Due to their increased adoption among educational institutions, distance learning programs drive the demand for powerful hardware and software to host educational applications, often for thousands of users per institution. Current popular learning management systems include Blackboard and WebCT, which are both widely used on campuses nationwide.
These software suites provide course home pages for instructors which can be easily edited via online forms. The software allows instructors to easily add content via online text editors or using HTML markup. In addition to uploading lecture content, instructors are also able to upload files which would be distributed as handouts in a traditional classroom setting. Students who log onto the course home page can view the course content online or download the materials provided by the instructor, as well as submit assignments posted by the instructor by uploading files from their computers. Instructors can view all student submissions online and grade the assignments through the web interface, making the graded work available to the student immediately. Online grading can be very efficient as it eliminates the need for instructors or teaching assistants to manually calculate grades for assignments or exams, which can also be taken online by students, and are often graded automatically by the software.
The advantages of online learning also motivate many instructors who teach in a traditional classroom setting to use online learning technology to supplement their curricula.
The instructional design coordinator is familiar with the needs of online instructors, especially regarding communication and content distribution. He or she is responsible for adapting existing technology to make the technology as transparent and functional for students and instructors alike. A successful instructional design coordinator understands concepts of software usability, as well as technical support and training in order to deploy software packages that serve the various needs of his or her educational community.