Online Course Development Guidelines & Responsibilities

For new courses, the design team will use the information outlined in the approved Model Syllabi as a basis for developing the framework of the Canvas Master Course sites. The Canvas Master Course sites will then serve as the workspace in which the design team develops the finalized courses. In the event a Model Syllabus does not provide enough information to fully develop the course framework, the design team and SMEs will collaborate to fill in identified gaps.

• For re-development of existing courses, the design team will complete a course map to guide the re-development process and ensure alignment among module learning objectives, readings, and learning activities (see Appendix A).

Please note: Variations from the Model Syllabi may be incorporated into the Canvas Master Course sites on a case-by-case basis (e.g., to fulfill federal interactivity requirements, to better support Learning Outcomes/course alignment) upon recommendation of the design team (e.g., repurposing a short individual paper into a small group discussion to enhance interactivity, editing an assignment to reflect a modular learning outcome to improve alignment). However, variations, such as required textbook substitutions, should be approved by the Curriculum Committees prior to incorporation into a Canvas Master Course site.

SMEs will provide all relevant course content and resources to the design team on a module-by-module basis, following the framework of the Canvas Master Course site.

• All course content resources developed by SMEs will be presented in a Word document via email or uploaded to a private Teams Channel.
• The Word document will also serve as documentation of what changes are made, when they are made, and who made them.

Please note: Meetings between the design team and SMEs may be scheduled on a project-by-project basis (e.g., to answer questions, share ideas, provide and discuss feedback) throughout the course development process.

Required course content and resources include the following:

Overview Page

• Each module within the Canvas Master Course site begins with an Overview page. SMEs will provide the following information for this page:
  • Overview – a brief description (e.g., one or two short paragraphs) to convey the module’s main ideas
  • A list of Module Learning Outcomes – i.e., what will the student be able to do after completing the module?
    • Refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains and link these Learning Outcomes to course syllabus objectives and/or EPAS competencies and practice behaviors.
    • Learning Outcomes should be measurable and clearly stated.
    • Each Learning Outcome should be associated with only one “to do” action, for example a module assignment.
    • Learning Outcomes must align with the module’s learning activities (practice activities, quizzes, and assignments).
  • Required readings
    • List the complete reference, in APA format, for each of the module’s required readings (e.g., journal article, textbook chapter, website URL).
    • Provide a working link or email/upload any external files (e.g., PDFs or Word documents).
    • Provide a working link to all websites.
  • Learning activities – list the learning activities the student will complete to meet the module’s desired Learning Outcomes. Learning activities should align with the module’s Learning Outcomes.

Content Pages

• Each module should contain content pages. These are akin to lecture notes in a F2F class, but will be delivered in written format.
  • The design team will review the provided content and determine how to best “chunk it out” into interactive elements, which they will develop in the web content management system (WCMS) and code/embed back into the Canvas page.
  • As applicable, SMEs will provide additional resources (e.g., images/diagrams, website links, videos) to supplement the content. Additional video requirements are outlined below under “Use of video resources.”
  • All provided content and supplemental resources should be relevant to the module’s Learning Outcomes, approved for public domain use, and accessible. Please note: The design team reserves the right to reject any content or resources that do not comply with accessibility standards and/or that are not approved for public domain use. VoiceThread presentations are not fully accessible and, therefore, will not be accepted for use in a Canvas Master Course site.
  • The last content page is the reference page. SMEs will provide a complete list of references, in APA format, of all the resources consulted to prepare the module’s content pages. This includes images and video resources (e.g., YouTube).

Use of video resources

Although videos can be effective learning materials, they should not be too heavily relied upon as a means of student engagement throughout an online course. When videos are used, they should be uploaded in Kaltura or available for public domain use from YouTube. Prezi and PowToon videos are generally not accessible and will not be accepted by the design team for use in a Master Course site. Additional video requirements include:

• Ideally, videos should not be longer than 10 minutes. In the event a SME would like to use a longer-length video, the design team may recommend creating smaller video clips with accompanying Quick Check or Playposit activities to gauge student understanding and engagement. The design team will develop these activities, but they may request that the SME provide the relevant questions.
• SMEs will provide APA-formatted references to the design team for all video resources used in a course.
• SME-developed videos (e.g., video lectures) should be uploaded to Kaltura. The SME will edit the video transcript to ensure it and the video’s closed captions are accurate. The SME will also provide the design team with the source files for any Kaltura videos they create.

Learning Activities

The design team and SMEs will collaborate to balance the types of learning activities that are used throughout the course (e.g., “low stakes” and “high stakes”).

• “Low stakes” activities (e.g., Quick Checks, PlayPosit activities, experiential discussions, journal entries/reflection logs) are practice activities to help engage students and gauge their interaction with and/or understanding of key module concepts, large segments of content, supplemental videos/readings, etc. They may be interspersed throughout the content pages (e.g., a Quick Check activity following a video or a large segment of content) or used to help sum up a module’s key concepts (e.g., a module wrapper).
  • The design team will make recommendations and collaborate with SMEs to identify where these activities may be appropriate.
  • SMEs will provide the content for these activities (e.g., Quick Check or PlayPosit questions).
• Each module should have at least one, and no more than two, “high stakes” learning activities (e.g., cited discussions, group projects, literature reviews/analytical papers, quizzes/exams) in which students fulfill the identified Learning Outcomes.
  • SMEs will provide clear, in-depth instructions, requirements, and rubrics for each learning activity. Please note: VoiceThread presentations are not fully accessible and, therefore, are not an acceptable deliverable for a learning activity in a Canvas Master Course site.
  • The design team will review provided learning activities and make recommendations, as necessary, toward ensuring alignment with the module’s Learning Outcomes and optimizing interactivity.
  • SMEs will provide a rubric that outlines the learning activity’s criteria and the associated point values. Rubrics may be submitted as an email or Word document, which the design team will recreate in Canvas.

The design team will proofread and/or edit all provided course content and resources (without changing the context) to ensure quality control (e.g., clarity, consistency, alignment) prior to incorporating them into a module. Additionally, the design team will review all course content and resources for accessibility and advise toward fulfilling WCAG or finding replacements. As necessary, the design team will coordinate with ATAC toward further course remediation needs (i.e., should a student accommodation for a section of the course be identified).

Please note: SMEs are responsible for ensuring external files (e.g., Word documents, PPTX presentations, Excel spreadsheets) are accessible. External files that do not pass an accessibility check cannot be incorporated into a Canvas Master Course site.