Conquering the Content: A Step-by-Step Guide to Online Course Design (review)

A recent study performed by the Sloan Consortium found that “nearly twenty percent of all U.S. higher education students were taking at least one online course in the fall of 2006” (Allen & Seaman, 2007, p. 1). Also, virtually all of the institutions participating in the study expected their online offerings to continue growing (Allen & Seaman, 2007).

Given this pattern, Robin M. Smith’s Conquering the Content: A Step-by-Step Guide to Online Course Design is a timely resource for instructors looking to effectively convert their course content from the traditional classroom to a virtual one. Smith is an instructional design specialist with over 10 years of experience in web-based learning and in teaching online. She has designed more than 60 web-based courses and is a certified blackboard trainer, virtual instructor, and distance education professional. This first-time author’s expertise in online course design is evident in the easily digested directions, straightforward action items, and links to relevant research in education, adult learning, web-based learning, and brain and learning theory.

The book is organized into seven chapters, each beginning with an overview of learning outcomes and activities (a “learning guide”) and concluding with action steps for the reader. Chapter 1 contrasts the online learning environment with the traditional face-to-face classroom. As an example of this book’s practical approach, the action steps for this chapter include identifying an online course to design, gathering existing course resources, and exploring existing online courses.

After establishing the book’s context, the next two chapters address topics instructors should consider before embarking on course design. Chapter 2 introduces readers to the “learning guide,” the tool that is at the heart of Smith’s online course design strategy. The learning guide is designed to facilitate student learning, oversee course maintenance, and guide course expansion. Chapter 3 introduces a fresh process for course design that drives learning activities using outcomes and appropriate assessments. The action steps recommended in this chapter push readers to develop their own learning guide by identifying course learning outcomes, linking these outcomes with assessments techniques, and brainstorming new learning activities to achieve these ends.

Smith’s greatest contribution to online course design appears in Chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 addresses how students experience an online course and how organization and learning guides can help students successfully navigate their way to achieve course outcomes. This chapter could serve as a stand-alone guide to help instructors conceptualize how to organize course content.

Chapter 5 complements it by explaining how to design learning activities to effectively achieve these outcomes. Drawing from brain and learning theory, Smith stresses the importance of techniques such as “chunking,” (grouping pieces of information together into short, meaningful segments), presenting information in multiple modalities, bridging concepts, and creating opportunities for active learning. The corresponding steps for these chapters include developing learning objectives and a corresponding learning guide for each module as well as chunking content, building bridges, and developing appropriate active learning activities.

Chapters 6 and 7 address what to do after developing online content. Chapter 6 focuses on best practices of online teaching, providing suggestions and tips from Smith’s experience. They cover a wide spectrum of topics, from due dates to peer course review. Chapter 7 addresses course navigation and next steps, for example, keeping a running list of issues and revisions, developing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section, and engaging in reflective blogging. The action steps for these chapters include developing a naming scheme for assignments, determining a method for assignment submission, developing a call log to track student problems, and creating a “link rot” form to monitor and update the accuracy of any links embedded in the course.

This book’s most noticeable contribution is its achievement of breaking course design down into small and manageable action items, each with corresponding time estimates. These action items are supplemented by an...