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Ecampus Essentials

Overview | Ecampus Essentials | Online Teaching Principles

Partnering with faculty to develop high-quality online and hybrid learning experiences for Ecampus students is our goal. This document provides information about the research-based standards used at OSU to design online and hybrid courses, based on the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric (6th Edition). All new and redeveloped Ecampus courses are expected to meet essential standards and are strongly encouraged to meet exemplary standards. Ecampus instructional designers support and partner with faculty to ensure standards are met.

Course Introduction and Navigation

A clear introduction to the course and logical, student-centered navigation help students find what they need, reducing frustration. These elements help students avoid missing important instructions or assignments.

Essential

  • Course is structured into intuitive sections (weeks, units, etc.) with all materials for each section housed with that section (as opposed to lengthy menus or a mass collection of files without a discernible organization). Course is organized with student-centered navigation, and it is clear to students how to get started in the course.
  • All OSU-required syllabus information is present, including instructor's name, OSU email address, contact information, grading policies, and learning outcomes. If applicable, outcomes and special curricular instructions for Bacc Core, WIC, and DPD are included in the syllabus. Course descriptions match the OSU catalog verbatim, and learning outcomes for online and hybrid sections are the same as for the same course in other modalities.
  • In addition to OSU-required syllabus information, the syllabus for the online or hybrid section addresses information necessary for online students, including how to access technical support, netiquette expectations for the course, how to contact the instructor, and the following statement about instructor response time for questions and assignment feedback:
    • Response times: Students can expect responses to questions within 24 hours during the work week and graded assignments with feedback within five days. If I need to deviate from this schedule, I will inform the class.
  • A course schedule with due dates is provided in the syllabus or as a separate document.

Exemplary

  • An introduction video providing an introduction to the instructor and/or course is available.

Learning Outcomes and Alignment

An OSU course is an OSU course, regardless of the modality in which it is taught. Learning outcomes are the roadmap for the course. Clear, measurable outcomes tell us exactly what should be covered and at which depth. Weekly learning outcomes help students understand how daily coursework relates to course outcomes. The OSU Faculty Senate’s Curriculum Council approves course titles, descriptions, and learning outcomes for each course through a rigorous curricular review process. Documentation is recorded in the university’s CIM system.

Essential

  • Online and hybrid courses meet the same course learning outcomes as sections taught in other modalities.
  • Assessments (assignments, exams, projects, discussions, etc.) are aligned with course outcomes, weekly outcomes, content, and cognitive level.

Exemplary

  • Learning outcomes are measurable and observable (avoiding ambiguous verbs such as “understand” or “comprehend”).
  • In addition to course level outcomes, weekly or unit-level outcomes are provided.

Assessment and Feedback

Clear expectations help students succeed. Assessments should be aligned with outcomes to ensure that outcomes are being met. Using a 'grade early, grade often' approach helps students monitor progress and know if they are on track for success.

Essential

  • Assessments (assignments, exams, projects, discussions, etc.) are aligned with course and unit or weekly outcomes in content and cognitive level.
  • Grading policies are stated clearly (such as listing grading criteria and supplying rubrics).

Exemplary

  • Assessments are varied, including formative and summative assessments.

Instructional Materials

Materials for online and hybrid classes should be created for the audience of online and hybrid students. Online students feel at a disadvantage when they are merely given recordings of on-campus activities or lectures. Instructional materials should prepare students for assessments. Research shows that using best practices for presenting instructional materials helps students learn more effectively (for example, using active learning strategies, where students perform meaningful actions involving course content and then reflect on learning).

Essential

  • Instructional materials are in alignment with the course and weekly outcomes.
  • Instructional materials drawn from other sources have been through a fair use assessment, and copyright permissions have been requested for any items deemed not to fall under fair use guidelines. (Instructional faculty provide source information for non-original content; Ecampus assists with fair use assessment and permissions requests.)
  • All multimedia is designed and produced for an audience of online and hybrid students (no recordings of in-class materials).
  • Audio and visual quality must be clear for all multimedia.

Exemplary

  • Instructional materials are appropriately cited.
  • Instructional materials appeal to a variety of learning preferences (readings, audio, visual, multimedia, etc.).
  • Online ecture content is brief and integrated into course learning activities, such as with interactive components, discussion questions, or quiz questions. (Longer lectures should be shortened to less than 20 min. chunks.)
  • Online lectures are not required; it is fine to use existing materials such as links to open education resources, readings, activities, etc.
  • Weekly introductions are provided.

