Quality assurance designing quality online course design and development
Phase Two: Design and Development (click to expand)
Design & Development phase is when the course author creates and writes the course content with the guidance of/consultation with the instructional designer. The instructional designer needs to send lesson or module samples or templates to help the course author through this writing stage. One of the step that is emphasized in this stage is to look at the Quality Assurance guidelines which the course author can use as a reference while developing the content. The objectives, scope and sample lesson and other sections from the course planning document can be helpful at this stage. Although this is when the bulk of the content writing for the course takes place, the course author has already taken the hardest step in designing a sample lesson in the course planning document. The course author can follow the sample lesson from the course planning document as she or he works through the remainder of the course development. This phase may take a little longer as more content for the course should be developed. The Project Manager/ Instructional Designer will provide the course author with tips on instructional design and consult/brainstorm learning activities and course assessment strategies.
2. DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
- • Research and design
- • Develop course content
- • Facilitate interaction and community building
- • Discuss copyright and open resources
- • Involve librarians and peers
- • Discuss assessment methodologies
- • Review, modify and improve
Tasks to be completed by the project manager/instructional designer (click to expand)
1. The Project Manager/Instructional Designer works with the course author throughout the development process and provides timely feedback on the content, structure, and assessment of the course. Various team members may offer their expertise at this time. For example, the course author may want to consult with a librarian while he or she sorts through content choices. S/he might want to see a few existing online courses in the same field or explore different assessment strategies for her/his particular subject. If you don't have an ID to work with, map out your course content. Think about how you would like to present your lectures online, how you would like to link course objectives to course assignments and activities, how you would like to make the course engaging, how you would like to create a learning community. It is recommended to involve students from beginning so that you can build the course based on feedback received.
2. This is the stage where the course author has the chance to be creative and add her/his personal teaching methodologies and learning principles into the course content. S/he will create the lessons and content for each module as well as the assessment activities. During this phase, it is recommended to create two to three different versions of final exams, and discuss whether or not the exam will be invigilated or online. If the exam will be invigilated, the course author/instructor will be put into contact with the department which is in charge of the exam. In many organizations, the Enrollment Services handles and coordinate invigilated exams. If the exam is online, the exams will be sent to the Project Manager/ Instructional Designer as part of the content, so that the team can set up the exam in the Learning Management System or any platform where they deliver the exams. At this point, the course instructor will inform the project manager of any reading material such as textbooks, articles and other resources, so that the materials can be prepared for sale or distribution to students.
3. At this stage, it is important that the team members discuss and explore different assessment methodologies including formative and summative assessments. It is important that the types of assessments selected measure the stated learning outcomes. In other words, there are links between the outcomes and activities and assessments within the course. The instructional designer needs to ensure that learners have multiple opportunities to measure their own learning progress and that the course grading policy is stated clearly.
4. The course author and the project manager will identify any materials that require copyright clearance such as images, videos or readings, and work with other team members in the Library and the Copyright Office to get copyright clearance. It is important to discuss and explore the possibility of using public domain materials in this phase; it is also important to talk about the delivery platform and whether the course will be opened to public or private in a course management service (only available to students registered in the course).
Here are a few website sites for free or easy-to-use copyright licenses instructional materials:
5. The Project Manager will also work with the course author to ensure that the course is accessible to all students. For example, transcripts may be needed for videos or for animations to accommodate students with disabilities.
To find out more about Accessibility, please check the following sites:
6. Once the course author has written the course content, activities and assignments, the project manager/instructional designer will request a second academic review (typically from the same person). The academic reviewer as well as the project manager/instructional designer will provide final feedback, and this feedback will be considered before the materials are finalized and sent on for production.
7. Look at different models such as ACTIONS for selecting e-technology (will be discussed in more details in the next phase).
Note
Supporting Quality Assurance Documentation (click to expand)
2. A Guide to Quality in Online Learning
4. Planning and Writing Self-assessment, published by Commonwealth of Learning
License (click to expand)
Please provide your comments and feedback to Afsaneh Sharif at afsaneh.sharif@ubc.ca.
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