Objective Questions: What have you learned about the importance of following quality guidelines when developing an online course? What potential exists if you don’t use a set of quality guidelines? How can you ensure that your online course meets the needs of your learners when developing your own quality checklist?
I have learned that Quality Guidelines provide a framework for designing and developing an online course. They provide a basis for creating a cohesive course or set of courses by setting out a checklist of requirements that can be reviewed throughout the development of a course and upon the final proof-read. By creating or using existing Quality Guidelines instructors and course designers have a trackable method for evaluating course content, structure, and delivery. Quality Guidelines are often based on academic research, and peer and student feedback. The majority of published Quality Guidelines follow a similar structure in that they are divided into sections. For example, the “Quality Online Learning and Teaching Instrument” divided its Guidelines into the following sections;
- Course Overview and Introduction
- Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning
- Student Interaction and Community
- Facilitation and Instruction
- Technology for Teaching and Learning
- Learner Support and Resources
- Accessibility and Universal Design
- Course Summary and Wrap-Up
- Mobile Design Readiness (pg.1)
This set of guidelines provides a very comprehensive list of sections that cover various aspects of online course development including increasingly popular topics including accessibility and universal design, mobile design readiness, and technology for learning. While some lists may not cover as comprehensive a list of sections due to economical or technological restrictions, the “Quality Online Learning and Teaching Instrument” provides a strong basis for selecting appropriate quality guidelines for online courses. By reviewing these and other quality guidelines, I have learned about various methods for tracking, reviewing, and building online courses (ECampus Alberta, 2017; Sharif).
In my research, I also learned that there are different dimensions to quality from various perspectives (see figure 1). This includes parents, teachers, administrators, and students. A study found that between these groups the most common quality criteria was course “course content, design and structure, different types of support, teaching and learning processes, and evaluation and assessment. The differences are mostly in the grouping of the criteria associated with these aspects” (Esfijani, 2019, pg. 69).
Figure 1. Multiple Dimensions of Quality Online Education (Esfijani, 2019, pg. 59).
I have found that if you do not follow a set of Quality Guidelines the potential for creating a course with incohesive content, poor student engagement and success, and unsuccessful technology is much greater. Students may already be engaging in a new format (online) and thus, the importance of having an organized and clearly communicated course is essential (Marmon, 2018). If a course does not follow a set of guidelines that address all aspects of a course the course can have the following issues;
- Students can get lost or confused.
- Links and external websites may not work, and there may be other technological malfunctions.
- Missed course components such as materials, resources etc.
- Low student completion; low student grades.
- Student Isolation
- Unclear learning outcomes and course objectives
- Poor student learning assessment tools and strategies
- Inaccessible for students
In order to address these potential issues, Quality Guidelines that are suited towards your students and online software, are essential. In order to meet my student’s needs in my Quality Guidelines, I will be gathering research on various Quality Guidelines from other institutions and researchers. In particular, I will be looking at guidelines from institutions and courses in my field and demographic location. I will also be creating an online survey in each of my online courses to generate student feedback so I can develop and improve my courses and guidelines. I will also be using my own experience as an online learner to improve and write my guidelines. I also want to set a series of goals for my online courses including mobile readiness and accessibility such as looking at developing courses content that accessible for non-visual and non-hearing learners.
Reflective Questions: How does this fit with your experience? What successes and/or frustrations have you experienced in your elearning that may have been attributed to following (or not following) quality guidelines?
I feel like the above reflects my experience. I started building online courses in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, and had to “learn as I went.” I had had experience with platforms such as Canvas and had taken a course in Moodle but I had not used the specific Moodle platform that my company uses. From the beginning, I think it would have been useful to start with some specific Quality Guidelines because I found I had to go back and update courses as I learned and tested.
