A Good Article on Online Course Design and Faculty Development

Na is on vacation (in China!) and she asked that I post this on her behalf while she is gone.

I would like to recommend the following article, which discusses best practice from Washington State University on the relationships between online course design, faculty development, and effective student engagement.

Brown, G., Meyers, C.B., Roy, S. (2003) Formal course design and the studnet experience, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 7(3), 66-77.
http://www.aln.org/publications/jaln/v7n3/v7n3_meyers.asp

Abstract:
What impact does collaboration between faculty and professional course designers have on the student learning experience? As the use of technologies increases, educational institutions have to find ways of identifying an daddressing expectations about how technologies can best be incorporated into the teaching and learning experiences. This paper reports on efforts at Washington State University to develop and assess the course design and faculty development process and the impact the process has on student learning experiences. Theresults of a comprehensive set of faculty and student surveys from five groups suggest that the systematic coruse design process improves students' opportunities for faculty-student interaction, student-student interaction, and other elements associated with best practice. The implications of this study for faculty development and policy implementation are discussed.