And Finally …: Designing the “Perfect” Online Program

“The Perfect Online Course” was described by Orellana, Hudgins, and Simonson (2009). This book of readings clearly presented issues central to course design such as time, organization, production, evaluation, and accreditation. It is an important planning document for the distance educator.

Since then, best practices for course design have become much more widely understood. However, Orellana, Hudgins and Simonson’s book did not explain how to design the “perfect online program.” Developing an entire program to be offered at a distance is considerably more complex than designing an online course.

Schools, universities, and organizations are moving quickly to offer classes, programs, and training at a distance. Most seem to be gradually making the transition from traditional offerings to distance education by first trying parts of classes, then individual courses, next blended courses, and finally entire distance-delivered programs.