Activity

These activities are designed to help you consolidate some of the concepts introduced in this lesson. If you are taking the course for credit, they may be required.

Assume that you will be teaching an online course in the near future. Given the nature of the course itself and the characteristics and experience of the persons taking the course, decide how you will approach the following issues:

1. How do you envisage your relationship with those taking the course? Are you going to be "in charge"? Are you going to make decisions on content, pace, and sequence unilaterally or collaboratively? What is possible in your situation?
2. In what ways can taking this course lead to the personal development and empowerment of those taking it?
3. What experiences or expertise do those taking the course bring to it? Will there be ways of allowing and encouraging them to contribute to the course?
4. Is the course likely to succeed in terms of the indicators provided by Levin: structure, process, mediation, community-building and institutional support?
5. Any other issues that seem important to you.

Put your thoughts on these issues in writing and share them with other members of your group, if you are taking this lesson as part of a class. Refer to your response here as you start taking concrete steps to organize and begin your course - the focus of the next two lessons.