Morrison, J., Adelstein, D., & Barbour, M. K. (2013, March). K-12 online course development: Examining developer perceptions. A paper presented at the annual conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, New Orleans, LA.

1. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
Jonathan E. Morrison, David Adelstein and Michael K. Barbour
Wayne State University

2. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
IVHS
∗ Supplemental program sponsored by the Illinois State Board of
Education
∗ Transitioned from purchased to self-developed content and
courses
∗ Served nearly 20,000 semester enrollments in eight years

3. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
IVHS Course Development
∗ Content Developers (Subject Matter Experts) from Virtual
High School
∗ IVHS Instructors - one to two
∗ IVHS Administrators as liaison to LMS
∗ Implementation Team from Learning Management System
∗ Project Manager
∗ Instructional Designer
∗ Graphics/Program Developer

4. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
Purpose
∗ To determine necessary support mechanisms for instructors in
course development process
Methods
∗ Course Review
∗ Web-based survey
∗ Phone Interview

5. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
RESULTS
∗ Instructors needed defined timelines and development framework
∗ Instructors preferred to retain creativity in teaching process
∗ Instructors would use templates if allowed to maintain flexibility
∗ Instructors preferred to work collaboratively as long as duties were
determined
∗ Instructors desired additional software training to increase delivery
methods in courses

6. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
Software training choices for instructors
∗Software title %
∗Dreamweaver/Frontpage 64.3
∗Fireworks/Photoshop 50.0
∗Flash 71.4
∗Java 57.1
∗Audio Programs 42.9
∗Video Programs 57.1

7. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
What the developers said…
∗ Course development experience…
∗ “a real positive experience”
∗ Collaboration experience…
∗ Divide “up the responsibilities…[and] review each other’s
information”
∗ “…you don’t catch everything yourself”
∗ “…talk back and forth and find solutions”

8. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
Course development tools and templates…
∗ “we sort of developed our own…”
∗ “we decided on our own that we wanted certain things and
they were repetitive throughout.
Course development tools (software and training)…
∗ “pull in wonderful real life situations” with access to develop
multimedia

9. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
Importance of Results
∗ Online course developers desire additional professional
development on interactive tools
∗ Online Instructors are making increased use of online
communication tools
∗ Online course developers desire some structure and
consistency in a design template, but want to maintain
flexibility and creativity

10. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
∗ Questions and/or Comments?

11. K-12 Online Course Development:
Examining Developer Perceptions
Contact Information
∗ Michael K Barbour
mkbarbour@gmail.com
∗ Jonathan Morrison
jomorri@yahoo.com
∗ David Adelstein
dave.adelstein@gmail.com