Conference Presentations

Wouldn’t you love students to follow your online course as closely as sports fans follow their favorite teams? Learn strategies and tools used by sportscasters that online instructors can use to increase student engagement.

California State University, East Bay started a Quality Assurance (QA) Initiative in Spring 2015. Since it's inception, we have certified over 200 courses through Quality Matters. We've had 21 faculty cohorts participate in a grant to receive QM training facilitated by California State University, East Bay eLearning Specialists. These accomplishments have raised an important research question: how do we demonstrate that QA initiative has contributed to student success on our campus?

Presentation site:  https://sites.google.com/site/qmexamplesplease/

How do we explain a "best case" example for 1.2? Or what if an instructor doesn't really know what we mean by standard 8.1, "Course navigation facilitates ease of use"? Consider how having a repository of examples might help faculty to better understand, reflect on, and implement QM standards? Join us as we look at how one was built and what we've learned while doing so.

Want to save time and enhance quality? Learn how the eight-step HIDOC model can elevate your course quality—then give it an AI-powered boost! This session shows how targeted AI prompts and practical strategies can make each design step faster and more effective. Participants will walk away with practical techniques to apply HIDOC and AI tools in their own course design.  

SME Interviewing is a simple technique that supports the transformation of good course design to an exceptional one. Learn, practice, and apply this discovery-phase technique to achieve a memorable, meaningful impact for learners.

This presentation discusses phase 1 of a two-phase Mixed Methods research study focused on evaluating the effects of the APPQMR workshop.  Three variables were measured: 1) knowledge of best practice in online course design (KBP), 2) instructor perception of online course quality (IPQ), and 3) willingness to use the QM rubric to redesign an online course (W).  The dependent variable KBP was measured using a criterion-based instrument developed by the researcher, a certified Quality Matters peer reviewer and Instructional Design Specialist.

This session addresses the question: “What activities can learners engage in to improve distinct brain areas and processes?” Just like endurance, strength, and agility; your memory, perception, and cognition can be improved through exercise. Many of us are fascinated with puzzles such as Sudoku and crosswords. In addition to releasing dopamine, puzzles have been shown to improve specific areas of the brains. In this session, participants will solve different types of puzzles that stimulate distinct brain areas and processes in the broad areas of memory, perception, and cognition.

Most institutions have faculty who have been teaching online for decades as well as those just starting out. So how do do you ensure that everyone has a common vision for quality? St. Petersburg College expected more and attained more by making it a college priority:

 100% of faculty certified in the LMS

 100% of online/blended faculty certified in Teaching an Online Course

 100% of faculty developing courses certified in Applying the QM Rubric

Discuss potential confounding variables that were identified and accounted for in the study design.

With UConn's increase in hybrid/blended course offerings, faculty's related training and support requests, and research showing student performance gains in hybrid/blended learning environments, a two-week faculty development short course, Exploring Flexible Learning, was created. As an institution adopting Quality Matters, it was important that QM design Standards were met and modeled in the course, as well as applied by faculty participants. We'll share the design and outcomes of our pilot offering.

Discover how dual enrollment enhances equity and inclusion for rural and underserved students. Our university and K-12 partners will share best practices and tackle logistical challenges of virtual dual enrollment programs. Learn how QM standards ensure high-quality courses, providing a solid foundation for successful implementation in diverse educational settings.

Using QM Standards helps to ensure online courses are aligned, accessible, and engaging, leading to improved student success. We will explore the Three A’s—Alignment, Accessibility, and Active Learning—using real-world examples. Participants will select QM Standards that promote learner engagement and support, identify key elements of successful real-world course transformations, and create a Quick-Start Plan for course redesign, leaving with actionable strategies for learner-centered improvement.

Continuous quality improvement requires change - and change is difficult. A transition team can thrive when it recognizes and addresses faculty fears. A faculty survey contrasted faculty perceptions before and after QM revision. Their concerns and assessments inform best practices.

Students often struggle to navigate the online learning environment, getting lost in their courses and becoming frustrated or discouraged. As a result of unclear expectations and navigation, engagement, grades, and retention can be adversely affected. In this session, we will share key takeaways from planning and executing "boot camp" style workshops at each of the five Alamo Colleges in San Antonio, Texas.

We will share our approach of integrating QM principles, peer review, and course creation into our Distance Learning Design Seminar and other faculty development workshops.  This provides a "Gateway" for quality, faculty-developed, student-centered courses.

This study contributes to a better understanding of instructors’ perceptions of equity issues within online teaching and learning. The researchers interviewed 21 instructors at one university across disciplines regarding their experience with and recommendations for attending to issues of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) in online teaching. Findings revealed that instructors characterized online teaching and IDEA issues as distinct skill sets and that they were not necessarily prepared to apply IDEA issues in online teaching.

Towson University's Gold Review Process enables faculty-centered, collaborative peer-reviews of online courses using a customized version of the QM Rubric. In this session, the Director of Distance Education and four faculty members (Family Studies, Health Professions, and Mathematics) who served as Reviewers will share (1) how the Gold Review Process has progressed since its inception in 2015, including plans to scale up in 2018; (2) reflections on becoming certified peer reviewers; and (3) reflections on serving as Gold Review Team members within our institution. 

GA Southern University launched a QM internal course review pilot in Spring 2015 consisting of 10 teams from 9 disciplines. After course reviews were completed, the teams were asked to write a reflection piece of their experience of the review process. They then shared their reflections with the campus during a poster session for a QM Course Review Showcase. This presentation analyzes those reflections and presents the themes that emerged.

Quality Matters (QM) standards aim to enhance student learning through the quality assurance of online courses. This study tries to answer the question whether faculty training on QM standards enhances online course design as perceived by students in terms of learning objective, instructional material, learner engagement, outcome assessment and course technology.

Do you still have faculty trying to teach online classes the same way they teach F2F classes? It is not the same! Training prior to teaching is imperative. How can it be accomplished? Expand the possibilities on your campus and hear how this small CC campus handles training with limited resources.