Lesson

Two: Writing Your First Lesson

Goals for Lesson Two:

You will write the first draft of your first e-course lesson. You will gain all youll need to go forward to write your remaining e-course lessons.

Materials Needed for Lesson Two:

e-Course Groundwork Any notes and/or tasks done on paper from lesson one. Notebook paper and pen OR a word processing window Reference materials youd like to use with your students

Approximate Time Required for Lesson Two:

3+ hours TASK ONE: Gather all materials needed How to Write an e-Course: Lesson Two Writing Your First Lesson www.ihaonlinecampus.com

Welcome back!
During our last lesson we laid all of the necessary groundwork for writing an outstanding e-course. In this lesson youll be able to get into the nitty-gritty of writing your first lesson for your e-course. All subsequent lesson preparations will follow what you learn here. If you get stuck in preparing future lessons, come back here and walk yourself through the instruction that follows. Im assuming that the majority of students taking this course have access to a computer, since were talking about e-courses. J Instructions in this lesson will be given as though completion will take place on a computer. If your computer screen isnt large enough to simultaneously see both the instruction here and a word processing document, I encourage you to print this lesson so that you can more easily use your computer to complete this lessons tasks. During our last lesson we talked about how a students understanding of objectives and purpose sets them up for success in your lesson. Another structure that allows for student success is patterns. In a traditional classroom these patterns would look like protocols, or procedures. In secondary classrooms students want to know where to sit. In university settings the teacher doesnt typically assign seating, however students do it on their own. If you regularly attend a gathering, think for a moment about where you tend to sit. Its likely that you sit in generally the same spot. The reason is because humans are hard-wired for patterns. We do well with consistency. Well use this understanding to aid your students in learning.

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The first page of each lesson ought to look the same. This is your first pattern. Notice that the first page of lesson two from this e-course matches the layout and provides the same type of information as lesson one. This is the pattern were talking about. Before you move to creating this first page, be aware of exactly what this first page is doing. Yes, its preparing your students to learn; its also the first time your students will see your face. Youre presenting yourself to students. How do you want them to see you? If you want them to trust you as organized, organize your page. If you want them to trust that youre confident, lay your page out in an easy-to-read manner. Be aware that your first page is not only preparing students to learn from the course, but youre preparing them to learn from you. You will either inspire confidence or distrust from students as they move through your first page of text. You can most likely confirm this truth from your own experience. Though youve never met me, the author of the course your participating in now, youve likely formed opinions about my competence and whether Im teaching you correctly. Your students will naturally do the same for you as they enter a relationship with your e-course. No pressure, huh? TASK TWO: 1. In a new word processing window open a blank document and save it as Lesson 1. 2. At the top of the document type the title of your first lesson. (Refer to e-Course Groundwork.) 3. Designate areas on your first page for the following information: a. Goals/Objectives of the lesson How to Write an e-Course: Lesson Two Writing Your First Lesson www.ihaonlinecampus.com

 b. Materials needed

c. Anything else youd like students to know or have before beginning the lesson. Options could include: i. A greeting ii. Approximate time required iii. The purpose of the lesson iv. Suggestions for success in this lesson v. The task or assignment to gather all required materials 4. Do not include: a. Any new information. At this point youre not teaching. Youre preparing students to learn. Hints: Use your formatting to help delineate areas of information. For example, on the first pages of this e-course I indicate new areas of information by centering and underlining the text. See below.
Lesson Two: Writing Your First Lesson Goals for Lesson Two: Write your first e-course lesson Give you all youll need to go f orward to write your remaining e-course lessons Materials Needed for Lesson Two: e-Course Groundwork Any notes and/or tasks done on paper from lesson one. Notebook paper and pen OR a word processing window Reference materials youd like to use with your students Approximate Time Required for Lesson Two: 1-2 hours TASK ONE: Gather all materials needed

Use your formatting to help delineate pieces of information. For example, on the first pages of this e-course I indicate new pieces of information with bullets. See left. Pick a font style and font size that you plan to use throughout your e-course. Pick a font thats easy to read. Leave plenty of white space. Text surrounded with white space is much easier to read. The way Ive formatted is not the only right way. Do what suits you.

