Quality Matters and Online Courses in Sakai

1. Quality Matters and Online Courses in Sakai Brian Dashew, Instructional Designer, Marist College Dr. Reba-Anna Lee, Assistant Director for Academic Technology & eLearning, Marist College

2. Introductions • Who is here today? • Faculty? instructional designers? • Online courses at your institution? • Familiarity with Quality Matters? • Are you using it? Considering using it? 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

3. About Marist College • Comprehensive liberal arts college • Located in Poughkeepsie, New York • 5700 FTE students, 200 full-time faculty, 500 part-time faculty • Reputation as technology innovator • Strategic plan calls for growth in distance learning

4. Distance learning at Marist College • Strong history of online instruction • First fully online MBA program accredited in New York State • Six online Masters and one undergraduate degree completion program • Two accelerated undergraduate sessions: • 10 week summer session • 4 week winter session 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

5. Growth in Programs • Growth in students taking advantage of online offerings • Growth in number of courses offered • Winter 2010: 5 4-week courses offered • Winter 2011: 14 4-week courses offered • Summer 2011: 42 10-week courses offered 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

6. Problems • No central oversight over programs • Limited instructional design training • “Course Readiness Reports” • Take too much time • Courses not yet created • What happens if we find problems? 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

7. Marist Distance Learning Committee • Created as an ad hoc committee • Investigates issues related to quality in DL • Year reviewing standards • Voted to recommend college investigate Quality Matters 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

8. Course Meets Quality Expectations Course Revision Quality Matters Basics I Course Course Review Feedback

9. Quality Matters Basics II Key components must align. Alignment: Critical course elements work together to ensure that students achieve the desired learning outcomes. Eight General Standards: • Course Overview and Introduction • Learning Objectives • Assessment and Measurement • Resources and Materials • Learner Interaction • Course Technology • Learner Support • Accessibility

10. Quality Matters Basics III • More than average; more than “good enough” • An attempt to capture what’s expected in an effective online course at about an 85% level • Based on research and widely accepted standards 85 %

11. Quality Matters Basics IV • Team of 3 reviewers initially score individually • One score per standard based on team majority • Pre-assigned point value • Yes/No decision; All/None points • Consensus is NOT required

12. Quality Matters Basics V 72/85 = 85% A course must achieve: • “Yes” on all 17 of the 3-point “essential” standards. • A minimum of 72 out of 85 points

13. Online Course Redesign Institute • Five day intensive program in June 2010 • Application process • 10 faculty selected • Each faculty given a preliminary report • Essential standards only • After redesign, faculty are given a complete report 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

14. Program • Monday: A framework for your course • Tuesday: Meaningful assessments • Wednesday: Appropriate content • Thursday: Learner interactions • Friday: Welcome statements • Friday featured brief presentations of redesign work to Deans 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

15. Day 1: Framework • Basics of Quality Matters • Presentation and discussion of the review • Standard 2: Writing effective learning objectives • Faculty given a Planning Guide 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

16. Day 2: Meaningful Evaluations • Standard 3: Evaluations • Discussion of alignment • Best Practices for Assignments and Tests and Quizzes • Important that we tie these back to high-quality course implementation 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

17. Day 3: Course Content • Standard 4: Content • Standard 6: Tools and Media • Best Practices for Lessons and Resources • Student-generated content • Web 2.0 tools in iLearn • Organization of course material 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

18. Day 4: Discussions and Interaction • Standard 5: Meaningful interaction • Best practices for discussion and collaboration tools • Discussions about when and how to set up interaction • Setting standards for collaboration 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

19. Day 5: Syllabus • Standards 1, 7,8: Welcome statement, support, ADA • Syllabus tool • Opportunity for presentations 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

20. What we saw in presentations • People valued collaboration with other faculty in the design process • People were creative in content presentation and activity design • The design process became part of the course • Faculty strive for perfection 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

21. Additional Programs • Fashion department • First department with QM in contracts • MBA redesign project • MPA program • First department to vote all courses would be QM-compliant • Summer course redesign program 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

22. Issues and Concerns • How do we scale this? • Each review takes between 4-8 hours • Even our shortened training takes 10-20 hrs. • Support from faculty? • First faculty reviewers hired Spring 2011 • Official QM training followed by shadow review • Can we use faculty trainers? 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

23. Questions? 12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16