Students in the Postbaccalaureate Certificate in e-Learning Design program are required to take the course ADTED 531 – Course Design and Development in Distance Education. The next planned offering of ADTED 531 is the Spring 2018 term.
We previously explored student interest in a Fall 2017 offering of ADTED 531, but a sufficient number of students was not available for a special offering of the course. Therefore, to confirm, the next offering of ADTED 531 will be Spring 2018.
It may not even be springtime yet, but we are entering that unique time of year when students can register for both summer and fall courses. Students may register today for Summer 2017 courses now, and Fall 2017 course registration starts on April 12, 2017. It is important for students to register for their desired courses as soon as they become eligible to register so that our program can have any chance of being responsive to student needs and interests for courses. In the past, when early registration has shown the need, we have added additional sections of courses when it was possible.
All course registration is completed online via LionPATH. In order to begin registration, students must clear all holds from their student account. Students do not pay for courses at the time that they register, so early registration does not demand early payment.
Lastly, early registration is the benefit that is extended to current students in our program. Current students do not take priority over new students in any course, but current students have activated accounts that make them able to register earlier than the incoming students seeking their first courses.
| Reg. Status | Course Code | Course Name | Delivery Timeframe | LionPATH Class Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FULL | LDT 415A, sec 001 | Systematic Instructional Development | 8/21-12/8/17 | 6743 | Filled 6/12/17 |
| Filling Fast! | LDT 415A, sec 002 | Systematic Instructional Development | 8/21-12/8/17 | 29893 | Added 7/11/17 |
| FULL - Wait List | LDT 467 | Emerging Web Technologies and Learning | 8/21-12/8/17 | 7916 | |
| Filling Fast! | LDT 505 | Integrating Mobile Tech into Learning Env'ts | 8/21-12/8/17 | 26778 | |
| FULL | LDT 527 | Designing Constructivist Learning Env'ts | 8/21-12/8/17 | 7917 | Filled 6/30/17 |
| Filling Fast! | LDT 581 | Theoretical Foundations of LDT | 8/21-12/8/17 | 7920 | |
| Open | LDT 832 | Designing e-Learning for Course Management Systems | 8/21-12/8/17 | 29206 |
When the LDT online programs first launched, we aimed to deliver and complete our courses in one continuous run. This method was first chosen because most of our online students do not have a full week off from work and their daily lives, and we did not want to interrupt our students’ learning for a vacation period that was a vestige of a traditional residential college setting. However, as time, students, and attitudes changed, we across the University heard the demand for our online students to also have the benefit of a weeklong Spring Break or Thanksgiving Break. Beginning with the Fall 2017 term and continuing forward every fall and spring there is now a one-week break period in March and in November included within all online courses.
Each online course instructor establishes their own expectations for the use of the time during the weeklong break. In general there are no submissions due and no active components of the course running. But there may be assignments that stretch over the break and become due shortly after the break ends. This variety in approaches is the same as what happens in the on-campus setting for Penn State’s courses.
For online courses, the fall and spring terms are each 16 weeks long, with one of those weeks being the break week. Courses, then, are usually 15 weeks of content.
Questions about how the spring or fall break weeks impact your course schedule should be directed to your course instructor.