Development of an Undergraduate Online Horse Management Course

Abstract Text: Online college courses can improve student academic experiences by increasing accessibility, accommodating various learning approaches, and deepening student mastery of the subject matter.  The purpose of this abstract is to outline the development of an undergraduate online horse management course.  In the fall of 2013, a horse management course was offered online to non-Animal Science majors.  A concurrent in-class section was offered to majors.   Twenty-two students enrolled in the online section, while 29 students enrolled in the in-class section.  The course aimed to provide an introduction to the horse industry and careers, breeds, behavior, weight estimation, body condition scoring, liability and insurance, forage utilization, poisonous plants, pasture management, manure management, facility management, grooming, safe ground handling, assessing vitals, colic, hoof care, vaccinations, and genetics.  Each week, two lectures were recorded using UMConnect and posted on the course Moodle website along with a PDF handout of the lecture slides.  The instructor recorded most lectures; however, pre-recorded guest lectures were used periodically.  Extension factsheets and journal articles were also posted as supporting learning materials, and a graduate student assisted with course management. Each week, students were responsible for completing either a quiz, discussion, or exam.  Throughout the 15 week semester, 6 quizzes, 6 discussions, and 3 exams were posted.  Quizzes consisted of 10, one-point multiple-choice or true/false questions which were available for 22 hours on Moodle.  Students had a maximum of 30 minutes to complete each quiz and results were automatically graded and recorded in the grade book.  Discussions were worth 20 points and were available for 48 hours on Moodle.  To start the discussion, two to three questions pertaining to the discussion topic were posted by the instructor.  Students were responsible for posting at least three comments or questions during the specified time.  Points were manually assigned after evaluating student responses in report logs on Moodle.  The three exams consisted of 50 multiple-choice and true/false questions each worth 2 points. Exams were available for 22 hours and students were given a maximum of 90 minutes to complete each exam on Moodle.  Exam results were automatically graded and recorded in the grade book.  Students were reminded each week of pending assignments via e-mail.  Although student evaluations are not yet available, offering an online undergraduate horse management course appears to be a successful method for delivering material to non-majors while providing flexibility and an alternative learning approach to students.

Keywords: online teaching horse