Session 4

Write your plan.

The Plan

I would like to deliver the first session (out of my planned 10 week class), which will cover course orientation and introduction. Additionally, it will cover etiquette expectations (sometimes called “netiquette”) for online discussions, email, and other forms of communication are stated clearly; and prerequisite knowledge in the discipline and/or any required competencies are clearly stated. More importantly, I will provide a self-introduction and students will be asked to introduce themselves to the class.

The Audience

Although I would love to deliver this session to a real audience, I am not in a position to do that just yet, so I will be delivery this first session to fictitious students. These students are community college students who are uncertain about their career goals and how it relates to their educational goals as a student. They are students that are looking for career exploration help or students who are looking to develop their professional skills and move up the corporate ladder. With such a wide range of students in this course, I anticipate a variety of learning characteristics some of which might have or have no technology experience at all. Or some might even have learning disabilities.

The Delivery

My delivery for this first session will be a syllabus, a course orientation file, and a welcome email.

Time/Place

My delivery plan for this session is to provide the syllabus and course orientation file the very first day of class, and send out the email before class is schedule to begin. I might to decide to send out that email at the beginning of the week or a few days before class—it depends on whether or not there are school policies about communicating with students before the official start date of the class.

Good Start

Materials

a.     Welcome Email

b.     Technology Checklist

c.     Course site Readiness Checklist

d.     Syllabus

e.     Course Orientation File

                                                                        i.     Netiquette Expectations

                                                                       ii.     Prerequisite Knowledge

f.      Self-Introduction

g.     Student Introduction

Delivery Assessment

      I will gauge the success of my delivery by evaluating my students’ participation in the introduction assignment, and the amount of questions I receive on how to navigate the course, assignments, and any other questions related to the orientation of the course. My rubric is as follows: 

Course Overview and Introduction	1.1 Instructions make clear how to get started and where to find various course components.	3
	1.2 Students are introduced to the purpose and structure of the course.	3
	1.3 Etiquette expectations (sometimes called “netiquette”) for online discussions, email, and other forms of communication are stated clearly.	2
	1.4 Course and/or institutional policies with which the student is expected to comply are clearly stated, or a link to current policies is provided.	2
	1.5 Prerequisite knowledge in the discipline and/or any required competencies are clearly stated.	1
	1.6 Minimum technical skills expected of the student are clearly stated.	1
	1.7 The self-introduction by the instructor is appropriate and available online.	1
	1.8 Students are asked to introduce themselves to the class.	1

Session 3

I chose the Quality Matter Standards because I felt it covered a wide range of categories, and each category was explored in detail. Out of the four rubrics the class was assigned to review, Quality Matters Standards (QMS) was the one that I felt encompassed all aspects of an online course in depth, and made the most sense because it followed a natural progression very much steps to designing an online. It is this design like natural and specificity that drew me to the QSM of assessing online courses, and the standards I will use to assess my online class—Foundations of Virtual Instruction by Cindy Carbajal.

https://www.coursera.org/course/virtualinstruction

 Here are my evaluation results:

