Chunking Student Support Information

I'm amazed when I see DL students getting multi-page, ultra-wordy documents that provide important DL information - such as how to order books, how to use the CMS, where to get tutoring, etc. When we develop our courses (or train others to do so), we know that the best way to present online content is in chunks - or little bits of information at a time. So why don't we apply the same principles to our student support materials? General DL information should be provided in well-organized snippets, and should be redundant (mailing, emails, announcements within the course). Taking this one step alone pays big benefits in less student frustration, less helpcalls, and higher retention.

Should DL Pay for the Lights?

There are some clear costs associated with distance and online programs; administrative staff, faculty, course development and redevelopment, and technology are examples. However, in a model in which DL is a self-supporting cost center, hidden institutional costs should be considered. These include office space for administrative staff and utilities. Even though DL may bring much difficult-to-quantify benefit to an institution through increased enrollments and savings in classroom space, a true cost model will include some overhead for the institution. Such costs should perhaps not be assessed until the program is meeting its other costs, but should be considered in long-term planning.

No More Boring eLearning

After several days of insane, non-stop work on a crazy DL deadline - and subsequently being a miserable failure as a late-nite blogger, I happened upon an incredible, don't-miss instructional design-ish blog. Now that I've found Cathy Moore's blog, I will never be the same (how did I function without this? how did I miss this?) First stop is her Drop the Drone:Easier Steps to Lively Courses. Now, we finally have permission to take some risks, drop the filler verbiage, and truly make online courses exciting. In this presentation, she also provides compelling guidance on how to actually cut, chop and edit our online landfills of useless, meaningless words.

Facebook for Online Student Recruitment

Are the days of billboards, radio, and direct mail over for higher education recruitment? I don't think so, but we can't afford to dismiss the burgeoning opportunities for Web 2.0 marketing. In the past year, there has been an increased entry of universities on Facebook. In many cases, it appears that these sites are university-sponsored, but benefit from unedited postings by students. Many are using their Facebook sites to include RSS feeds of campus news and events. While they may appear to serve as a retention and community-building tool for present students, the use of Facebook is also a recruitment tool when used properly - such as appropriate inbound links. Clearly, the appearance of the site is critical, particularly for online programs where the student may never actually see the campus. Another use of Facebook (and similar social networking sites) for university recruitment is for advertising. Facebook allows for easy creation of ads (though it requires pre-payment by credit card rather than invoicing), and allows the option of pricing per click. It would seem that the use of Facebook as a recruitment tool would be even more useful for online programs as it so directly targets potential students who seem to enjoy spending time online.