Even though online course offerings in higher education institutions increase every year, many instructors have insufficient support and report feeling overwhelmed by the online course development process. Successful distance learning programs provide support structures for instructors learning how to develop online courses including guidance in transitioning to online teaching. Instructors developing online courses for the first time often have little or no experience of online learning environments. Making pedagogical and interface decisions with no experience is one of the many challenges they face. Instructors in this situation may make decisions that result in the need to make large-scale course modifications at a later date. Sharing knowledge of best practices in online course development and teaching within a community of online instructors and receiving guidance from experienced staff can assist in the course development process. Additionally, the experiential knowledge instructors gain after teaching online may lead them to discover teaching and learning strategies that influence them to make modifications to their courses based on that new knowledge.
This case study was based on a naturalistic inquiry approach to investigate the modifications instructors made to their online courses after gaining experiential knowledge teaching in an online environment. The goal of this research is to assist novice online course developers in making their development process more efficient and effective. The significance of the findings will be an understanding of the modifications instructors make to their courses after gaining experience in teaching online.
