Course Guides: Personal Guides and CourseQuests

While some students are likely to succeed with nothing more than a syllabus, course readings, and a list of requirements, others will need additional guidance as they navigate the course.

A Personal Guide: Announcements and Email Updates

While the course calendar will help students stay on track, it's nice for students to have the sense of a "personal assistant" guiding them through the course materials.

The "personal assistant" might:

• Introduce each topic
• Highlight areas of particular interest or difficulty
• Remind students about readings and upcoming due dates
• Remind students about supplemental resources and scaffolds such as glossaries or "how tos"
• Provide encouragement

Announcements on the entry page of the course management system can be used as a place to provide this "personal assistant" information.

Also, consider the use of periodic updates that go directly to the learner through email.

A CourseQuest

In addition to the personal guide, you might wish to create a CourseQuest. This is a separate web page(s) that serves as a guide through the course materials.

Rather than simply a list of resources or due dates, the materials are set up like a learning adventure. Modeled after the WebQuest philosophy developed by Bernie Dodge, the CourseQuest is an inquiry-based approach to learning that puts the course readings and activities into a context.

CourseQuests are a great way to

• Engage and maintain learner attention through a "big picture" problem, course goal, or mission that can be followed through the course.
• Focus learners on the tasks(s) that will be completed to meet this challenge
• Take learners through the inquiry process including the readings, activities, and discussions that will help them reach their goal
• Provide guidelines for products and assessment that will be created to demonstrate understanding and also help them address the course goal
• Give learners a chance to share with others and apply what they're learned to a real-world setting.

Explore a couple examples:

• Share 'Em Up: Reshaping the Landscapes of Libraries
• Three Course Quests: LITEHOUSE Award, Building a Home on the Web, Renovation & Rejuvenation

Reminders!
Develop a personal assistant function or coursequest to guide learners through the course materials.

Apply It!
Brainstorm ideas for a coursequest approach to your online course.
Why do you think this approach would or wouldn't work for your course?

---