[VPAAEtal] ITDE Instructional Design Newsletter (TAMU-C) - June 16, 2008

Mon Jun 16 13:44:53 CDT 2008

		 Online Learning InfoCast

		Volume 1, Issue 10, June 16, 2008

Standards, Benchmarks, and Guidelines for Online Courses

		Online courses include many components with varied
structure and content.  The intended result of the combined design of
the components, structure, and content is student learning. Instructors
of these online courses are concerned with two aspects of online
courses: (1) the quality or effectiveness of the components, struc-ture,
and content; and (2) the quality of the learning that takes place.

Benchmarks, guidelines, and standards for online course quality or
effectiveness are available in a myriad of sources. Ac-cording to
Marshall (2004), "standards represent a significant investment of
re-sources and are consequently driven by a desire to solve problems in
a particular context that are relevant to those provid-ing the
resources" (p. 599). Oliver and Liber (2003) share that the use of
e-learning standards assists in assuring quality online pedagogic and
andragogic strategies in online course instruction. 

The six United States regional accrediting bodies have completed a set
of recom-mendations, standards, or guidelines. Most regional commissions
emphasize standards that are broad and flexible in order to meet the
varied online learning experiences, needs, instructional tradi-tions,
values, and principles.  Higher edu-cation organizations have also
developed guidelines or benchmarks for online learn-ing. The guidelines
and/or benchmarks are intended to assist in developing an effective
online learning experience and in  assessing and evaluating  the
effective-ness of the online learning products and courses. (Seok,
2007).

In this issue and subsequent issues of the Instructional Design Online
Learning Info-Cast, we provide a checklist of some rec-ommended
standards, guidelines, and benchmarks for your reference when first
developing your online or web-enhanced course, or when working to
further en-hance your existing course(s).  The list included in this
issue of the newsletter focuses on the "online organization and design"
of an online course.

Course Navigability or Organization

r Syllabus is easily located

r Links to other parts of the course or external sources are accurate
and up-to-date

r Instructional materials required are easily located

r Numbers identify sequenced steps

r Course content is organized in a logi-cal format

r Topics are clearly identified and sub-topics are related to topics

r Sequential (vs. concurrent) topics are annotated with dates

r Course schedule is available in a printer-friendly format for student
con-venience

r Organization and sequencing of the course content is logical and clear

r Resources are separated into "required" and "optional" categories.

	Syllabus Includes

r Course objectives

r Course completion requirements

r Expectations of students' participa-tion, honesty, etc

r Timeline for student participation is clear

r Faculty member's introductory infor-mation

r Expectations of availability of and turnaround time for contact with
in-structor

r Course schedule is summarized in one place

Aesthetic Design

r Typeface is easy to read

r Sufficient contrast between text and background makes information easy
to read

r Appropriate images supporting course content add visual interest

r Design keeps course pages to a com-fortable length with white space

Consistency in Course

r Layout of course is visually and func-tionally consistent

r Navigability is clean, simple, and user friendly

r Spelling and grammar are consistent and accurate

r Written material is concise

r Language of written material is friendly and supportive

r Clear directions are given for each task or assignment

r Sentences and paragraphs are brief

Universal Accessibility

r Universal accessibility concerns are addressed throughout the course

r Images are optimized for speedy dis-play and include alternative text

r Alternative formats of materials pro-vided, when possible

r Use of color adds interest, but does not disadvantage those with color
blindness

             Julie A. McElhany

             Coordinator, Instructional Design

Marshall, S. (2004). E-learning standards: Open enablers of learning or
compliance strait jackets? In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Swyer, &
R. Phillips (Eds.), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceed-ings of the 21st
ASCILITE Conference  (pp. 596-605). Perth, West Austrailia. Retrieved
May 20, 2008, from http://www.ascilite.org/au/conferences/
perth04/procs/marshall.html
<http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/procs/marshall.html>  

Oliver, B., & Liber, O. (2003). Learning technology interoperability
standards. In A. Littlejohn (Ed.), Re-using online resources: A
sustainable approach to e-Learning (pp. 146-155). London: Kogan Page.  

Seok, S. (2007). Standards, accreditation, bench-marks, and guidelines
in distance education. In M. Simonson, & C. Schlosser (Eds.) Quarterly
Review of Distance Education: Research that guides prac-tice , 8(4),
pp.387-398. 

