HOSTOS ONLINE COURSE DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

Transcription

1 HOSTOS ONLINE COURSE DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES Last Revised: THE ONLINE DESIGNATION For a course to be considered online, more than 80% of the instruction has to occur online. The instructor can decide to meet students in a traditional face-to-face classroom to complete examinations and other related tasks but it is recommended that most of the teaching and learning processes take place within the online environment through Blackboard, which is the official platform for online instruction at CUNY. An online class is expected to be equivalent to a regular face-to-face course and should cover all the learning objectives that a regular class does in a semester based on the college curriculum. The most important part in designing an online course is to construct an online class that follows the same structure of a regular class but within a different framework. What distinguishes an online course from a traditional face-to-face class is the mode of delivery not the content of the class. We recommend that instructors design their online courses using learning modules or learning units that should be organized in a coherent and systematic way matching the academic coursework that is done during a regular semester. For the purposes of this document, a Learning Module or Unit is defined as a distinct group of learning activities and course content created by the instructor to guide the progress of students through a structured presentation of materials. Learning Units may be organized by textbook chapter, module, course week, topic, theme, or by some other method, but it is suggested that each Learning Unit should be approximately equal in terms of amount of content covered and time required for completion. A given Learning Unit will contain instructions and due dates, a variety of content items (such as presentations, lecture notes, articles and other readings, images, video, sound recording), annotated links, and assessment tools (such as assignments, quizzes, tests, and essays). These materials should be sequenced in the order in which students should read them. It is essential that all course instructions and academic expectations are stated in writing since students need clear guidelines to complete their academic coursework without the physical presence of the instructor in the online classroom.

2 A course outline should be developed to organize the course into a number of individual Learning Units. It is recommended that you begin thinking about your course outline before you begin developing your Blackboard site. Such an outline should contain: a. Learning Objectives/Outcomes for each Learning Unit; b. A table of activities for each Learning Unit; c. A detailed description of all online activities for each Learning Unit; d. A list of resources used in each learning unit; e. A description of the assessment items and procedures that is itself cross-referenced with each of the Learning Unit s Learning Objectives/Outcomes. The following table is offered as a model for a Course Outline: Week / Learning Unit Objective(s) / Outcome(s) Learning Activities Resources Assessment Week 1/LU 1 Topic: Week 2/LU 2 Topic: Week 3/LU 3 Topic: THE APPLICATION PROCESS Complete the Online Course Development Initiation Form, available here: This form communicates your interest in developing an online course to: 1) Your department chair, 2) The Director of EdTech, and 3) The Chair of the EdTech Leadership Council (ETLC).

3 The assessment and approval process for your course may take a little time. In the meantime your course section should be submitted to your department no later than MARCH 1st for classes to be scheduled in the fall, or OCTOBER 1st for scheduling in the spring. Please approach your Chair to advise her/him of your intention to convert/develop a course to an online mode. * Be advised that your Chair has to approve the submission of the course to the Registrar in the online modality. THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS The EdTech Office will create a Blackboard course shell to develop the online course, and will contact you as soon as it is ready. It is strongly recommended that you work closely with the EdTech Specialist during the development of your online course. THE SUBMISSION & APPROVAL PROCESS For a course to be considered online, it must be approved by the ETLC. Once you have completed developing your course shell, please fill out the Online Course Submission Form, available here: EdTech Specialists will review your course and forward your request to ETLC for review: 1. Two members of the ETLC, one of whom will be from your department, will be selected to evaluate your course using the Checklist for Online Designation. They will report their recommendation to ETLC. 2. If the course has met the criteria, ETLC will notify your Department Chair and the Office of Academic Affairs that your course may be offered with the Online designation. 3. If the course has not met the criteria, ETLC and EdTech will advise you on ways to revise the submission.

