examples should be provided.
6. Repetition—Important ideas are reinforced to compensate for distractions and memory limitations.
7. Synthesis—Important ideas are woven together (usually in summaries).
8. Stimulation—Materials capture and hold the attention of students through varied formats, content, or guest participation.
9. Variety—Format and media variety are present to appeal to student interests, backgrounds, and learning styles.
10. Open-ended—Assignments, examples, and problems allow students to adapt the content to their own situations.
11. Feedback—Regular feedback is provided on assignments and student progress in the course.
12. Continuous evaluation—Effectiveness of materials, media, and instructional strategies are routinely assessed using a variety of methods.

Choosing a course to design

Our group had an initial meeting in which we discussed how to approach the assignment. We set up weekly meetings and discussed general ideas for designing a course.

The Computing Science Department of our university is continuously updating and changing courses to reflect the progress in the industry. Our team investigated new areas of the information technology in which students would be interested. Three main ideas for new courses were brought forward:

1. “Intensive foundation in computing”: a one month summer course which would teach to prospective computing students, academics from other schools and interested general public.
2. “Advanced Modelling and Character Animation”: a level three option. The course would be designed mainly for multimedia students who want to specialise in this domain. Within the multimedia department there is a level two course on animation (3D Animation), but no option to carry on this material at level 3.
3. “Artificial Intelligence and Reasoning in computing”: a Masters level course which would reflect the research currently carried out in the computing science department. And prepare future PhD students and researchers.

The next group task was set to reflect on the proposed ideas and make our final choice in the next meeting.

Using a blog

The idea of using a blog for summative assessment is welcome, as a blog can be accessed at any time and from any place with an Internet access. There is no wasting paper and no possibility of losing your log in paper format or electronic format (i.e. memory stick).

E-learning is a rapid, effective and less expensive form of training and development. (Schutte, 1996; Karon, 2000). Awareness in the e-learning field should be maintained and lecturers should respond to the changing environment and new opportunities. I believe a web-blog works well in that it engages students in considering their objectives for each session and I am considering using this assessment technique in the future.

“E-learning could become the major form of training and development in organizations as technologies will improve to create a fully interactive and humanized learning environment.” (Wentling, 2000, p 2)

References

Karon, R. L. (2000). Bank solves compliance training challenge with Internet. Elearning,

January-March.

Schutte, J. G. (1996). Virtual teaching in higher education: The new intellectual

superhighway or just another traffic jam?