Standards							Points
Course Overview and Introduction	1.1 Instructions make clear how to get started and where to find various course components.						3	3
	1.2 Students are introduced to the purpose and structure of the course.						3	3
	1.3 Etiquette expectations (sometimes called “netiquette”) for online discussions, email, and other forms of communication are stated clearly.						2	0
	1.4 Course and/or institutional policies with which the student is expected to comply are clearly stated, or a link to current policies is provided.						2	2
	1.5 Prerequisite knowledge in the discipline and/or any required competencies are clearly stated.						1	1
	1.6 Minimum technical skills expected of the student are clearly stated.						1	0
	1.7 The self-introduction by the instructor is appropriate and available online.						1	1
	1.8 Students are asked to introduce themselves to the class.						1	0
Learning Objectives (Competencies)	2.1 The course learning objectives describe outcomes that are measurable.						3	3
	2.2 The module/unit learning objectives describe outcomes that are measurable and consistent with the course-level objectives.						3	3
	2.3 All learning objectives are stated clearly and written from the students’ perspective.						3	3
	2.4 Instructions to students on how to meet the learning objectives are adequate and stated clearly.						3	0
	2.5 The learning objectives are appropriately designed for the level of the course.						3	3
Assessment and Measurement	3.1 The types of assessments selected measure the stated learning objectives and are consistent with course activities and resources.						3	3
	3.2 The course grading policy is stated clearly.						3	3
	3.3  Specific and descriptive criteria are provided for the evaluation of students’ work and participation and are tied to the course grading policy.						3	3
	3.4  The assessment instruments selected are sequenced, varied, and appropriate to the student work being assessed.						2	0
	3.5  Students have multiple opportunities to measure their own learning progress.						2	0
Instructional Materials	4.1 The instructional materials contribute to the achievement of the stated course and module/unit learning objectives.						3	3
	4.2 The purpose of instructional materials and how the materials are to be used for learning activities are clearly explained.						3	3
	4.3 All resources and materials used in the course are appropriately cited.						2	2
	4.4 The instructional materials are current.						2	2
	4.5 The instructional materials present a variety of perspectives on the course content.						1	0
	4.6 The distinction between required and optional materials is clearly explained.						1	1
Learner Interaction and Engagement	5.1 The learning activities promote the achievement of the stated learning objectives.						3	3
	5.2 Learning activities provide opportunities for interaction that support active learning.						3	3
	5.3  The instructor’s plan for classroom response time and feedback on assignments is clearly stated.						3	0
	5.4  The requirements for student interaction are clearly articulated.						2	0
Course Technology	6.1 The tools and media support the course learning objectives.						3	3
	6.2 Course tools and media support student engagement and guide the student to become an active learner.						3	3
	6.3 Navigation throughout the online components of the course is logical, consistent, and efficient.						3	3
	6.4 Students can readily access the technologies required in the course.						2	2
	6.5 The course technologies are current.						1	1
Learner Support	7.1 The course instructions articulate or link to a clear description of the technical support offered and how to access it.						3	3
	7.2 Course instructions articulate or link to the institution’s accessibility policies and services.						3	3
	7.3 Course instructions articulate or link to an explanation of how the institution’s academic support services and resources can help students succeed in the course and how students can access the services.						2	2
	7.4 Course instructions articulate or link to an explanation of how the institution’s student support services can help students succeed and how students can access the services.						1	1
Accessibility	8.1 The course employs accessible technologies and provides guidance on how to obtain accommodation.						3	0
	8.2 The course contains equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.						2	0
	8.3 The course design facilitates readability and minimizes distractions.						2	0
	8.4 The course design accommodates the use of assistive technologies.						2	0
According to the ratio used for the QM 6-12 Rubric, this course needs 81 points to meet Quality Matters Standards						Total:	95	69
	Source: Quality Matters Rubric Standards

After this evaluation assignment and using some of the techniques I utilized to assess the “Foundations of Virtual Instruction,” I realized that I can evaluate my course in the same fashion—simply filling or assigning points to the areas I have designed well and placing zeros next to the areas I need to develop. Then all I will have to do is create or revise my course according to the sections that I am missing. For example, I am missing a “netiquette” section in my orientation to the course, and I have to do now is create a section that will explain my expectations for that part of the course.  Even though I quite a bit of work to develop and/or redesign, at least I have a game plan that has created checklist for me to follow.

Below is a list of areas I need to develop and/or redesign to assure I meet all the standards that are outlined in the Quality Matters Rubric:

1.     Course Overview and Introduction

a.     Etiquette expectations (sometimes called “netiquette”) for online discussions, email, and other forms of communication are stated clearly.

b.     Prerequisite knowledge in the discipline and/or any required competencies are clearly stated.

c.     The self-introduction by the instructor is appropriate and available online.

d.     Students are asked to introduce themselves to the class.

2.     Learning Objectives

a.     Instructions to students on how to meet the learning objectives are adequate and stated clearly.

3.     Assessment and Measurement

a.     The course grading policy is stated clearly.

b.     Students have multiple opportunities to measure their own learning progress.

4.     Instructional Materials

a.     The distinction between required and optional materials is clearly explained.

5.     Learner Support

a.     Course instructions articulate or link to the institution’s accessibility policies and services.

b.     Course instructions articulate or link to an explanation of how the institution’s academic support services and resources can help students succeed in the course

c.     Course instructions articulate or link to an explanation of how the institution’s student support services can help students succeed and how students can acc

6.     Accessibility

a.     The course employs accessible technologies and provides guidance on how to obtain accommodation.

b.     The course contains equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.

c.     The course design facilitates readability and minimizes distractions.

d.     The course design accommodates the use of assistive technologies.