Instructional Design for Language Teachers
Our Instructional Design for Language Teachers course can help experienced teachers design flipped and asynchronous materials
10 weeks
This is a fully online course which you can take at your own pace. Study during the week when it is convenient for you.
Practical syllabus
The focus of this course is on developing practical design skills to be able to create asynchronous content immediately
Interactive
Through forums, interactive content and weekly Zoom sessions you will feel part of a learning community
Testimonials
FAQs about the course
This course is designed for anyone at a language school/institution who needs to develop flipped and/or asynchronous online materials for courses. This might be a teacher or an admin/technical person with special responsibilities for creating interactive content to add to their virtual learning environment. This might be to complement a face to face or an online course.
This course is designed for people with a reasonable comfort level with technology. To be able to participate in the course we recommend you should be comfortable:
- using presentation tools such as Powerpoint, Keynote or Google Slides
- Managing/adding documents and files to a virtual learning environment such as Blackboard, Moodle or Google Classroom.
- Using web-based tools such as Padlet, Quizlet or similar.
The course is 10 weeks’ long and the course modules are released on a Monday at 10.00 (UK time)
We estimate around 5-6 hours a week. This is a reasonably intensive course that does require time to work through the content and get comfortable with the various technology tools used to create content.
Yes. Once a week for one hour you will need to be available for a Zoom session. At the start of the course you will be surveyed to find out what times you are available during the week and we’ll offer several slots during the week for you to choose from.
You need to complete all the units and contribute reasonably to the course forums. If you do these things, you will finish the course successfully and qualify for a certificate. At the end of the course there is an optional final individual assignment for you to complete. There is no assessment/pass mark as such as we view this as a formative and developmental course.
Yes, you will, issued by the ELTC, University of Sheffield. However, there are no credits attached to this course, it’s purely developmental. Please note though that to receive the certificate, you need to complete all the units and contribute regularly to the course forums.
In some form, yes. You will be given permanent access to a self-study version of the course containing most of the content and you will be able to access the course forum via a special group set up.
Course aims and syllabus
- to develop practical skills developing asynchronous interactive online materials using a range of tools
- to be aware of key principles in multimedia design to inform how you develop online materials.
Topic: Principles of multimedia learning
Description:
In this unit you’ll explore what makes good digital and online content and what are some key principles that underpin how we make it.
Topic: E-learning and interactivity
Description:
In this unit you’ll review the key principles from the first unit and then explore some of the pitfalls and promises of e-learning. You’ll then reflect on how you can make your digital content more engaging and interactive.
Topic: Designing content for the way people learn
Description:
In this unit you’ll explore how students actually learn in online courses and what that means for the kinds of content we should design. You’ll learn about a really effective authoring tool called H5P and integrate that into learning content you create.
Topic: Structuring sequences of content
Description:
In this unit you’ll continue to develop your understanding of using H5p to create online content and think about how you structure longer sequences of content. You’ll also get to grips with another useful tool called Articulate Rise for combining different types of content.
Topic: Learner control and information flow
Description:
In this unit you’ll continue to work with Articulate Rise as a way of organising longer stretches of content but also think about how you can control the flow of information through the visual design and signalling on the screen.
Topic: Using authoring software for complex interactions
Description:
In this unit you’ll look at authoring software, programmes that you can use to create more complex interactions than might be offered by tools such as H5P and Rise.
Topic: Creating interactive activities in authoring software
Description:
In this unit you’ll continue to look at Storyline, but focus on creating quizzes, knowledge checks and activities for learners.
Topic: Integrating audio and video
Description:
In this unit you’ll turn your attention to audio and video and you’ll have a chance to see examples of video being used in online learning and also make an activity yourself integrating video.
Topic: Building an online course
Description:
This unit is a little bit different in that it’s looking at the design of courses as a whole rather than individual pieces of content or sequences of content within a course.
Topic: Wrapping up and moving forward
Description:
In this final unit we’ll wrap up the course by looking at various ways you can continue to practise and develop as instructional designers. We’ll look at resources you can continue to access as well as reflect on what you’ve learnt.
Course images
Apply for a course
Please complete the form below to send to our admin team. This is not a commitment to take the course, but our team will respond to any questions you might have and provide a link to the official application form.
