The Joys of Instructional Design: "I have to be a juggler of sorts. That seems to be the most required and remarkable aspect of developing online courses. Whatever the subject – from the journeys involved in Humanities or Social Science or Physics or Cultural Studies – I juggle the intricate details and try to highlight the humanity behind each course. Locating and highlighting the humanity is what helps the learners classify and organize knowledge into categories."
Comment: Just a quick note on learning objectives - I find that objectives are of greater value to the designer than the learner. Most learners (based on my experience) do not use the objectives as sign posts to course progress. At best, they read them at the start of the course to see what will be covered. Objectives are of more benefit to designers...allowing them to sequence content and ensure course content is presented completely and without gaps.