That being said, peer review remains an important part of my course development. My team and I ran a few test courses with colleagues and the generated from those tests informed our Quality Guidelines and course structure, along with the expertise of my team and the research we did. By continually reviewing and updating the initial courses we created, I gained perspective on how to structure and format things and learned how a well-structured course aids with assessment and communicating within it. In addition, having a peer review was essential as there were somethings that made sense to me but not to my colleagues, especially design and flow details. Following a set of Quality Guidelines has helped create a consistent flow and student experience in the course and has ensured that the courses work from an instructor and student perspective. It has also helped me gain perspective on where our resources need to go in terms of course improvement. I would like to put more resources into technology, student engagement, and accessibility.
I do find that you have to keep checking and going through the Quality Guidelines multiple times throughout a course. I have found that sometimes overtime a resource or external link will stop working, or a Moodle update will change some of the formattings of our courses. Lastly, I feel that there is always room for improvement and that Quality Guidelines can help guide you there.
Interpretive Questions: What does this new learning mean to you? What new insights do you now have? How has your thinking changed because of this learning?
Learning about Quality Guidelines have been very informative; it has shown my areas of concern in my courses such as improving the clarity of the content, structure, and assessments. It has also shown me where I and my institutions need to put our resources. I feel that after reading and researching Quality Guidelines we need to put more resources into developing engaging content, accessible resources, and make improvements to our Moodle platform. It has also shown me that many of the Quality Guidelines follow similar concerns/topics but are catered to the individual or institution’s needs. I am confident that I can adjust the Quality Guidelines to suit my names. It has also taught me that Quality Guidelines need to be continually updated as technology and learning theories change, and as I gather student feedback.
Throughout this research my thinking has changed, I have realized that there are more areas to address in a course than I originally came up with. I’ve learned that Quality Guidelines work best when they are organized appropriately and have clear points. I have also learned that I need to go through the Guidelines multiple times throughout a course and that the practical, “how it will work” is more important than the theory of how it will work. As a result, tests and trials are required. Lastly, I also learned that Quality Guidelines are dynamic, as I build a course and use it, things will change and the course will need to be updated and thus, it is important to remember that a course is not static in design or content.
Decisional Questions: How can this new learning be applied in your online course?
The first way I am going to apply it is by updating and revising our Quality Guidelines; I am going to expand on the sections including assessment, accessibility, technology, and teaching and learner resources. I am also going to build a course survey in order to gather student feedback and data so we can continue to update our courses. I also want to build a timeline for investing and redeveloping existing courses in order to match our quality guidelines and follow some of the innovative topics I found in other Quality Guidelines. In addition, I want to rethink how Quality Guidelines are divided for different users including instructors, administrators, and curriculum developers. I feel that the individuals in each of these roles have different needs when it comes to working with, using, and developing a course. I would also like to gather their feedback as well. Lastly, I’ve wanted to make a plan to revisit our Quality Guidelines often, in order to look for gaps, improvements, and other adjustments.
Reference List:
Boettcher, J.V., & Conrad, R (2016). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
ECampus Alberta. (2017). Essential Quality Standards 2.0. Retrieved from http://library.athabascau.ca/files/projects/ecampusalberta/quality/eCampusAlberta_QualityEQS2.0_Brochure_2017_FINAL.pdf
Esfijani, A. (2018). Measuring Quality in Online Education: A Meta-synthesis. American Journal of Distance Education, 32(1), 57-73.
Marmon, M. (2018). Enhancing social presence in online learning environments / Michael Marmon, editor.
Quality Online Learning and Teaching (QOLT) Instrument. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxN4M6qCVbDPOEl0d1dKWmFXOEk/view?pli=1
Sharif, A. (n.d.). Online/Blended Learning Course Quality Checklist. Retrieved July 25, 2019, from https://wiki.ubc.ca/images/1/1b/OnlineQualityCheckList_SiteJuly27.pdf
Yilmaz, R. (2017). Exploring the Role of E-Learning Readiness on Student Satisfaction and Motivation in Flipped Classroom. Computers in Human Behavior., 70(C), 251-260.
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