Vol. 33 No. 2 (2018)
Research Articles

A Team-Based Collaboration Used for the Development of Transnational Online Distance Education Courses

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  • Chris Crowley,
  • Hailan Chen,
  • Mercè Gisbert Cerver
Chris Crowley
University of British Columbia
Bio
Hailan Chen
University of British Columbia
Bio
Mercè Gisbert Cerver
Universitat Rovira i Virgili.
Bio

Published 2018-12-27

Keywords

  • online education,
  • distance education,
  • instructional design

How to Cite

Crowley, C., Chen, H., & Gisbert Cerver, M. (2018). A Team-Based Collaboration Used for the Development of Transnational Online Distance Education Courses. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education Revue Internationale Du E-Learning Et La Formation à Distance, 33(2). Retrieved from https://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/1044
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Abstract

Using a team-based course development approach, the University of British Columbia collaborated with the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation (APFNet) and universities from Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, and Canada to design and develop six transnational, online, distance-education courses covering diverse topics such as sustainable forest policy, international dialogues in global forestry issues and forest restoration. The team-based approach is commonly used in online course development to form a cost-effective managerial and development team that manages timelines, coordinates solutions, and oversees budgets, all of which are particularly challenging for an international collaboration among universities across the Asia-Pacific region, due to cultural differences and variations in teaching and learning practices.

This paper gives an overview of the design and development of transnational, online, distance-education courses, and the results of a pilot study that put the completed courses through an in-house, evidence-based quality enhancement rubric and a written survey reporting the leading professors’ satisfaction with the project management and instructional design services.

The quality enhancement rubric showed that the course designs were of high quality and the written survey revealed that the subject matter experts were satisfied overall.  However, many improvements were suggested and could be implemented to improve the quality of course design, and the collaboration in orientating subject matter experts to the team-based development process, and in implementing best practices for online course design.

Keywords: team-based approach, online learning, course development, transnational online distance education, sustainable forestry management, international collaboration.

Résumé

L’université de la Colombie-Britannique collabore avec le Réseau Asie-Pacifique pour la Gestion Durable et la Réhabilitation des forêts (APFNet) et des universités d’Australie, des Philippes, de Malaisie, de Chine et du Canada en vue de concevoir et développer six cours transnationaux de formation à distance en ligne. Fondés sur une approche de développement en équipe, ces cours couvrent divers sujets tels que la politique pour une forêt durable, les dialogues internationaux sur les enjeux mondiaux en termes de foresterie et la restauration des forêts. Le travail en équipe est couramment mis en œuvre dans le développement de cours en ligne afin de former une équipe de gestion et de développement rentable qui gère les délais, coordonne les solutions et supervise les budgets, éléments qui constituent de réels défis dans le cadre d’une collaboration internationale, entre universités de la zone Asie-Pacifique, en raison des différences culturelles et des pratiques d’enseignement et d’apprentissage. Cet article offre une vue d’ensemble de la conception et du développement des cours transnationaux d’enseignement à distance en ligne. Il présente également les résultats d’une étude pilote portant sur les cours réalisés analysés au travers du prisme d’une démarche maison visant l’augmentation de la qualité en se fondant sur des données factuelles, et d’une enquête écrite faisant état de la satisfaction des principaux professeurs concernant les services de gestion de projet et de conception pédagogique. La grille d’amélioration de la qualité met en avant des conceptions de cours de grande qualité et l’enquête écrite fait ressortir une satisfaction générale des experts de contenu. Cependant, dans l’ensemble, de nombreuses améliorations ont été suggérées et pourraient être mises en œuvre pour améliorer la qualité de la conception des cours et la collaboration en orientant les experts de contenu vers le processus de développement en équipe, et en favorisant l’implantation de bonnes pratiques de conception de cours en ligne.

Mots-clés : éducation en ligne, formation à distance, conception pédagogique.

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References

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