Define the toolbox of technologies. The purpose is to establish baseline
technical capabilities and estimate development cost, effort and implications.
Establish minimum standards. Constraints of
the web like bandwidth, browser software and versions etc.
will imply restrictions in choice of media and tools.
What will be the software/ hardware requirement
for the student's machine?
What are the software/ hardware requirements for the server?
If you're planning to use CGI scripts for forums, guestbooks etc.
it is advisable to choose a UNIX server running the required version
of Perl. The online course should be hosted on a fast, reliable
server, with a high bandwidth connection.
What technological tools will be needed? How much will they
cost? What type of equipment will they require?
How many people with specific skills will be needed? e.g. HTML
page creation and CGI script installation to name a few.
How long is it going to take to develop the online course?
How much will the development impact the instructor's workload
(if the discussion forum is essential for the online course)?
How fancy can the pages be? What is the related hardware/ software/
technology impact (slower transfer, more strict hardware requirements,
need for special plug-ins, etc.)?
What authoring tools should be used? (Macromedia Dreamweaver
is great for creating and editing HTML) pages!
Which image editing, sound editing and video editing software
should be used? Macromedia Fireworks is great for image optimizing
images!
Conduct a thorough analysis of the available resources. This will
help you project the amount of effort required to generate the remaining
resources.
Available resources could include content, graphics, media, books,
reference materials etc. Take note of the formats of the existing
material as well (e.g. electronic, paper etc.).
How much of the total content is already available in electronic format?
Is the available information pertinent and relevant?
Are there administrative policies and procedures
for taking the online course?