Consider using tables, different fonts for headings, text boxes, etc. How to Write an e-Course: Lesson Two Writing Your First Lesson www.ihaonlinecampus.com

 (Page Break) The rough draft of page one of your e-course is done! Congratulations!

(Did you think it was your final draft? As in your Im-done draft? No way! All things well- written need editors! Well get to that later. For now, pat yourself on the back.) For the next steps youll need e-Course Groundwork handy, along with any supplementary materials to which you want to reference. An e-course is unique among teaching formats because you have to write everything to your students: instruction (meaning both information and directions), conversation, validation. The on-line setting is fun and challenging. I will lead you through a series of tasks and questions that will give form to the content of your first lesson. Not all tasks and questions will apply to all e-course authors. Move from 1-9 in order and do the ones that apply to you. If youre not sure if one applies to you, go ahead and do it. Examples are provided in text boxes. They are examples only and not the only right way to do it. Please save often!! And lastly, some basic truths to remember about writing an e-course: As mentioned in lesson one, use g-rated stories and analogies that a majority of your audience will understand. If you use slang, use only that which will be understood by your audience. Its okay to be playful!! But please remember . . . o Tone doesnt carry well in writing. For this reason, stay away from sarcasm. It will come across as rude instead of funny or playful. o Dont put yourself, the learner, or others downeven in jest. o Be optimistic. o Stay professional.

How to Write an e-Course: Lesson Two Writing Your First Lesson www.ihaonlinecampus.com

 Any supplementary material you use needs to be cited. Citing not only makes you more reliable as the teacher, it protects you from copyright infringement. For help on citation do an on-line search for how to cite. There are a plethora of sites. If you use a fact, stat, or quote, be sure its 100% true before you use it. And, of course, cite it.
Formatting N otes Because this is an on-line course, formatting must m eet that supported by the host. Please be sure to follow the guidelines below. (If youre not submitting your e-course to IHA on-line campus, check with your webmaster on specific formatting requirement.) No word art Use traditional font styles (More to come from IHA webmasters)

TASK THREE: (Move through these steps one at a time. Dont read them all at once. Read step 1, stop, then do step 1. Read step 2, stop, then do step 2. Etc.) 1. Review the formatting notes above. 2. At the bottom of your first page type and highlight page break. (Your e-course will be uploaded by a webmaster who will need to know where youd like your first screen to end.) 3. Type a greeting to your students, a message that reminds them of what they learned in the last lesson, and
Welcome to your e-course on how to write an e-course! I assume youre here because you have a fabulous idea f or an e-course of your own. Im pleased to join with you to guide you through the process.

note about what theyll learn in this lesson. On your first lesson, obviously, you wont have a note about what students learned last time. 4. Type an acknowledgement of your audience. Who are your students? What do they know/not know? Why are they there? (This is your first step in establishing the purpose of your e-course.) How to Write an e-Course: Lesson Two Writing Your First Lesson www.ihaonlinecampus.com
You may be an e-Course expert, having taken many yourself, or you may be new to this world.

5. Refer to e-Course Groundwork. Look at your list for Chapter One. Youve already decided on the specific information you will present and the order in which youll present it. (Yeah! Hard parts done, right?!) Write any background information your students need to remember before you teach them their first new concept. This is called schema. Schema is the background against which we can learn something new. For example, if I wanted to teach you about home remedies that

cure sicknesses, I would first ask you to think back on your own childhood. Did your parent require you to sleep with nose? Were earaches cured with a humidifier when you had a stuffy warm olive oil? In asking this

