Anastasia Trekles, Ph.D.

Use the Quality Matters rubric and Standards 1, 2 & 7 to help guide your course development

Map out your objectives and course content Use Folders, Learning Modules, Files, and Items

where appropriate to promote readability and a student-friendly course

Use descriptions in Items and other parts of your course to add visual interest and get students’ attention

Construct a course sidebar menu that is easy to follow

You probably already know it is a rubric for course design

It is also a subscription for institutions to support professional development and program growth

Applies for any type of course, including online or hybrid

Standard 1 looks at the structure of the course and how students are able to get around

Most of the information that is addressed by Standard 1 is typically found in the syllabus

Syllabus templates: http://www.pnc.edu/distance/webaccessibility

Description of the course

Objectives Orientation to

technical elements Explanation of grading

and assessment Description of

communication expectations

Alignment and orienting your students to the learning tasks is VERY important

Use this formula: Audience: who are the learners? Behavior: what do you want to be able to observe them

doing? Condition: under what conditions will they do this? Degree: to what degree must they perform to be

successful? For example: After the course, students will be able to

discuss at least three major outcomes from the American Civil War, including social and political implications.

http://cstep.csumb.edu/Obj_tutorial/bloomwheel.html

Thinking skill

Action verbs

Student products

Relates to instructions related to student services and support

Also important to include in the syllabus

Relates to areas including accessibility, technical help, and academic support

Of course, students need to be able to find the syllabus

Placing it in a clearly labeled spot, like “Start Here!” indicates its importance

Remember that students are not likely to read such a long document more than once

Provide shortcuts to important information like the calendar for the semester in an easily accessible place

A

There is no easy answer – every course is different

But, there are some fundamentals that will help students find their way: Syllabus

Course Calendar with due dates

“Class Café” or Q&A discussion board for general help

Lecture notes or introductions to units

Assignments and/or quizzes

Links to useful resources or readings

It might be helpful to draw out the structure for your course on paper first

Plan where students should go first, second, third, and so forth

A paper concept map can help you visualize the structure you want

Use Items to provide information/directions right on the page

Use Content Areas, Folders, and Learning Modules to categorize and separate information logically

Orient students to the course

Use headings and descriptions to aid

organization

Name files (or label) so they have meaning to

the learner

Be consistent in the organization of lessons

Bundle related activities, assignments,

interaction, assessments in one place – keep

them in context

Using the Rich-Text Editor

Text Options

Formatting Options

Hyperlinks

Visit: http://www.qmprogram.org/myqm

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Reach us at: pncolt@pnc.edu

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http://www.pnc.edu/distance for all workshop notes, links, and training needs