Although it often looks better if you use Web pages for weekly content, you can design the course so that weekly content can be loaded into WebTycho as the first main topic of the weekly conference sections. 

• Use the Web page option if you are comfortable with html (or using templates).
• Use the Conference option if this is your first online class and you are uncomfortable using html. 

These two files are the two most important documents in building the structure of an online class. 

• Example of Read Me First
• Example of Lesson Guide that hyperlinks to Web pages for its weekly content.
• Example of Lesson Guide that is not hyperlinked to Web pages, but has its weekly content in the conference sections of WebTycho.
• Each of the above can be used as a template.  See How to Use a Template if you are unsure how to do this. 

Note that the Read Me First functions as a Syllabus with appropriate online information and the Lesson Guide functions as a Class Schedule with detailed information about assignments and deliverables.

Students should know on the first day of class all that is required of them for the entire semester.  No surprises.

The conference section is the heart of the online class. Regardless of how, when, or where the content is delivered, most students seem to feel that the "classroom experience" occurs in the conference portion of WebTycho. 

Several instructors have found it effective to introduce a New Conference Session for each week, then, within each week, introduce threads where students can (a) answer focus questions, (b) respond to specific questions the instructor asks, and/or (c) introduce their own topics. 

When designing the conference portion of the Online class, it is good to keep in mind Cindy Whitesel's advice on moderating conferences.

When designing an online class, always keep in mind how Conferences will play a role. 

It makes little sense to expect frequent and regular conference contributions unless you reward the activity with a percentage of the semester grade.  20% seems like a minimum apportionment. 

A common mistake in developing online classes is not to build in frequent (and early) graded deliverables.  Students should know early on (well before mid-term) how they are doing in the class.

It is an egregious error to allow students to get to the last two or three weeks of class and have no idea how they are doing. 

The deliverables do not have to be grading intensive.  Just regular enough (once every other week or so) that forces the instructor to give regular feedback and several grades. 

PowerPoint slides are excellent supplements to F2F classes.  And used well, they can give a nice graphical component to online lectures (you can link to individual slides or the entire presentation).  But they are a poor substitute for a weekly "lecture" or overview. 

There is nothing wrong with text.  However long or short your "lecture" or overview is (and whether it is loaded into a WebTycho conference or on the Web), text is the best medium for Course Content. 

PowerPoint is best used (whether F2F or online) as a supplement.

Students deserve several opportunities to succeed (conference participation, group work, long papers, short papers, exams, case studies, etc.) .

If you are interested in the theoretical background of online class design, you might want to read Theory and Practice.  But the very least you should know about theory is how well the online environment matches the constructivist approach, where the instructor, instead of assuming the traditional role of expert in all matters, becomes more of a facilitator or coach, who encourages and assists the students as they: (a) work--individually and collaboratively--on their own schedules, and (b) assume the responsibility for "building their own knowledge structures." 

But whatever the background theory, a good online class design allows as much opportunity for student discovery as possible. And since the online environment is itself collaborative and asynchronous, a good online class design will play to those strengths.  In other words, it is usually best not to force traditional face to face (F2F) class structures into an online class design. Best practice is to design to the Internet's strengths, not its weaknesses.

At the Faculty Help Desk, you will find not only instructions on how to use the technology, but also practical strategies and teaching tips that should help you in your development of an online class.