Best Practice in Online Course Development

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Best Practice in Online Course Development

• Quality Matters Process
• Moodle Online Course Management System

• Janet LewisInstructional Technology

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Agenda

• 215P 245P
• Terminology
• What is Moodle
• Quality Matters philosophy
• 245P 300P Break
• 300P 400P Moodle Hands-on

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Session Overview

• Understand that a well thought out course design
  goes a long way to ensuring success in the online
  environment
• Quality Matter training has a set of criteria by
  which to guide course creators to assist with
  this.
• People wishing to design a complete course online
  may wish to enroll in the official Quality
  Matters training, which is a 3-week online
  program through Quality Matters/MarylandOnline

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Session Overview (contd)

• Understand that Moodle is the course management
  software program used for putting a class online.
  
• Currently, SDB has purchased 500 student slots
  per year from a Moodle web hosting provider
  (using 66).
• One of the district goals is to eventually have
  district-created high school courses taught by
  SDB staff and offered for credit.
• At this time, the contractual details are not
  finalized.
• If you might be interested, contact me.
• Today you will be given a demo site.
• Moodle can be used in a hybrid format, to
  supplement your existing face-to-face classroom

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Quality Matters philosophy
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About Quality Matters
Visit www.qualitymatters.org
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Quality Matters is an online course quality
assurance program

• There are researched-based standards that MUST be
  adhered to at a better than average (high
  quality) ranking, some of which are
  non-negotiable
• Peer Course Review Rubrics should be conducted in
  an ongoing manner to review online courses.
• Peer recommendations for course improvement are a
  key component to keep courses high quality.
• The Peer Reviewer Training Online workshop is 3
  weeks in length. Fees are 175 for QM Subscribers
  and 300 for Non-Subscribers.

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Quality Matters Course Peer Review Process
Faculty Course Developers
Institutions
National Standards Research Literature
Course
Rubric
Faculty Reviewers
Training
Peer Course Review
Feedback
Instructional Designers
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For Our Purposes, Quality Is

• More than average more than good enough
• An attempt to capture whats expected in an
  effective online course at about an 85 level
• Based on research and widely accepted standards

85
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Factors Affecting Course Quality

• Course design QM REVIEWS THIS
• Course delivery (i.e. teaching, faculty
  performance)
• Course content
• Course management system
• Institutional infrastructure
• Faculty training and readiness
• Student engagement and readiness

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Underlying Principles of QM

• The QM toolset and process are
• based in national standards of best practice, the
  research literature and instructional design
  principles
• designed to promote student learning
• integral to a continuous quality improvement
  process
• part of a faculty-driven, peer review process
• Course does not have to be perfect but better
  than just good enough. (Standards met at about
  85 level or better.)

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The Rubric
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The Rubric

• Eight standards
• Course Overview and Introduction
• Learning Objectives
• Assessment and Measurement
• Resources and Materials
• Learner Interaction
• Course Technology
• Learner Support
• Accessibility

Key components must align.
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What is Alignment?

• Critical course elements
• work together to ensure
• that students achieve
• the desired learning outcomes.

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Key Sections that Must Align
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Key Standards that Must Align

• Objectives
• Standard II.1 Measurable outcomes at course
  level
• Standard II.2 Measurable outcomes at unit level
• Assessment and Measurement
• Standard III.1 Measures objectives consistent
  with learning activities
• Learner Interactions and Activities
• Standard V.1 Help students achieve the
  objectives
• Course Materials
• Standard IV.1 Deep and comprehensive enough for
  students to achieve the objective
• Course Technology
• Standard VI.1 Tools and media support the
  objectives

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QM General Standards
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General Standard ICourse Overview and
Introduction

• 1.1 Navigational instructions make the
  organization of the course easy to understand.
• 1.2 A statement introduces the student to the
  course and to the structure of the student
  learning, and, in the case of a hybrid course,
  clarifies the relationship between the
  face-to-face and online components.

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General Standard IILearning Objectives
(Competencies)

• II.I The course learning objectives describe
  outcomes that are measurable.
• II.2 The module/unit learning objectives
  describe outcomes that are measurable and
  consistent with the course-level objectives.

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General Standard III Assessment and Measurement

• III.1 The types of assessments selected
  measure the stated learning objectives and are
  consistent with course activities and resources.
• III.2 The course grading policy is stated
  clearly.
• III.3 Specific and descriptive criteria are
  provided for the evaluation of students work and
  participation.

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General Standard IV Resources and Materials

• IV.I The instructional materials support the
  stated learning objectives.
• IV.2 The instructional materials have
  sufficient breadth, depth, and currency for the
  student to learn the subject.

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General Standard VLearner Interaction

• V.1 The learning activities promote the
  achievement of stated learning objectives.
• V.2 Learning activities foster
  instructor-student, content-student, and if
  appropriate to this course, student-student
  interaction.
• V.3 Clear standards are set for instructor
  response and availability (turn-around time for
  email, grade posting, etc.)

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General Standard VICourse Technology

• VI.I The tools and media support the learning
  objectives and are appropriately chosen to
  deliver the content of the course.

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General Standard VII Learner Support

• No 3-point elementsThis standard has no
  essential 3-point elements because its
  primarily concerned with academic support
  services, student support services and technical
  support services.usually thought to be the
  primary responsibility of the institution and not
  the individual instructor.

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General Standard VIIIAccessibility

• VIII.1 The course acknowledges the importance
  of American Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
• To meet this standard, the course must include
  BOTH of these elements
• The course must be offered using software that is
  accepted as ADA compliant..
• AND
• The course should include a brief statement that
  clearly tells students how to access ADA services
  at the institution.
• (examples having alternative text where images
  are. A text reader would be able to read what
  the picture represented)

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What is Moodle?

• Online course management system

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SDB home page, click on FOR STAFF and then Moodle
Login
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http//sdb.mrooms.net/
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SDB home page, click on FOR STAFF and then Moodle
Login
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Lets Go!

• Read through the intro section
• Resources (ways to insert web content into
  course) vs. Activities (every activity can be
  graded)
• Enter your contact information
• Change the directions on the Introduce Yourself
  forum and then add your information there
• Download the Pace Chart, fill it in, and upload
  back to teacher (you)
• Look through the sample activities in Unit 1
• Add and delete an activity.