Conference Presentations

Discussion boards are still one of the primary tools used for student interaction within online courses.  However, due to the way the tool has historically been used, students view discussions as busy work and tend to put less than their best effort into the activity.  This inevitably leads to instructor frustration as the tool that promised to mimic traditional conversations in a classroom has fallen short as it degrades to an "I Agree with what they said" type of interaction.

Standard verbs to describe human capabilities, with examples of phrases incorporating action verbs.

This session will provide an overview of the Online Course Development Award process of implementing QM at the University of Northern Iowa. It will explore the partnership that occurs between faculty and instructional developer (ID) as a foundation of the thinking about and application of the design and functionality of the course content following the QM Rubric. The presenters will also discuss the ongoing transformation of the developer and faculty roles to develop and deliver effective online instruction.

This interactive session will focus on the University of Northern Iowa Online Course Development Award process of implementing Quality Matters and the partnership between faculty and instructional developer. The partnership is a foundation for thinking about and applying the course design principles of the QM Rubric.

How did a small, rural, multi-campus community college become one of the top 2 percent of all QM institutions? Come on an interactive journey to discover ideas to achieve QM success at your campus. You'll learn how leadership, internal mentors, faculty workshops, monetary incentives, and a wall of fame motivate faculty to pursue QM Certification. There will be several strategies for how you, too, can get a piece of the pie. Be sure to bring your wireless device to this presentation.

Jill Holmes, Sheryl Barton, and Kim Hansen

The Online Course Improvement Program (OCIP) at New Mexico State University (NMSU) blends formats and technologies- including using the Quality Matters framework for course design- to provide professional development (PD) for faculty teaching blended and or online courses (http://ocip.nmsu.edu/).

The session presents a new Quality Assurance Taxonomy devised via a Delphi study with a panel comprising shareholders in online higher education at the student, faculty, and administrative levels.  The taxonomy can be used to facilitate both internal and external evaluations and inform quality standards, documents, practices, processes, and measurements.  It introduces a concept no t previously found in literature--the increased criticality of QA dimensions (such as student support and faculty support) that results from the online modality.

Several years ago when we first decided to adopt Quality Matters (QM) on our campus we encountered a problem of buy-in from administration and faculty.  They did not know what QM was all about and did not want to invest the time, energy or money into an unknown. We started a grassroots effort to spread the word about QM through those wonderful early adopters, but we were still missing people. We found there were opportunities at events on campus to prompt QM, but did not have a formal presentation.

Working together, the eLearning Advisory Committee (eLAC), Center for Engagement and Learning, and eLearning developed an internal QM Review process and infrastructure. Using a slow-roll approach, we kicked off internal reviews with only two courses at first, building our pathway as we progressed forward. We will present an architecture of our decision making and creation of processes and support infrastructure, as well as the results of our efforts.

(Poster Session - w/ PPT)

Listen to how two business professors have merged tools supplied by their Learning Management System (LMS) together with publisher teaching assets to achieve QM Standard 4.5 - “A variety of instructional materials is used in the course.” This Standard requires us to sort through instructional technology tools to use in our courses.  In this poster session, we will explain Course Learning Objectives (CLOs) in introductory Economics and Marketing classes, and link them to QM Standard 6.1.

Although visual representations have been around since cave paintings, visuals created with new technologies are changing the definition of what it means to be literate. Visual literacy is not just an "add-on," because incorporating visuals into learning practices helps the brain create meaning. Learn how to integrate visuals to capture the interest of today's learners and invoke emotions of curiosity, excitement, and enthusiasm. Explore digital tools and resources to support and enhance visual literacy in today's face-to-face, blended, or online classrooms.

Academic institutions seem to be facing an accelerating threat to integrity and, consequently, to the credibility of academic degrees (especially those earned online). Growing in both number and scope, these incidents include - but go well beyond - student cheating. For example, acquisition and sale of an institution's course material, such as assignments and exams, appears to be increasing through both the manipulation of students to share materials and cyber attacks.

Academic rigor is promised by educational institutions, but translation from theory to practice poses challenges. This session explores attendees' definitions, interprets QM Standards as evidence of rigor, and solicits areas needing further research.

Are you interested in meeting QM Standard 8.3 by improving the accessibility of your course syllabus? Join me for this hands-on session where we'll explore the accessibility features in Microsoft Word.   You'll have plenty of practice time during the session, so please bring your own computer.  Included for your information is a link to WA SBCTC's Access 101: Introduction to Accessibility Training Course Materials

Did you know universal design improves learner engagement? Hear how an urgent accessibility need resulted in more engaged students. Gain tangible resources and ideas to improve collaborations with instructors by reframing the benefits of universal design as a learner engagement strategy.

Our university has approached accessibility as a something that should be part of the campus culture.  Quality Matter course reviews provide an opportunity to use Quality Matters Rubric Standard 8 as a means of solidifying the concept of accessibility being something that is part of the fabric of campus rather than something that only occurs when asked or required to do so.  The university began using Quality Matters course reviews approximately two years ago.

The Academic Learning Center at Marist College has created a joinable iLearn site that is an extension of the support services that we offer to all students, faculty, and staff at Marist.  The site offers links to campus resources and support topics.  The list of topics was generated by Marist students and can be accessed remotely by the entire Marist community.  The site is interactive, as suggestions and recommendations for additional resources are encouraged and can be requested for addition to the site.  The Academic Learning Center staff takes all suggestions and researches topics and