ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an overview of needs assessments and how they can benefit instructional design efforts. Needs assessments benefit online courses by establishing background information about learners, such as cultural influences and predispositions, that can be used to form community. The chapter discusses how to conduct a needs assessment in the WisCom framework. It presents various approaches to a WisCom needs assessment to assess learner needs fully, and provides sample questions for each. These methods include an infrastructure analysis—discussed in terms of institutional readiness and access to technology—and a learner analysis. Learners on remote Native American reservations in New Mexico have little access to computer networks but do have access to wireless technology. The aspects of technology access directly applicable to WisCom focus on principles of Universal Design for Learning, a framework that encourages flexibility and choice in information presentation and learner engagement.
