Coronavirus Response

"As universities in China move courses online to serve students remotely in the face of COVID-19 lockdowns, instructors are rushing to modify their pedagogy and incorporate digital teaching tools. That means everything from recording lectures and uploading course content to the LMS, to hosting real-time web conference sessions, to using asynchronous discussion tools, to incorporating interactive quizzes and more, all while fine-tuning instructional approaches to make the most of online delivery" (Kelly, 2020). The coronavirus has made a huge impact on higher education and instructional designers along with online learning departments are developing academic continuity plans to help transition face-to-face courses to the online platform. Here in the United States several Universities and Community Colleges have shared those plans in an attempt to create consistency and some sort of guidelines. You can find that document here: https://t.co/GGNzaefcVk?amp=1. In addition, Quality Matters urges institutions to share their plans by completing this form: https://t.co/cpqupwC8lQ?amp=1.

If you are not familiar with Quality Matters (QM), let me introduce you. QM is a quality assurance model/rubric to use with online and hybrid instruction. "Quality Matters began with a small group of colleagues in the MarylandOnline, Inc. (MOL) consortium who were trying to solve a common problem among institutions: how do we measure and guarantee the quality of a course? This question was especially important as institutions began to create a system where they could share available seats in their online courses with other institutions. They needed a way to ensure course quality — that courses would be equivalent — for their students, regardless of where the course originated. In

2003 MOL outlined how the Quality Matters program could create a scalable process for course quality assurance and applied for a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant from the U.S. Department of Education." (Quality Matters, 2020) I have been a Quality Matters Reviewer for over 10 years and a Master Reviewer for five. The QM model gives faculty a set of guidelines for quality over online courses and it's driven by faculty, which makes it unique. Every year QM reviews their standards and makes modifications to the rubric. I have reviewed courses for over thirty-five institutions and the process is collaborative and meaningful. It's an opportunity to share ideas and different strategies for working towards a quality course.

Many years ago, the H1N1 virus was also a national crisis where the response of instructional designers was tremendous. I remember working with dozens of faculty in preparing their courses for the LMS. If you have been struggling with placing content in the Canvas LMS, or resistant to using technology - I would strongly encourage you to take the steps necessary to put as much content into Canvas as possible. Canvas allows us to an opportunity to create instructor presence, much like the traditional classroom, through Studio and other educational technologies. We also have Zoom licensing where you can participate in a virtual session with your students, at home. If you are a fan of active learning strategies, consider making your online classroom and "Escape Room" - a great way to had a fun element to your learning.

The Alternative Delivery Certification (ADC) is currently in Module 3 where we are learning about Instructor Presence. There are many additional ways to create interaction and engage with students at a distance. Some of our cohort members recorded videos this week as a way to create instructor presence. Here are some tips on creating video in your classroom.

Another area that instructors tend to have concerns about is giving meaningful, measurable and manageable feedback to their students. Timely feedback in online courses is critical. Students use the feedback as a way to improve on future submissions. Giving feedback within 48-hours is highly recommended and if you are teaching an accelerated course, giving feedback withing 12-hours is strongly encouraged. Online learning gives you some options in providing feedback, see this article on how to provide interactive feedback.

Transitioning your face-to-face course may seem challenging, but I would encourage you to think about how students communicate in your face-to-face course now. How can you mirror that environment in online? I have several ways that this can be done through the use of educational technologies and some that don't use technology at all. I would love to help you through this and show you how you can mirror your environments in response to #coronavirus or to just create a quality learning experience for your students. Take a look at this article on how you can use educational technologies to provide a voice for your students.

Dr. Pearce has sent an email earlier this week encouraging you to place as much content in Canvas as possible. I would encourage you to do the same; we have some of the best technologies at our fingertips to use in order to continue providing quality learning experiences for our students. I want to help you. Please, consider attending a Canvas training, make a one-on-one appointment with me or seek me during Embedded ID hours.  Let me introduce you to Canvas and how you how to best design your F2F course, online.

~Anna


Citations:

Kelly, R. (2020, 03 02). 9 Resources for When Coronavirus Moves Your Course Online. Retrieved from Campus Technology: https://campustechnology.com/Articles/2020/03/02/9-Resources-for-When-Coronavirus-Moves-Your-Course-Online.aspx

Quality Matters. (2020, 03 04). Why Quality Matters. Retrieved from Quality Matters: https://www.qualitymatters.org/why-quality-matters/about-qm