Defining Quality Standards for Online Education

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Defining Quality Standards for Online Education

• CADE, Calgary
• May 2002

Lawrence C. Ragan Penn States World Campus
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Program Goals

• Discuss quality variables and their impact on the
  design and development of online course
  instruction
• Review set of quality standards developed to
  guide the design, development and delivery of
  instruction online

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Assignment 1

• Turn to Defining Quality and complete definition
• Compare answer with partner at table
• What was common in both definitions?

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Defining Quality

• Writing by committeeAn event or experience
  that provides a reasonable opportunity for
  success for the student and instructor

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Defining Quality

• Varied interpretations of quality
• Several industry-wide guidelines or standards for
  production of course materials (CHEA, AAHE,
  others)
• Broad statements of principles and guidelines

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Bottom Line

• The definition of quality varies from institution
  to institution and is dependent upon the mission
  and model of the online initiative.

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Assignment 2 Quality Characteristics

• To define quality we need to define variables
• Turn to 2. Complete Quality Characteristics
  variable labels
• Compare answer with partner at table
• What variables were common in both lists?

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Quality Characteristics

• Dependability
• Reliability
• Performance (speed)
• Value
• Consistent
• Measurable
• Etc

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Quality Characteristics-NOT

• Technology
• Cost
• Aesthetic
• Gee whiz factor

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Quality Standards-2 Options

• Develop standards that can be used to judge the
  readiness of a course/educational event for an
  online delivery format
• Develop standards of design that can serve as a
  specifications guide
• Difficult to do both in single document

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Considering Implementation

• Development of plans for implementation
• Institutionalizing standards
• Developing failure to comply strategies

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WC Online Design Standards

• Struggle between specifications document and
  quality filter
• Had to decide on objective of the publication
• Opted for quality filter

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Quality Filter Described

• Create an instrument that would serve as a
  readiness assessment tool for courses NOT
  designed or developed BUT to be delivered via the
  World Campus.
• Is not created as a design specification document

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WC ODS Categories

• COURSE PROFILE TOOL method of gathering
  demographic information regarding the nature of
  the course
• Asynchronous vs synchronous
• Nature of assignments
• Timing and duration
• Individual vs cohort
• Etc

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WC ODS Categories

• Review COURSE PROFILE TOOL
• What questions would you add to make this work at
  your institution?
• What platform for delivery? (browser)
• Learner and setting analysis - target audience,
  student profile
• Special (19) may not be specific enough - define
  general applications
• Mission or objectives of course should be
  outlined
• Computer literacy prerequisites
• Availability of faculty
• Practical applications - lab requirements
• Nature and timing of exams
• Group under location requirements
• Communication to student about how to start
• Total instructional time to manage the course

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Online Design Standards

• User Interface
• issues of structure, navigation, and layout
• Media Elements
• issues related to the use of technology
• Software issues related to the use of software
  and the implications of its use in the course
• Permissions/Legal issues relating to the
  legality of course and related content
• Accessibility issues related to the
  accessibility of the course to all students

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User Interface

• Graphics/text only version
• Use of thumbnails
• Function tools should be big and obvious
• Restrict or eliminate pop-ups and advertising
• Culturally appropriate design and graphic content
• Links to each page without having to go back to
  homepage

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Media Elements

• Appropriate use of media
• Variety of media mix
• Considerate of student bandwidth
• Designed to support learning objectives
• Considerate of development costs

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Media Elements

• General area that addresses software and hardware
  issues
• General area that addresses software and hardware
  issues
• Very PC-based, should be Mac or PC
• Firewalls and proxy servers
• Download requirements

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Instructional Design

• Clear learning objectives
• Clear connection between learning objectives and
  assessment process
• Clearly articulated assessment criteria and
  process
• Non-ambiguous use of language
• Appropriately designed learning activities

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Software

• No experimental software (beta releases,
  shareware)
• No non-supported software
• Reasonable costs
• Available for international purchase
• Etc

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Permissions/Legal

• World clearance of permissions
• Intellectual property issues
• Cleared for delivery online
• Time cleared- for duration of the program and
  repeated offerings

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Accessibility

• Cultural/gender factors and filters
• Adapting to culture rather than just translating
• Sensitivity issues could be provided to
  writer/designer at the start of the process

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Summary

• Quality standards need to be defined in the
  context of the institution
• Quality characteristics need to be articulated
  (vary based on context)
• Need to define purpose of quality standards
  readiness or specifications
• Define implementation plan

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Thank you

• Larry Ragan
• LCR1_at_PSU.EDU