Evaluating the Course

Evaluation is the last step in designing and developing a course and it also could be the first step in redesigning and developing a course. Evaluation usually takes place after the first time the course was taught:
You evaluate your course content:

• Was it informative enough?
• Was it too complicated or too simple?
• Did it reflect the objectives?
• Does it need more work?
• Can I use it next time I teach this course with no alternations?
• Were you "present" in the content?
• Was the technology used to present the content appropriate?
• Is there new technology that might work better for me?

You evaluate the activities and assignments:

• Were they relevant to the material?
• Were there enough of them to support the material?
• Were they aligned with the objectives?
• Were they a sufficient tool for assessment?

You evaluate your students' performance:

• Have your students completed all the objectives you outlined for each lesson?
• Did the students participate at the level you anticipated?
• Did the students seem enthusiastic and eager to learn?
• Have the students achieved the goal for the course?

You evaluate your presence:

• Were you "there" with your students?
• Did you plan your time so that the teaching experience was positive both for you and your students?
• Did you feel connected to your students during the course?
• Do you think, the students felt connected to YOU during the course?
• Do you think you established an online community within your course?

You evaluate the process in general:

• Was your goal reached?
• Were there any obstacles during the learning process for the students?
• For you?
• Is your impression after teaching the course positive or negative?
• What about your students?
• What do their evaluations say?

When the process of evaluating is finished, an instructor will have to make changes (if any) to the course. It is better to do it right away, when instructor’s reflections are still fresh.
Also, it is very important to back up or to archive all the contents of the course till the next time, assignments, activities, link etc. not just in the Blackboard, but also on the computer hard drive (some people print all the materials out, just in case).

The Evaluation step in the ADDIE model is especially important when designing an online course for the first time. The pilot course usually needs the most work afterwards. The more detailed the first evaluation is, the easier it will be to teach the course the next time around.