Navigate 3.1.2 Creation and Investigation into Courses

For the last 7 years I have used Angel and created course shells for English 1101 and English 1102 through the Georgia Technical College System.

• What were those steps to selecting, uploading, fulling loading content into the course shell and making that content viewable?
• I have always started with focusing upon the lessons and assessments and making them the backbone of the course.  Generally I start with a simple skeleton/outline (i.e. 4-6 assignments) and then design the details and lessons around these.  First, to select the information I focus upon the ultimate goals of the course.  If it is English 1101, I think in terms of the 3-5 papers that the students will write, and if it is English 1102, I think in terms of the 3-5 major literary works that the students will read.  Second, to upload content, I build and include supplemental resources that will help students achieve the larger goals of the assessments.  Finally, I load content in the order of its importance, and based on whether or not it will directly help students. 
• Is it important to follow these steps? If so, why?  Yes, because with an online course room, there is a temptation to include links and more links and then more links.  Eventually, the course room shell can become overwhelmed with links that don't directly correspond with the overall goals of the course.  More importantly sometimes having too much can confuse students and obscure the essential. So, by creating a systematic approach to posting content and resources that are all directly related to the overall assignments, the instructor can better guide students through the course.  When in doubt, I suggest simple without simplistic.