An Engineering Approach for Online Learning

The design and development of effective online courses for distance learning is a complex process involving many forms of expertise. Several disciplines such as instructional design theories, software engineering principles, human-computer interaction and multimedia are involved. It is not always feasible for a novice to be familiar with such a range of expertise. A methodology integrating all of these various disciplines is urgently needed. The Courseware Engineering Methodology (CME) has been developed by the author to guide novices to design effective online courses, based on the integration of the various disciplines. CEM has been used successfully by over 70 students at a UK university to develop their online courses in the last few years. This paper describes the CEM development process. The CEM process consists of four models. The pedagogical model is concerned with the pedagogical aspects of the course; the conceptual model, dealing with the software engineering aspects of the design; the interface model relating to the interface of the course, and the Web modelling that deals with the Web useability and navigation issues of the course. Each of the nodels will be briefly reviewed. Design principles concerning both the pedagogical and interface models will be further discussed. The paper concludes by stating the benefits of using an engineering approach to online development and reuse.