ADA Compliance

As you work on creating or modifying an online course, be sure your course acknowledges the importance of and compliance with ADA requirements. Here are some suggestions:

• Introductory text within the course should indicate your willingness to assist the student and work with campus support services to provide the necessary accommodations to meet the special needs of the student.
• The course should include a statement that tells students how to gain access to ADA services (Access Services at JCCC).
• The course should provide information on JCCC’s support services (Counseling Center, Library, Help Desk, Access Services, and so on) and provide links and information to enable easy access to institutional resources that provide student support.

Other course design tips are available at http://ce-annotations.blogspot.com/search/label/Course%20Design. This tip is based on the Quality REACHE rubric (see http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/QualityReache/).

Online or Network Etiquette

As you work on creating or modifying an online course, share with your students your expectations regarding online etiquette (netiquette or network etiquette), specifically with regard to discussions and email communication. There are many sites that you can use to learn about netiquette and many that you can link to as an introduction to netiquette for your students. Review the following for background information:

http://web.jccc.edu/edtech/notes/store/30/Netiquette.htm
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/
http://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/07/21/netiquette.tools/

Two links you might want to include in your course for student use are:

http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
http://www.studygs.net/netiquette.htm

Other course design tips are available at http://ce-annotations.blogspot.com/search/label/Course%20Design. This basic guideline of this tip is derived from the Quality REACHE rubric (see http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/QualityReache/).

Instructor Response and Availability Standards

As you work on creating or modifying an online course, be sure to share with your students standards for your response and availability. Here are some suggestions:

• Share with your students your availability by indicating turn-around times for grading various assessments, assignments and responding to discussion board postings and email messages.
• Be sure information on response times and availability is indicated in the course syllabus or a “Read Me First” module so students know what to expect regarding instructor responses and grading.
• Indicate for students your availability regarding the degree of participation in discussions (e.g., will you be active, an observer only, or respond only late in the discussion after students have interacted).
• Indicate your availability using other media (phone, in-person, online chat), if applicable.

Other course design tips are available at http://ce-annotations.blogspot.com/search/label/Course%20Design. This information is derived from the Quality REACHE rubric (see http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/QualityReache/).

Daylight Savings Time in March

It may seem early to plan for Daylight Savings Time (it doesn't start again until March 9, 2008 in the U.S.) but we've already had a faculty member try to set a due date (for a Spring course) on March 9, 2008. When saved the hour the assignment is due automatically increments by an hour. The last notice from Blackboard indicated they're working on the bug, but no fix yet.

So, if you try to set a time for an event (entry in calendar or assignment or assessment due date) on March 9, Blackboard changes the time to an hour later. Here’s an example: if you type in a time (like 11:00 PM) or use the drop down menu to choose a time, it may appear correct until you save it, then the time is set forward without warning to 12:00 AM (which would be on March 10). As far as we know now, this anomaly only occurs on March 9. If you don’t expect the behavior, you may be frustrated and waste a lot of time trying to figure it out.

The work-around is to simply set the time for the due date an hour earlier than you really want. That’ll work until Blackboard fixes the problem. J

Easy to Understand Grading System

The course design tips that have been shared over the past several days are all derived from the Quality Matters or Quality REACHE rubric, which has been shared with JCCC faculty enrolled in the iTeach Online Workshop (and its predecessor WebCeTera) since the Fall of 2005 (when we were still using WebCT 4.1). Here’s another “tip.”

As you work on creating or modifying an online course, the Quality REACHE rubric (based on the University of Maryland FISE Grant funded Quality Matters rubric, http://www.qualitymatters.org/Rubric.htm) suggests that a course’s grading policy should be transparent and easy to understand. Such a guideline can be accomplished in several ways:

• The grading policy should list all graded course activities (assessments, assignments, projects, group work, discussion postings and other interactivity with other students and the instructor) and should clearly identify the points/overall value of each activity and how it contributes to the final grade.
• The grading policy should be established and available to the student at the beginning of the class.
• The course should include a rubric that clearly describes what the student needs to do, what each activity, assignment and assessment is “worth,” and how points, grades or percentages earned for each activity equate to a final course grade.

