Data Stories: An Introduction to Data Visualization
Presenting data visually enables us not only to explore and identify patterns in the data but also to analyze and make sense of those patterns and communicate our findings. This will be a hands-on, project-based course in which you will apply key data visualization strategies to various data sets to tell specific data stories using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. 

Getting Started with Research 
Have you ever wanted to conduct research to answer key questions in your work (i.e., does this learning technology or teaching strategy impact student learning?), but didn’t know how to get started? This four-week course will provide you with the building blocks to uncover prior research, apply prior research to your areas of interest, create effective research questions, collect data using a variety of approaches, and analyze information you collect in a way that is useful for your audience. During this course you will have the opportunity to apply what you are learning each step of the way, building a mini-study to get hands-on experience conducting research..

Project Management for Instructional Designers  

Project management skills are essential for instructional designers to ensure project success and to provide leadership throughout the process. This course introduces you to the life cycle of a project, from concept to completion and evaluation, including strategies for working successfully within a team environment to achieve project goals. Upon completion of this course, you will have developed key skills in project management by exploring best practices, tools, and techniques associated with process groups and knowledge areas. Additionally, participants will be able to utilize skills and strategies that can be adapted to the needs of a variety of projects.

While this course is targeted towards instructional designers, it is relevant to anyone working in eLearning who manages or contributes to projects in the field of online learning.

Applying the Neuro, Cognitive, and Learning Sciences to Instructional Design

This course provides instructional designers and eLearning professionals with an introduction to the neuro, cognitive, and learning sciences and how they can be applied to instructional design. Throughout the course, participants will discuss the connection between instructional design and cognitive load, and explore strategies for aligning course content, activities, and assignments with principles from the neuro, cognitive, and learning sciences. Participants will also examine methods for applying theory to practice, including formative and summative assessment, multi-modality feedback, metacognitive skills, and real-world transfer. At the conclusion of the course, participants will have redesigned a current or planned course, workshop, or program using the principles of the neuro, cognitive, and learning sciences learned in each week of the course.

This course is aimed at the instructional designer or those involved in course development who are interested in applying the learning sciences to instructional design.