Designing an Effective e-Learning Course: Experiences from an Open Polytechnic of New Zealand Course of 2013

Abstract

It is natural to assume that that e-learning is about the loneliness of the long-distance learner, who sits alone at a keyboard, working his or her way through readings, exercises and tests, and lacking in interaction. Tackling this misconception lies in an insight on effective e-learning design. Design is too often overlooked by course developers, or otherwise misunderstood – some e-learning designers think that as long as their course "looks good," the visuals are sufficient. This study, therefore, highlights design issues in e-learning with particular insight from experiences from Open Polytechnic of New Zealand course (5097: Instructional Design for e-Learning). It is hoped that this insight will stimulate better understanding of design issues in e-learning. // Paper ID: 356