Quality assurance for elearning

1
Quality assurance for e-learning

• Dr Tim Brown
• Deputy Director, Validation Services
• OUUK

2
The quality tripod

• Curriculum and course design
• Course delivery, learning and assessment
• Includes student support, VLE and learning
  resources, staff resources and staff support, and
  student progress and achievement
• Quality management, reporting and enhancement

3
Curriculum and course design

• Conformity to qualification frameworks, subject
  benchmarks, codes of practice, etc.
• Learning outcomes need to be clear to all
• Knowledge, understanding and skills both
  subject specific and transferable
• Be clear about the role of e-learning in a
  blended context
• Be clear about general educational outcomes such
  as breadth of perception, critical reflection and
  independent judgement, team-working, etc.
• Flexibility time, place and pace. Needs
  sensitivity
• Active learning, interactivity and feedback

4
Course delivery, learning, and assessment

• Admission, induction and guidance
• Learning resources
• The VLE, libraries and resource centres
• Tutor/mentor support, administrative and
  technical support, help-desk
• Academic community, interaction
• Student assignments, formative assessment and
  feedback
• Summative assessment and examinations, security
  issues

5
Summative assessment

• Procedures need to be
• Explicit, Fair, Valid, Reliable, Plural
• Judgements need to be exercised collectively, as
  far as possible
• Effective procedures in place to avoid cheating
  plagiarism and impersonation

6
Quality management and enhancement

• Clear structures, processes and responsibilities
• Statistics and performance indicators
• Critical analysis
• Feedback from students, staff, examiners,
  employers, and other stakeholders. External
  review
• Reflection, evaluation on a regular basis
• Quality enhancement
• Course/programme changes, design delivery
• Staff induction, training, appraisal
• Staff development and research
• Action plans and targets