Other course design tips are available at http://ce-annotations.blogspot.com/search/label/Course%20Design. The Quality REACHE (QR) rubric and other information about QR is available at http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/QualityReache/.

Are Instructional Materials in an Appropriate Form for Online Access?

As you work on creating or modifying an online course, the Quality REACHE rubric (based on the University of Maryland FISE Grant funded Quality Matters rubric) suggests that instructional materials should be presented in a format appropriate to the online environment and that all materials should be easily accessible to and usable by the student. Suggested ways in which this recommendation can be approached include:

• All instructional materials should be easily accessible and available in alternative formats if not readily viewed by a standard web browser (e.g. current versions of Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox). If the course uses files (like Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat) that are not in a “native web format” (i.e., HTML, JPEG, PNG) then students should be provided with information on how to access the files if they do not already have the necessary programs or plug-ins installed. Suggestion: always provide the content in a file format that can be easily accessed using a web browser.
• If course resources (e.g. outside readings, CD/DVD-based content, supplemental web sites) are not housed within the LMS, links to or information on how the student can access the resources should be easy for students to locate within the course.
• If software plug-ins are required to access course content, then the plug-ins required should be listed within the course, along with instructions on how to obtain and install them.
• Large text files and learning modules should be broken into smaller “chucks” and presented with a table of contents or other navigation system to enable easy access and reference.

Other course design tips are available at http://ce-annotations.blogspot.com/search/label/Course%20Design. The Quality REACHE (QR) rubric and other information about QR is available at http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/QualityReache/.

Learning Objectives that Are Measurable

When designing a new online course or modifying an existing one, be sure the learning objectives of the course describe outcomes that are measurable. This is best accomplished using the following guidelines:

• First, be sure that you have listed measurable learning objectives in an obvious location (usually they’re identified in the course syllabus and/or at the beginning of each learning module).
• Second, be sure to precisely describe what students are to gain from the content/instruction and “what” will guide you in accurately assessing your students’ accomplishments. Appropriate terms should be used such as “identify,” “define,” “develop,” “perform,” “explain” and “select” as opposed to less measurable terms such as “understand,” “appreciate,” “be aware of,” and “know.”
• Second, objectives should describe student performance in specific, observable terms. If this is not possible, (e.g., internal cognition, affective changes), there should be other clear indications that the learning objective can be meaningfully assessed.

Other course design tips are available at http://ce-annotations.blogspot.com/search/label/Course%20Design. The Quality REACHE (QR) rubric and other information about QR is available at http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/QualityReache/.

Helping Students Understand the Structure of Your Course

As you create or update your online course for the next semester, don’t forget to include a statement that introduces the student to the course and to the structure of the student’ learning activities within the course.

One or more of the following methods may be used to accomplished this goal such as:

• Include a course Syllabus, that identifies the types of activities the student will be required to complete (written assignments, online self-tests, participation in the discussion board, group work, etc.).
• Include a schedule or calendar that identifies the structure and pace of student learning; e.g., assignment and test due dates, due dates for required discussion postings, if applicable, and so on.
• Early in the course clearly indicate if the course is self-paced or follows a schedule of due dates for expected activities and assignments.
• Sequence the course so it is clear to the student which tasks are expected first, which are expected in week 1, week 2 and so on.
• If there is a linear structure to the course , make it clear. If learning activities can be accomplished in a random order be sure to provide instruction and guidance at key points during the learning process. Either way, be sure the purpose of each activity and any required activity is clearly defined.
• Identify the preferred mode of communication with you, the instructor (e.g., email, discussion board, etc.), and the preferred mode of communication with other students (i.e., “I Need Help!,” “Student Lounge” topic in the discussions area, etc.).
• Identify testing procedures (e.g., are all assessments online, may assessments be taken under the supervision of a proctor, are some on-campus assessments required, etc.).
• Be sure the procedure for submission of electronic assignments is clearly defined and explained.

If you missed the last course design tip, check out “Where to Start” at http://ce-annotations.blogspot.com/2007/11/where-to-start.html.