Today, Thursday, Sha’baan 3, 1439 AH, the Deanship of e-Learning and Distance Education organized a training course on instructional design for faculty members, at the e-learning lab of King Abdullah Library in the Abdeyyah-based university town. The course was given by Mr. Waleed Ali and Mr. Ahmad Yosri.  

The two lecturers emphasized that by using the e-course design wizard, instructors will be able to produce e-courses super fast and with good specifications, and that among the most important specifications that should be available in e-courses are: Usability; being a meta-course; and reliance on effective assessment. They also pointed out that the process of designing educational courses is one that is rich in learning experiences and that provides practical learner support. They clarified that the aim is to achieve the learner’s goal, since such process involves defining the goals of learning that are based on the current status of learners and their needs, as well as selecting learning activities in order to adequately assist in the development of learners so they can fulfill their objectives.  

The presentation further discussed the method for accessing the instructional design wizard provided by Umm Al-Qura University through the e-learning portal. Then, they talked about how to create a course structure, besides content management using the course creator.  

Moreover, they presented the practical part in using the course design accelerator that contains the following stages: 

• Stage1: Defining learning goals. 

• Stage 2: Selecting activities. 

• Stage 3: Organizing grade book.  

• Stage 4: Reviewing course design.  

In the second session of the training course, a workshop was formed. Each one of the faculty members who were attending used the instructional design accelerator and applied it to their current educational course under the guidance and supervision of the trainers. The necessary explanation was provided, and all practical steps and all procedures were followed utilizing an educational course that was adopted for this purpose.  

All attendees expressed their approval of the organization of such courses, and affirmed the significant benefits reaped from the promotive workshop, especially that they designed the basic structure of an e-course super fast and with unmatched efficacy.