Conference Presentations

With an institutional goal of demonstrating academic excellence through program-level accreditation/certification, but without an accrediting body for the MS in Educational Psychology - Experimental Psycholgy Program, we are looking to QM to help us ensure the quality of this online degree. We are implementing multiple program-level revisions and building evidence to support an application for QM Program Design Certification. This QM-driven initiative extends QM Standards "upward" to program-level continuous improvement processes.

Winston Online, part of the Winston Preparatory School, works specifically with students with learning disabilities, executive function challenges (ADHD), and nonverbal learning disabilities. In this presentation, the audience will gain an overview of the Winston Online teaching model and how they design and deliver accessible synchronous classes. Examples will given, and the audience will gain tips that they can immediately incorporate into their course design or classroom teaching. There will be time at the end of the presentation for  Q&A.

Employers today desire candidates who have learned beyond the content and can demonstrate competency in important workforce skills. Come learn about one instructor's approach to implementing a workforce skills development model into their curriculum.

Do you find world language and English as a new language courses tricky to design? We can help! Bring your smartphone/device with you to explore OER activities and tools aligned to common language objectives in this highly interactive session.

Learning Objectives: After this session, participants will be able to . . .

Writing a research paper requires solid information literacy skills. This session will guide faculty to design a dedicated library focus into online courses to strengthen students' information literacy. Lesson ideas for embedding essential information literacy components into a course will be explored. Activities and assessments — Reference Building Challenge and Reference Scavenger Hunt, to name a couple — will help learners format sources, craft citations, and use advanced search techniques. 

The digital revolution has transformed education, breaking down geographic and socioeconomic barriers to enable creation of a global classroom. This session will examine best practices and innovative approaches to reaching students across the globe and address key adult learning considerations in our multicultural world. Strategies that foster inclusivity, cultural diversity, and engagement will be highlighted. Practical considerations including accreditation and degree recognition will also be explored.

Demands on today’s faculty in the classroom seem to be constantly growing. No longer are we expected to just “teach our content”, but we also need to make sure our students are work-force ready, are engaged, supported, and motivated. Oh wait, you need to teach your course online or in a hy-flex model and your class size has doubled? Don't worry, you got this and I'll show you how. In this session my goal is to show you that teaching can still be fun while we try to meet the ever changing needs and expectations of our students.

Does the inclusion of technology alone make a course innovative? While technology plays a significant role in education, it should serve as a means to an end rather than the end goal.

Innovation in it's simplest form means change. It's in the way we design our courses, create our objectives,  implement our instructional materials, and design our assessments; rather than the colors, templates, technologies or the size of our wallets.

This session details a dual department approach to incorporating QM standards into the design and implementation of a university-wide course template that also serves as a framework for faculty development programs at a large state university.

As educators, we often talk about setting up our students for success. However, in this session we will turn the tables and discuss setting up faculty members for success. QM has a set of eight Standards associated with quality online courses; these Standards cover everything from learning objectives to learner support. Even though teachers are responsible for the content in their courses, the use of a template can ease the burden of developing common materials. This session will cover items to include in the template as well as the use of Blackboard Goals.

Members of a research team at a Midwestern university will provide a brief overview of the findings from their 12-month comprehensive analysis and criticism of the scholarly literature detailing published research about online higher education within the last three years.

Members of a research team at a Midwestern university will provide a brief overview of the findings from their 12-month comprehensive analysis and criticism of the scholarly literature detailing published research about online higher education within the last three years.

Discover a simple way to start developing online courses with APPQMR, Backward Design, and Collaboration. Learn from our Course Development Program's successes and explore how you can implement APPQMR, ensure course materials align with course and module objectives by using Backward Design (or Course Mapping) with faculty and integrate collaboration in each step of the process. This session offers practical solutions for implementing an Online Course Development Program at your organization. 

Generative AI tools have revolutionized content creation, making it faster and more efficient than ever. But AI’s potential extends far beyond just speed—it has the power to fundamentally reshape the way we approach instructional design. In this session, we’ll go beyond the basics and explore innovative AI frameworks, examine critical ethical considerations, and dive into practical, hands-on applications to enhance both course quality and efficiency. You’ll leave with forward-thinking insights and actionable strategies to harness AI to build more impactful online learning environments.

Generative AI tools have revolutionized content creation, making it faster and more efficient than ever. But AI’s potential extends far beyond just speed—it has the power to fundamentally reshape the way we approach instructional design. In this session, we’ll go beyond the basics and explore innovative AI frameworks, examine critical ethical considerations, and dive into practical, hands-on applications to enhance both course quality and efficiency. You’ll leave with forward-thinking insights and actionable strategies to harness AI to build more impactful online learning environments.

Not all AI models are created equal! Curious about which one(s) perform better for different aspects of course design? Discover our matchmaking system that pairs specific AIs models and tools with the QM Standards they serve best. You'll learn why reasoning models excel at alignment and analysis while pre-training models shine at rapid content development and adaptation, and agentic models fulfill research needs. Leave with a matchmaking matrix to up your game with AI-integrated & QM-aligned course design, using tools to which you have access.  

This session presents a USF case study that transformed a text-heavy Canvas course into an engaging, QM-aligned experience using GenAI and accessible design tools. Attendees will gain simple strategies for dynamic instructional material enhancement, practical methods to boost learner engagement with refreshed visual design, and tips on selecting appropriate GenAI tools to efficiently improve course quality. Ideal for instructional designers with limited resources or those new to implementing AI in course design.

The syllabus is the foundation of the course. How do you take the
syllabus and liberate it to perform by meeting the standards? We designed a unique review process based on the
11 parts of a syllabus and the Quality Matters standards. We will discuss the benefits to the faculty and students.
1: The participants will list the 11 parts of a syllabus.
2: The participants will identify the parts of each standard that applies to the syllabus.
3: The participants will list at least one benefit of the review process for the designer and faculty