Don’t miss important details. Use this handy checklist to see how your course measures up.
o Accessibility: Course design elements follow best practices for accessibility in documents, presentations, video recordings, and other course materials through the practice of universal design principles that are helpful for all types of learners, including those with visual and hidden disabilities.
o Active Learning: Course includes in-class and online activities that encourage students to explore content deeply, alone and in groups, while building important social and independent thinking skills.
o Assessment Strategies: Course includes multiple forms of assessment, including formative and summative, and assessments are clearly aligned to instructional materials and learning outcomes. Assessments may include a wide range of multi-modal activities beyond exams and papers. Grading rubrics are clearly organized and fair.
o Bandwidth Considerations: Because many students lack high-speed internet course balances high bandwidth activities like synchronous meetings and video camera usage with lower bandwidth asynchronous course activities and video.
o Effective Use of Compass/Moodle: If you are not already using one, request a course shell in Compass or Moodle. Become familiar with all features especially those for content sharing and course communication.
o Effective Use of Zoom: Consider attending training to become comfortable using Zoom for online lectures and synchronous class meetings. Zoom has collaborative tools that will make sessions more interactive. Practice before class is scheduled!
o Engagement: Course has structured opportunities for student engagement and fosters an online community of learning that includes Instructor to Student, Student to Student, and Student to Instructor communication plans.
o Financial Considerations: Course minimizes additional student cost by relying as much as possible on university-contracted educational technologies and free or Open Educational Resources (OER).
o Legal Considerations: Course follows guidelines and best practices for copyright, FERPA, and accessibility policies.
o Organization: Course has a clearly organized weekly schedule of learning tasks, that includes dates and times for synchronous and asynchronous activities. In class and online activities are clearly identified with required prework and assignment due dates.
o Proctored and Unproctored Assessments: Course exams are in keeping with the overall purpose and structure of learning goals defined for each unit or module, and are delivered with clearly articulated proctored or unproctored strategies.
o Student Support: Course includes clear instructions for how students will receive weekly support from instructor and/or TAs. Live office hours are scheduled and maintained, and asynchronous online help forums are clearly identified and regularly checked.
o Student Workload: Tally instructional delivery time and student requirements to meet credit hour requirements. Balance and seamlessly integrate in-class and online learning activities while remaining mindful of avoiding the ‘course and a half’ syndrome