Reflections on E-Course Design: A Research Focused on In-Service Primary and Secondary Teachers

Abstract

This paper presents a two-year research work with the main goal of analyzing the resources production for online scenarios, as well as enhancing in-service primary and secondary school teachers' competence in this area. After detecting training shortfalls from 1,192 in-service Andalusian teachers using an ad-hoc Likert scale, an online training activity on e-course production was developed, and, upon completion, the participating teachers were surveyed regarding design alternatives (N=86). Results gathered were complemented by conducting a focus group with the course tutors. Initial data allowed to prioritize certain training pathways in the online education extent, such as OER authoring, e-learning standards, repositories, and e-course development. As per the instructional design study, it was emphasized the need for institutional support in course creation initiatives and appropriate designs by combining internal VLE tools and externally produced OER. Finally, feedback, peer evaluation, rubrics, and digital badges were denoted as key elements in e-course designs.