Instructional Design Principles for Improving Orientations to Online Programs

Students entering a program of study delivered exclusively through the internet have unique needs and require an orientation that introduces and develops the skills which they need to interact effectively with the institution.

This presentation examines important instructional design principles which can be used to develop quality orientation modules for incoming students.

The presentation will focus on needs assessment, procedural task analysis, using formative evaluations and selecting instructional strategies. Conducting a needs assessment for orientation materials will clearly define the areas which need to be addressed for successful participation with the college or university. Through a procedural task analysis, an integrated approach of sequencing students through a variety of institutional interfaces can be accomplished. Employing formative evaluations during the creation of orientation materials affords the author a great deal of information to improve and revise materials to make them more complete and coherent. Student support professionals know that students will need to work with financial services, registration, and a learning management system; the knowledge and skills to accomplish these tasks should be appropriately matched to learning strategies.

The practical applications of these principles and processes will be illustrated through a review of the development of the orientation module designed for the University of Florida's Department of Agricultural Education and Communication online Master of Science program. As attendees observe how the instructional design process proceeded for this orientation module, they will have the opportunity to apply these concepts with their own orientation programs through a print form which will support analysis of their institutions' web based systems used by students. Preparing a well-developed and designed orientation is shown to increase confidence and course completion for students, while decreasing inquiries directed to support services.