10. No ‘Best Practice’ For Online Course Design

However, there is no ‘best practice’ for online course design, because this is contextual to each teaching and learning situation and discipline area.  We should consider the content, purposes, and instructional strategies as well as how the instruction is represented and controlled through available technology tools. 

The starting point should be 

  • understanding student needs, 
  • developing engaging activities, 
  • building a sense of community, 
  • employing discussion and reflections during presentations, 
  • providing tips, hints and tools for achieving these goals.