GSU Online Degree and Certificate Programs Preparation for North Central Association Accreditation Visit

Goal: Assure that online courses meet best-practice standards

Best Practices Course Design: Pedagogical Technical

Best Practices – Pedagogy: Student-faculty interaction Student-student interaction Active learning Prompt feedback Time on task High expectations Diverse learning styles 7 Principles of Effective Teaching

Best Practices: Technical Efficient and intuitive Navigation Consistent, functional page design High-contrast, easy-to-read text Technology used to support instruction Accessible content Easy maintenance

Standards North Central Association WebCT Exemplary Course California State University Chico

North Central Standards Institutional Support for students and faculty Pedagogical soundness, including assurance of student-instructor and student-student interaction Faculty training and support for appropriate technical, design, and production Student support through electronic access to university resources Foci

WebCT Exemplary Course Rubric Course design Use of WebCT Tools Interaction and Collaboration Appropriate Use of Technology Student Assessment Learner Support Foci

Cal State University Chico Rubric Instructional design and delivery Online organization and design Learner support and resources Innovative teaching with technology Assessment and evaluation of student learning Faculty use of student feedback Foci

GSU Online Course Design Rubric Pedagogy Operationalizes the 7 Principles using elements from N Central, CSU Chico, and WebCT rubrics Technical WebCT Rubric CSU Chico Rubric

GSU Rubric: Good Practice Encourages student-faculty contact Encourages cooperation among students Promotes active learning Provides prompt feedback Encourages time on task Communicates high expectations Respects diverse ways of learning Translation of 7 Principles into the Online Environment

GSU Rubric: Good Practice Provides well-designed Home Page that orients students to course and instructor and directs students regarding initial activities. Provides intuitive navigation that supports course structure Uses tools to provide direct links to commonly-used course tools, functions or pages. Technical Factors

Addresses basic accessibility issues Incorporates effective page design and layout Uses technology for instructional purposes only Provides reasonable access and response time for students using slower land line connections. GSU Rubric: Good Practice

Review of GSU Courses Identify technical modifications required to meet best practice standards. Identify pedagogical modifications required to meet best practice standards. Create plan to meet best practice standards for North Central accreditation visit

Findings Good courses that could be made better without a great deal of additional work. Need to address increased interaction, particularly student-student, to meet best practice standards. Opportunities to make courses easier to teach through more effective use of available WebCT tools.

Goal Transformation not Redevelopment

Online Degree Course Transformations

Branding the Degree Program Common “look” of course interfaces. Consistent navigational strategies. Students recognize they are at GSU and “in the program.”

Branding and Best Practices Branding strategies also support best practices.

Best Practices Navigation Course information (course number and name, instructor contact information) clearly visible. Student knows where to begin the course (Welcome, Syllabus, etc.) No more than 8 icons on homepage Student intuits icon function. Textboxes used to orient students.

Before

Transformation Add Degree Banner, Course Number, Name, and Instructor information. Sample

Transformation Group course icons. Syllabus and orientation materials available under Orientation and Syllabus link. Link to Student Tutorials

Transformation Group Student Resources under one icon:

Transformation Integrate Course materials into single icon. + 

Transformation All icons that signal new course action visible on the homepage Mail Calendar Bulletin Board

Transformation Add upper textbox for important class announcements New study groups formed! Check the bulletin board to see your group members.

Transformation Add lower textbox to describe function of icons. The icons you see above allow you to access various course tools and resources. Click on the Syllabus and Orientation link to get started.

After

Before and After

Pedagogy

Best Practices: Pedagogy Review: Most courses are either publisher-developed or make liberal use of publisher materials.

Publisher Courses – Student-Faculty Interaction – Student-Student Interaction + Active Learning + Prompt Feedback (Computer) + Time on Task – High Expectations + Diverse Learning Styles

What’s Missing? Student-Faculty Interaction Student-Student Interaction Active Learning Prompt Feedback Time on Task High Expectations Diverse Learning Styles

Transformation Enhance existing courses by adding student-student interaction Discussion Topics Cooperative Projects Student Presentations and Projects

Transformation Enhance existing courses by increasing instructor-student interaction Instructor comments in discussion threads Text Chat Live conferencing Announcements Assignments Tool

Transformation + + Improved Navigation Added Interaction = Excellence in Online Education Publisher Courses

Transformation: Action Plan 1.Modify courses in degree and certificate programs to incorporate common interface. (Online Development Team) 2.Provide common learner resources external to individual courses (Online Development Team) 3.Improve navigation (Online Development Team and Faculty)

4.Add instructor-developed material (orientation, unit overviews, etc.) (Faculty) 5.Add/enhance student-student interactions (Faculty and Online Development Team) 6.Provide consistent and effective page layout (Faculty and Online Development Team). Transformation: Action Plan

7.Utilize facilitation strategies to foster increased interaction and instructor feedback (Faculty) Transformation: Action Plan

Faculty Development – Part 1 Workshop on WebCT structure and tools to enhance navigation and incorporate instructor-developed resources. Work with faculty individually to improve navigation and incorporate instructor- developed resources. Transformation: Action Plan

Faculty Development – Part 2 Workshop on incorporating interaction strategies into course design. Work with faculty individually to build interactions into existing courses. Transformation: Action Plan

Faculty Development – Part 3 Workshop on effective and efficient facilitation strategies for courses with increased interaction. Transformation: Action Plan

Break Workshop on WebCT structure and tools to enhance navigation incorporate instructor-developed resources.