4 CHECKLIST FOR ONLINE DESIGNATION Every online course must satisfy the following requirements in order to be approved by the ETLC, and become a certified online course. These guidelines were strongly influenced by national standards, especially from Quality Matters Rubric Standards ( and CSU Chico Rubrics for Online Instruction ( 1. Student Support & Resources! General support & resources (Course Template) This information is provided by the default Blackboard Course template, and the faculty member must ensure its presence (e.g. does not get deleted)! Course-specific support & resources It is recommended that faculty provide resources that support the content of the course and or pre-required courses 2. Course Organization a) Course Syllabus! Staff/Contact Info* A short biography A photograph of the instructor or a representative image selected by the instructor Contact information and procedures including office location, relevant phone numbers, and turn-around time estimates for replying to s or voic A policy for communicating with students in the event of a system failure! Online participation policy For example: For online courses, students are required to visit the virtual class at least three days in a given week to be considered present for that week (may be increased as determined by the instructor)! Textbook(s) Electronic course pack in PDF and/or HTML format (where applicable) Information on required textbooks, including acceptable editions and their ISBN numbers

5 Purchase information and links for required textbooks (where applicable), including the price for both new and used versions Textbook availability at the college library! List of required materials Classroom materials Required hardware and software! Pre-requisites Information should be included from the College Catalog! Technology skill recommendations! Course Description Information should be included from the College Catalog and Departmental Course Syllabus (if available)! Course Objectives! Student Learning Outcomes! Statement on GenEd (where applicable)! Statement on WAC/WIC (where applicable)! Link to Policies & Guidelines (Course Template)! Course Grading Criteria Table of assignments, due dates and point values adding up to 100 % of the grade General assignment submission procedure! Tentative Course Schedule Topics and dates should be provided! Course syllabus in PDF and/or HTML format Which conforms to OAA guidelines Includes all the elements listed above b) Course Navigation! Tour or clear explanation on how to navigate the course Should be featured in course homepage, usually using a permanent announcement Text based Video based (highly recommended)! Announcements

6 A welcoming announcement to the course An announcement for each learning unit that includes clear start and end dates An announcement for each assignment or assessment stating due date and point value 3. Assessment Elements Given that the course is taught online, faculty are strongly encouraged to plan for online assessments. It is recommended that there should be at least any 3 of the following:! Assignments (essays, papers, lab reports, exercises, etc.)! Quizzes! Exams! Projects! eportfolios! Blogs! Wikis! Group projects! Discussions! Rubrics (plagiarism check) 4. Interaction & Engagement! Opportunities for icebreakers Examples of icebreakers are activities that introduce students to each other (using the discussion board, a blog, or a collaborate session)! Tour, faculty intro A sample of a faculty intro can be an overview of the faculty teaching style, research interest, and expectations for the course! Communication Channels Use at least one interactive media application for communication and collaboration, for each learning unit, for example blogs, wikis, clickers, eportfolios, discussion forums, BB Collaborate 5. Instructional Design! Course Outline

7 There should be a course outline that organizes the course into learning units and is available in either the Course Information or Course Content sections of Blackboard! Learning Units (there has to be at least 80% of course content) Each learning unit is available within the Course Content section of the site, as its own folder or otherwise clearly organized For each learning unit there must be: A clear sequence to the order in which content should be read by students Activities that would take the typical student of that particular course the amount of the time they would otherwise spend in a face-to-face environment (in addition to the readings and activities they would ordinarily be assigned as homework projects), including: Instructions and due dates, and assessment tools (such as assignments, quizzes, tests, and essays). A variety of content items (such as presentations, lecture notes, articles and other readings, images, video, sound recording), annotated links! Learning Objectives / Outcomes! Assignments in Learning Units! Use of tools to ensure academic integrity (e.g. SafeAssign)! Multimedia elements (podcasts/videos, lecture captures)! Student feedback elements (polls, surveys)! Grade Center (optional) Grade Center with columns reflecting grading requirements specified in the syllabus