Here's a pot pourii of advice from the T3 development team. Our list is neither comprehensive or definitive, so we hope you'll see it as a starting point for discussions with your T3 mentors, coaches, and colleagues.

If you'll send your ideas to the T3 Institute listserv, we'll select the pithiest and most germane for posting on future versions of the suggestions page.

Start up

• Set realistic goals; it takes time to develop multimedia content.
  
  
• Start with simple experiments but work towards a long-term course development plan.
  
  
• Choose carefully the portions of your course that you will put online and the general "trajectory" of future development. Start with easy problems first.
  
  
• Plan for a gradual change over and maintain redundancy as you transition from old systems of course management to new systems.
  
  
• Build rapport with colleagues, staff, and GAs can assist as you venture into this new territory.
  
  
• Outline technology requirements for your course and consider provisions for students with limited computing skills.
  
  
• Develop a relationship with the "gatekeeper" or "webmaster" you will work with when you upload to university servers.
  
  
• Make your URLs simple, obvious, and consistent. For example, the Center for Learning, Instruction, and Performance Technologies at SDSU, which developed the T3 Institute, is located at http://clipt.sdsu.edu. We wish all of our URLs were this simple.
  
  
• Establish a productive work environment appropriate to your increased computer workload: ergonomic keyboard, chair, and workstation. A large, high resolution monitor is essential for reading large volumes of e-mail or grading electronic papers.
  
  
• Lobby for a reasonably powerful computer and make the case that you're prepared to use it effectively to improve your teaching and course development activities.
  
  
• Be patient with your progress.
  
  

Basic Elements of a Course Website

• Map out the hierarchy or file structure of the course website on paper before you begin building files.
  
  
• Write a brief courses description.
  
  
• Develop an instructor page with contact information.
  
  
• Include in your course introduction a clear statement of course expectations, including learning goals and objectives.
  
  
• Provide a description of your grading policy.
  
  
• Develop a course schedule with class meeting information and assignment due dates.
  
  
• List required and recommended texts and other materials.
  
  
• Outline rules, roles, and goals relating to online interactions between you and your students.
  
  
• Adopt a consistent, flexible lesson structure such as ICARE: Information, Connect, Apply, Reflect, Extend.
  
  

Additional Development

• Develop activities that encourage interactions between your students and others besides the course instructor. Investigate peer support and peer-evaluation techniques. Don't overload yourself with excessive commitments to "operate" your website or online services.
  
  
• Create job aids or "how to" lists to assist students with routine activities and problems.
  
  
• Design important web pages so they can be easily read as printed documents. Test layouts and colors to ensure that critical information won't be lost in printing.
  
  
• Strive for consistency: develop a standard kit bag or library of screen design elements including graphics, buttons, icons, and color pallets.
  
  
• Watch the megabyte size of graphics; large files will slow interactions with your site, particularly if students are using modems.

Implementation and Management

• Plan for problems: Murphy's Law runs rampant in cyberspace and students are notorious enforcers of Murphy's Law.
  
  
• Develop a peer support system to facilitate student self-help. Consider buddy systems or phone trees.
  
  
• Help your students to understand that the online skills they are learning in your course are transferable to other situations such as home and work.
  
  
• Use a variety of communication modalities: email, listserves, newsgroups. chats, and Internet. But think carefully about strengths and limitations of each.
  
  
• Limit and manage student email by establishing ground rules. Make it clear, for example, if you wish, that you won't answer email on weekends.
  
  
• Learn about filters and other systems for categorizing and prioritizing email.
  
  
• Establish an online technical forum for your students or point them to appropriate university help desks.
  
  
• Direct students to other self-help resources relating to basic computer Competencies, such as workshops run by computer stores, or videotape tutorials.
  
  
• Create an email emergency system: designate a special phrase to be used in email headers when the situation is urgent.
  
  

Continuous Improvement

• Experiment to maintain freshness and interest.
  
  
• Ask a student or assistant to check links routinely for validity and currency.
  
  
• "Borrow" from others who have proceeded online before you.
  
  
• Solicit formative feedback from students on a regular basis.
  
  
• Collaborate with peers for support and feedback.
  
  
• Consider revealing course content and activities in incremental blocks throughout the semester to heighten student interest.
  
  
• Evolve your instructor home page into a web portfolio so students can understand your interests and work.
  
  
• Learn about copyright law and intellectual property rights as they apply to online content and activities. Think about who "owns" your course content and understand your university's policies governing this ownership.
  
  
• Search for financial support opportunities such as grants for technology infusion.

Send your suggestions to the T3 Institute listserv .