CLDD's role in undergraduate course development

CLDD is involved in course development and course revision—phases 3, 4 and 7 of the seven phases of undergraduate course production at Athabasca University. Explore detailed descriptions in

• the Course Author’s Guide (PDF),
• the Course Coordinator’s Guide (PDF),
• and the Guidelines for Contracting SMEs.

If you require CLDD’s services for a project outside course development or revision, you will need to complete and submit a Request for EMD Services form available on the AU intranet. These services could include work such as:

• multi-media design requests
• PDF or RFT files
• other small fixes.

Visit our showcase to view examples of our work. Explore the different CLDD services in the menu on the left.

 

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First steps

(Phase 3 or Phase 7)

A contract is awarded to a subject matter expert (SME) to:

• develop a new course (Phase 3).
• do a major or minor revision an existing course (Phase 7).

Revisions may also be handled by the course coordinator.

 

Initial contact with CLDD

An introduction is sent to the course team. The course coordinator or another team member arranges an initial course team meeting.

A course team usually includes:

• the subject matter expert
• the course coordinator
• a copyright representative
• an editor
• an instructional media analyst
• a library representative
• a visual designer

 

Early course team meetings

Early course team meetings introduce the course author to the members of her or his course team, explain the services that CLDD provides, and discuss the requirements of the course. This is an excellent time to discuss and plan the online components of the course. The meeting is especially helpful if the author has never revised or written a course for AU.

The meeting does not have to be long or complicated. Simply, what the author has in mind and how the team can help.

 

Writing or revision begins

The new course or course revision is written. Your CLDD team members are available for consultation.

 

Coordinator's sign-off

The course coordinator reviews the new course or revision and signs off on the package.

 

Course package is submitted

(Phase 4)

All components of the course—just as a student would view the course—are submitted to Linda Bonneville.

 

Course enters CLDD’s workflow

The course enters CLDD’s workflow. Each team member makes his or her contribution in consultation with the subject matter expert and/or course coordinator.

 

Final author review (FAR) and sign-off

CLDD has completed its work on the course and the course is given to the subject matter expert for final review. Any minor changes requested are made in consultation with the editor or other course team members. All CLDD team members sign off the course materials. The course opens and enters Phase 5, course delivery and tutoring.

Questions?

If you have any questions during the course production process, such as how your course is progressing, please ask:

Linda Bonneville
lindab(at)athabascau.ca
(780) 675-6106 or
1-800-788-9041 (ext: 6106)

Learn more

• What is the definition of an online course? See Defining Online Courses at Athabasca University.
• Learn about AU’s experiences developing multimedia and online enhancements for post-secondary courses, programs, and services. See The E-Learning Developers’ Guide (Adobe PDF).
• Read “The Development of Online Courses” by Dean Caplan from the Theory and Practice of Online Learning.