New ClassLive Pro Features

Instructors can now pause a session recording. When opening a ClassLive
Pro session, the recording feature automatically turns on creating an
archive for the ses-sion. Instructors now have the ability to pause the
recording and restart it at anytime within an active session by clicking
on the stop and start buttons,

    New Buttons

found at the bottom left corner of the session Interface. This feature
allows for the elimination of gaps or dead time in a recording along
with the ability to turn off the re-cording altogether for a session
that does not require to be recorded.

Here is an example of how this feature may be used:

In many ClassLive Pro sessions, instructors will activate the session
early so they can set up their lecture. When a student views the archive
they have to fast forward through the setup time to find the actual
session start. With the new pause feature an instructor can pause the
recording while they setup and then restart the recording when they are
ready to begin their session.

Availability:

The pause feature is only available to instructors using ClassLive Pro

Only one archive will be created for each session even if the recording
has been paused a number of times

An additional feature, which has been added as part of this release, is
the ability for an instructor to erase the beginning of the recording
within a live session. This is a great feature for instructors that are
recording their lecture for students to view later. An instructor may
begin the lecture but for some reason decides that they want to start
over. Instead of ending the session, waiting several minutes, and then
logging into a new session, they can simply click on Tools (in the menu
bar), Recorder, and Erase Recording. This will erase everything that has
been recorded up to that point. 

 Formative Surveys (Online Courses)

Students in online courses (01W, 02W...) are required to complete a
formative sur-   
vey approximately two weeks after the beginning of the term. These
surveys serve to inform the instructors as to the experience of students
regarding the start-up of the course(s). Survey administration dates and
delivery of the survey results to fac-

		 Summative Surveys (Online Courses)

Students in online courses (01W, 02W...) are also required to complete a
summa-tive survey approximately two weeks prior to the close of the
term. These surveys inform the faculty assigned to the course and the
department head of how the stu-dents evaluated the course. Survey
administration dates and delivery of the survey results to faculty and
department heads is provided in table below:

  Term

  Dates Surveys are

  Administered to Students

  Results to Faculty/

  Department Heads

  Summer I 2008

  June 25 - June 30

  July 11 - August 18

  Summer II 2008 

  July 25 - July 29

  August 18 - November 18

 Announcements 

	  IDU Staff

Summer II 2008 Populated

Summer II 2008 courses are scheduled to be populated with students on
June 25th.

Ready to Develop or Modify Your Fall 2008 Course(s)?

If you are ready to begin developing or en-hancing your Fall 2008
course(s), feel free to request that your Fall 2008 course shell be
created by completing the online course copy request form found at 
www.tamu-commerce.edu/itde/copyrequest.asp
<http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/itde/copyrequest.asp> .   

  Julie A. McElhany, Ed.D.

  Coordinator for Instructional Design

  Dean Aslinia, M.S.

  eLearning Support Specialist

  Alan Francis, M.B.A.

  eLearning Administrative Specialist

  Jess Lamphere, B.S.

  eLearning Support Specialist

**** A PDF version of this newsletter is available at 
www.tamu-commerce.edu/itde/ newslettersArchive.asp.
<http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/itde/newslettersArchive.asp>  

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment.htm
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 13374 bytes
Desc: image001.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1531 bytes
Desc: image002.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 4428 bytes
Desc: image003.gif
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment.gif
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 111 bytes
Desc: image004.gif
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0001.gif
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1818 bytes
Desc: image005.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0002.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1212 bytes
Desc: image006.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0003.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 894 bytes
Desc: image007.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0004.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2231 bytes
Desc: image008.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0005.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 16764 bytes
Desc: image009.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0006.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1818 bytes
Desc: image010.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0007.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 910 bytes
Desc: image011.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0008.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 908 bytes
Desc: image012.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0009.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 333 bytes
Desc: image013.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0010.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 749 bytes
Desc: image014.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0011.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 761 bytes
Desc: image015.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0012.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 773 bytes
Desc: image016.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0013.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1247 bytes
Desc: image017.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0014.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1240 bytes
Desc: image018.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0015.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1299 bytes
Desc: image019.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0016.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1636 bytes
Desc: image020.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0017.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1687 bytes
Desc: image021.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0018.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1787 bytes
Desc: image022.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0019.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 333 bytes
Desc: image023.jpg
Url : http://mailman.tamuc.edu/pipermail/vpaaetal/attachments/20080616/7f6fcdf3/attachment-0020.jpg