Interaction and Engagement

Research shows that active learning opportunities, as well as the three forms of interaction, are effective in online and hybrid classes and for adult students. Response times help create a structure for interaction.

Essential

  • Learning activities are aligned with course and weekly learning outcomes.
  • "Three forms of interaction are present, in some form, in the course:
    • Student/content (such as discussion boards, readings, video, research projects)
    • Student/instructor (such as discussion boards, response to assignments, inclusion of a Q&A forum the instructor will facilitate)
    • Student/student (such as discussion boards, group projects, peer-reviewed assignments)"
      • In hybrid courses, the three forms of interaction are present in both the classroom and online elements of the course. Additionally, the course design integrates classroom and online learning through the ways that classroom and online elements are sequenced and explicitly linked to one another. For instance, a weekly discussion that begins online may be continued in the classroom, or an online reading may be the basis of group problem solving in a subsequent class session.

Exemplary

  • Opportunities for active learning (meaningful action + reflection) are provided.
    • In hybrid courses, active learning opportunities are provided both face-to-face and online.
  • Multimedia has been used to address the course's main concepts, to help students master especially challenging concepts, and to effectively communicate concepts that are best conveyed in multimedia format.

Course Technology

Using educational technology appropriately is an important aspect of designing and facilitating effective online courses. Reliability, security, record keeping requirements, FERPA and accessibility compliance are all important and complex concerns. OSU uses the Canvas learning management system; all Ecampus courses are delivered through Canvas. When external educational technologies are used, integration with Canvas provides improved usability for online and hybrid students. Additionally, providing privacy policies for outside tools helps students understand and manage their privacy in online spaces.

Essential

  • Appropriate tools are used for their intended purposes (e.g., using the assignment tool for homework rather than having students emailing assignments).
  • Assignments and student progress are tracked through Canvas. Grades are communicated to students through the Canvas gradebook.
  • Tools outside of Canvas are used in ways that comply with FERPA regulations.
  • Link to outside resources are functional.
  • Student completion of work through tools used outside of Canvas is logged within Canvas.

Exemplary

  • If outside tools are used, they are integrated into Canvas, when possible, so students have a single point of access.
  • Privacy policy for any tools used outside of Canvas is provided.

Learner Support

Sometimes students do not realize they have access to learner support services if they are far from campus. Also, access to student services sometimes differs for campus and Ecampus students. Online student fees provide access to Ecampus-specific student services such as TutorMe. Some student services, such as disability access services, are required by law. Providing learner support information within online and hybrid courses ensures that students have ready access to support when they need it.

Essential

  • Information about learner support is provided, such as the Start Here module in the Ecampus course template, which includes a link to Ecampus Student Services.

Exemplary

  • Lib guides are embedded in Canvas course shells, when appropriate.

Accessibility

Providing accessible content is required by law. Using a universal design approach during course development is better for students, is more inclusive for diverse learners, and is more efficient than retrofitting a non-accessible course.

Essential

  • Course content is posted in accessible format (such as a PDF file with document tags, alt-text provided for images, captions or transcripts for narrated lectures, and PowerPoint presentations with sufficient contrast between the background and text).
  • Canvas pages are structured in an accessible format (such as using heading styles).

Exemplary

  • Simple font and color schemes are used.
  • All video content is captioned (not just transcripts).

Academic Integrity

The design of online and hybrid courses can help deter academic integrity violations.

Essential

  • If proctored online exams are desired, proctoring requirements are established with the testing coordinator and communicated in the syllabus.
  • For online exams with multiple choice/short answer questions, questions and/or answers are randomized to help guard against academic integrity violations.
  • Exams delivered without proctoring are available during specific timeframes (e.g., over a 3-day period including one weekend day) and are time-limited to help guard against academic integrity violations.
  • Question pools are used, or exams are updated each time a course is offered.

Exemplary

  • Written assessments such as essays and research papers require multiple steps that incorporate peer, tutor and/or instructor feedback (e.g., multiple drafts, or a proposal or outline as a first step before drafting).
  • Written assessments such as essays and research papers require students to use plagiarism prevention software to self-check work for originality and possible plagiarism (Turnitin).

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