Conference Presentations

SARA is a voluntary state-level process agreement that allows institutions to offer distance education courses and programs to residents of other states/members of the Agreement.  Along with many other states, Ohio is now a member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA).

Learn what it takes to grow your own Certified Face-to-Face and Online Facilitator and how to train your entire faculty in Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR), at the same time saving a significant amount of money!

Demonstration of the Cidi Labs Design Tools in Canvas will be shown, both screenshots and a live demo, wireless connectivity permitting.  We will also discuss the steps we took to create templates to help meet specific QM standards.  Participants will also be shown how to request a sandbox with Cidi Labs to try out the tools themselves.  A question/answer session will also be included at the end of the talk.

This session provides participants with tools to review their own objectives from the course level through to the activity level. Whether you are building up or building down, the components and process to create measureable objectives remain the same.

Looking for ideas to expand quality assurance at your institution? In this session, we will reflect on a multi-faceted five-year plan to elevate online course quality at a large public university. You’ll come away with ideas for designing professional development to scale up your own QM plan.

Find out about Salisbury University's COLT course (Certificate for Online Learning and Teaching) and how the COLT course can be used as a module for training instructors to achieve quality in online programs at your institution.

Find out about Salisbury University's COLT course (Certificate for Online Learning and Teaching) and how the COLT course can be used as a module for training instructors to achieve quality in online programs at your institution.

Do you have questions about “scaling up” from an internal QM course review process to National QM certification? This presentation will discuss how one multi-year grant project is working on meeting that objective. Pitfalls, tips, and takeaway example products included.

The popularity of online education continues to increase, with many institutions offering courses to students worldwide. With online student numbers rising year on year, learner profiles are more diverse than were previously possible, but this has brought with it unique challenges relating to accessing, interacting with, and generating course content. Course content creators, and Instructional Designers in particular, are uniquely positioned to work with Subject Matter Experts (SME) such as faculty to design accessible content for a variety of learner profiles.

Let's face it, course design with QM Standard 8 in mind can take time!  We'll cover the basic challenges in video accessibility and options to make creating course videos easy...dare we say fun!  If you have wondered about Screencast-o-matic and love YouTube, this session is a chance to plan a script and create a video. Bring your laptop, a presentation file, a previously recorded video, or just your curiosity.  We will provide script templates that let you create content during the session or write a solid plan for your next project.

Mrs. Frizzle said, “If you keep asking questions, you’ll keep getting answers.” Both Mrs. Frizzle and her Magic School Bus exemplify concepts of open pedagogy and learner agency. Let’s take a page from her book and explore transitioning from the "Sage on the Stage" to the "Guide on the Ride."

Physics instructor has worked for a full year with Distance Education's Accessibility team, to make his NASA grant funded, online Astronomy courses (PHY 121, 122 and 123) accessible to students with disabilities. His biggest challenge was how to make his courses accessible to visually impaired students.

We have worked with the library to order books and tactile graphics; we have printed tactile graphics from NASA; we have looked into sonification, and added audio description to video.

We will examine how self-determination theory applies to elements of course design and student-centered teaching approaches that support autonomy and competence in the online, virtual, and hybrid classroom. Participants will determine how they could include student-centered approaches into their educational repertoire.

This session will present a model for using the Quality Matters Rubric in accompaniment with a competency-based educational model that follows an open entry early exit enrollment model. Each "Course" in the program has three modules that a student must complete consecutively ie: Module 1, Module 2, Module T (mastery). The former single 3 credit course model is split into three less intense and self-paced pieces that the student can complete at their
leisure within a 5-week timeline; in order 1 - T. This model also lends itself to mapping of competencies across

 It sometimes feels as though we are awash in a sea of research on online learning. Of course, QM and those who are interested in quality assurance want to know not only the tools and techniques available for online education but their role in creating a quality online learning experience - and what the most recent research has indicated about this.

Three faculty from diverse institutions, Doña Anna Community College, New Mexico State University, and the University of New Mexico, take you through their courses and experiences as their fully online courses were reviewed by Quality Matters. Examples of best practices and strategies used successfully will be highlighted as well as common areas that were missed.

Presenters are Krista MacDonald, Sharon Lalla, Rebecca Adams

This session explores administrative processes executed to implement an institution wide, faculty and student-centered approach for boosting online success through quality course design metrics tied to state initiatives, faculty evaluation criteria, and the Quality Matters 23 essential standards.

In 1987, Chickering and Gamson published their seminal work "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education." Session participants will be introduced to the "seven principles" and will explore how they align with QM's eight General Standards. Breakout groups will brainstorm to create good practices and will share and discuss ideas. Individual participants will rank ideas that will be most useful for promoting quality instruction. After the session, presenters will compile this information and make available a "Top Ten" list for conference attendees.

Learn about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and how you can apply seven specific usability hacks to determine quickly whether any online course meets General Standard 8: Accessibility & Usability—especially if you're not an accessibility expert.

Physical Education is a particularly challenging course to design in a fully-online K-12 environment. Although several national and state-run programs offer the course, each has a unique take on how to ensure students engage with the course material and achieve a healthier lifestyle through exercise. The solution for one program, a statewide virtual school in the Midwest, is to use fitness trackers. The use of fitness trackers has allowed for increased student engagement and new opportunities for student/student and student/instructor interaction.