Multimedia is an important component of online courses. It can facilitate online presence and enhance student engagement. But only if it’s done right. Maricopa Community College’s Dr. Steven Crawford dives into the different types of multimedia you can use and shares research-supported best practices to help you maximize the use of multimedia in your online course.

Online teaching and learning are constantly evolving. Find out where it stands today and how the current landscape of online education affects your quality assurance system in the Handbook of Distance Education, Fourth Edition. The fourth edition includes analyses of current research, best practices and policy changes.

Built by QM members, the Accessibility & Usability Resource Site (AURS) is the go-to — and FREE — resource for educators looking to address key accessibility and usability concerns. Anyone can register for the site by logging into MyQM (or creating a new account) and selecting “Workshop - Register” in the side navigation. If you've already registered, the AURS link can be found under "My courses" in the QM Classroom after you log in.

Memes are a great way to engage your students, introduce new concepts and improve critical thinking skills. Using humor can spark creativity and help your students improve their critical thinking skills. This all leads to increased student engagement. See resources you can use to help your students laugh their way into learning in this article.

A recording of Catherine Artac's (Instructional Designer/Technologist, Minnesota State University Moorhead) presentation from November 6, 2017 as part of National Distance Learning week. The session covers eight steps you can take toward making your digital content accessible for all users.

Incorporate citations into your course is both a best practice and puts you on the path to meeting QM Specific Review Standard 4.5 C. Use these resources for creating your own citations and passing along the practice to your students.

Get a list of ways to use mind mapping in your course, plus resources for you and your learners to access for creating them.

Screencasting is a great way to build engagement in a course. It can also be used to record lessons and provide personalized feedback. Check out these resources.

Having learners build timelines can engage them on a topic and lead to active learning. Get a list of web-based resources for creating timelines.

Looking for new ways to check in on the progress of your students? Or to encourage your learners to self-assess? See a list of ideas from the QM community for tools to help create formative assessments.