Abstract—This paper describes the approach and considerations taken into account while designing and developing online courses at the Canadian Foreign Service Institute at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and how research is applied in achieving desired goals and work objectives. It details what is common to the design and development of online courses in the application of lessons from educational literature in a practical setting, in relating to concepts of eLearning and instructional design: doing a needs assessment; gathering content and working with SMEs; developing a Master Design Chart, detailed storyboard; designing activities and an overall interactive interface; and finally, conducting evaluations. The linkages between theory and practice include the applications of various theoretical propositions, such as Alessi & Trollip's eight steps to address computer-based instructional design; Gagne’s nine events of instruction; Mayer’s ten research-based principles of multimedia learning; Dick & Carey's six stages of formative evaluation; and Kirkpatrick four levels evaluation model. The paper proposes five stages of online course development employed at the Canadian Foreign Service Institute as a means of best practices for corporate training.

Index Terms—Canada, education, eLearning, instructional design.

Cite: S. Wasty and D. Renié, "Best Practices in Designing and Developing Online Courses at the Canadian Foreign Service Institute," International Journal of e-Education, e-Business, e-Management and e-Learning vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 64-68, 2011.