CTE offers
three distinctive formats of online courses: Fully Facilitated,
Self-Paced, and Tutorials. All three have
different amounts of interaction and have different processes
for development. Course logistics, including audience, purpose,
type of credit, content and context are used to identify
the most effective format in each course development situation.
Fully
Facilitated Course
The
first type of course offered is a Fully Facilitated Course.
In this setting, a facilitator interacts fully throughout
the duration of the course. Enrollment consists of a small
group of people and the facilitator. The course runs for
a specific time period and participants may be asked to
meet on specific dates. Teamwork and the development of
community are essential features of this mode of instruction.
Students interact with each other and the facilitator through
discussion postings, online chats, announcements, and e-mails.
Either Blackboard or the Electronic Learning Community (ELC)
is used as the platform for these courses. Upon completion
of a fully facilitated course participants receive 2-3 MSDE
or 3 graduate credits.
Self-Paced
Course
The
second type of online course is a Self- Paced Course.
Self-paced courses run for a specified amount of time (about
4 months) so students can sign up and complete the class
any time throughout the duration of the course. Though facilitators
are present and accessible during the course, the only structured
interaction between students and facilitators takes place
at benchmarks in the middle and at the end of the class.
Information for self-paced courses is typically presented
in the form of a web page. Depending on the course content
and rigor, participants can earn anywhere from 1 MSDE to
3 graduate credits upon successful completion.
Tutorial
The
third type of online course offered by CTE is a Tutorial.
In this setting, there is an online manual that presents
information to a user. There is not a facilitator or any
interaction generated from this mode of instruction. Students
are presented with information and optional activities are
included. Documents for the tutorial are located on a web
page. Graduate or MSDE credit is not given for tutorials.