question, Ive activated your schema. Youre able to bring forward knowledge and opinions you have about the topic before I tell you something new. By activating your students schema, youre helping them bring forward anything they already know about your topic. So again, write background information your students need to remember before you teach them something new. Using questions is really good here. Were not talking about rhetorical questions, but real questions that you want your students to really answer, like the examples given above. Break your writing into paragraphs. You may have learned in school that a paragraph is incomplete if it has fewer than four (4) sentences. True in many cases, but not in e-courses. Youre not writing an essay. Youre writing a conversation. Let your sentences flow like a conversation. Some sentences will be long, some short. Some paragraph will have one sentence, others three. Go with it. Remember, this is a rough draft. Its not expected to be perfectin fact, were acknowledging that it wont be. How to Write an e-Course: Lesson Two Writing Your First Lesson www.ihaonlinecampus.com

 6. Scaffolding is a crucial component of successful teaching. When a new building is under construction, scaffolding is erected before the actual building is. The scaffolding on a building is a temporary structure that provides support until its no longer needed. Scaffolding in teaching does the same thing. You, as the instructor, support the student at first. Youre scaffolding them toward independence with your concept.

http://studio3music.com/child-development/scaffolding-your- little-buildings/

Scaffolding is accomplished through a gradual release of responsibility. Heres what it looks like: First, teach the concept. Second, show an example. Third, do an example with the student. Fourth, let the student do it without you. In an e-world, some of these interactions are limited. What you need to do as the instructor of your e-course is: First, teach the concept. Second, show an example. Third, let the student do it without you. If you can somehow include the steps where you do it with the students, then include it. Step three is where an assignment or task comes in. 7. Start with the very first item you wrote under Chapter One on e-Course Groundwork. Teach this principle then stop. Then show an example. Consider using a story, a picture, a video clip, etc. Then shop. Then indicate a task youd like your students to complete that will allow them to use what youve just taught. (Youll actually create the tasks/assignments in lesson three. For now, just indicate what youd like students to do. Its more like a note to yourself at this point.) **Note that you may combine the first few principles on your list. Thats just fine. For example: if the first three items on my list about how to make toast are: remove bread from fridge, put one piece of bread in the toaster, push lever on toaster; then I may want to talk about the importance of all three of these steps in one place so that my task becomes do-able. How to Write an e-Course: Lesson Two Writing Your First Lesson www.ihaonlinecampus.com

 8. After the task/assignment type and highlight page break. 9. Insert a page break. (In Word go to Insert, Break, Page)

10. Now teach your second concept following the same pattern of scaffolding: teach the concept, show an example, provide an assignment/task, insert your page break reference. 11. Continue on teaching each item under Chapter One. For each item teach the concept, show an example, and indicate the task that students will do with their new information. 12. When you have taught all of the concepts in your Lesson One list from e-Course Groundwork, the instruction piece of Lesson One is done. On your last page, include the following: a. Validate your students for their work. b. Tell them what they learned during this lesson.
Congratulations! Youve laid the groundwork for a fabulous e-course! Keep all of the documents youve created in this lesson. Well pick up with them in the next lesson as you create the first lesson of your e-course.

c. Give them any homework youd like them to do before the next lesson. (Not all lessons will include this piece.) d. Tell them what theyll learn in the next lesson. 13. At the bottom of your last page include your page break reference, but type end lesson one instead.

(Page Break)

How to Write an e-Course: Lesson Two Writing Your First Lesson www.ihaonlinecampus.com

 Congratulations on completing your rough draft of your first e-course lesson! Its a lot of work and theres a good chance that youve been sitting in front of your computer for hours! It will be worth it in the end. In the next lesson well address how to create assignments for your students. The assignments were talking about are along the lines of e-Course Groundwork that you received in our first lesson AND the tasks with directions inserted right into the lesson, such as the ones in this lesson. Your e-course may use one or both of these methods. Either way, the next lesson will help you construct powerful and effective assignments for your students. Homework: Go forward boldly and confidently as you draft your remaining lessons! Rough drafts are not final drafts, so anything that needs to be cleaned up before it meets your students, will be. End lesson two

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