I recently found myself composing an e-mail to one of DePaul’s Desire2Learn (D2L) beta testers. I am working with her to design and develop her online course using D2L.

I’d sent her a template for her module content—a word-processing document—and she didn’t understand what exactly an “instructor’s introduction” might look like. I should explain here—for those not acquainted with Desire2Learn—that D2L encourages a linear path through online content.

I explained to the faculty member: an “instructor’s introduction” is an overview of the module. It’s where you explain why the topics are important, connect them to the real world through examples or problems, and point out how this week’s content is connected to last week’s. It also might, or might not, include the module learning objectives, and, if not, they should be an item of their own.

My e-mail began sounding like an overview of Gagne’s nine events of instruction.

I determined a more visual approach was called for! So, I did some finagling and came up with my own “Arc of Activities in a Learning Module.” With some input from colleagues, I expanded the Arc, and the current version is attached for your review.

Feedback is appreciated!