Module 3 has presented many elements of online course design and implementation, particularly when that course design is being planned in creating a new online program. Unit 1 started this work by focusing on collaboration as a guiding principle of the design process. Online course design and development necessitates a team of people who bring a range of skillsets to the process. The unit invited you to consider who’s on your team and who’s available for consultation. Unit 2 then shifted attention to turning a program vision into a curriculum vision, such that overall values for teaching and learning within the program can continually infuse course design. Unit 3 expanded on the next steps, encouraging a curriculum mapping process that can turn these overall curriculum plans into specific courses with identified course learning outcomes, and major forms of activities and assessments planned in alignment with program goals, outcomes, and intentions, while Unit 4 dived deeper into the particulars of curriculum mapping by exploring it through three Case Studies. Finally, Unit 5 introduced seven essential considerations for online course design. These seven considerations spanned questions of quality, teaching and learning-driven technologies, learner persistence, accessible and universal design, academic integrity, decolonization and Indigenization, and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

Taken together, these five units offer program leaders and academic administrators a high-level overview of the course design process. It is now up to your team, under your leadership and guidance, to take ideas and perspectives from these units and apply them to your course design and development activities.

References

Antoine, A., Mason, R., Mason, R., Palahicky, S. & Rodriguez de France, C. (2018). Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers. Victoria, BC: BCcampus. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationcurriculumdevelopers/

Baldwin, S. J. & Ching, Y. H. (2019). An online course design checklist: Development and users’ perceptions. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 31(1), 156-172. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12528-018-9199-8

Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Fuentes, M., Zelaya, D. G., & Madsen, J. W. (2021). Rethinking the course syllabus: Considerations for promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. Teaching of Psychology, 48(1), 69-79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628320959979

Grimard, J. (2021). Cultivating access: Teaching accessibility & inclusion in graphic design advanced diploma programs. OCAD University Open Research Repository. http://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/3416

Hart, C. (2012). Factors associated with student persistence in an online program of study: A review of the literature. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 11(1), 19-42.

Metzler, E., Rehrey, G., Kurz, L., & Middendorf, J. (2017). The Aspirational Curriculum Map: A Diagnostic Model for Action-Oriented Program Review. To Improve the Academy, 36(2), 156–167. https://doi.org/10.1002/tia2.20062 

Seneca College (2021). Seneca’s Quality Framework for Designing and Delivering Online Courses. https://employees.senecacollege.ca/spaces/39/the-teaching-learning-centre/files/9231/seneca-s-quality-framework-for-designing-delivering-online-courses-pdf

Thomson, G. (2019, September). Accessible online learning. Ontarians with Disabilities Act. https://www.aoda.ca/accessible-online-learning/

University of British Columbia (n.d.). Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Online Teaching: Where to Begin? Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. https://ctlt-inclusiveteaching.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2020/04/Equity-Diversity-Inclusion-Online-Teaching.pdf

University of Waterloo (n.d.) Encouraging academic integrity in remote, online, and in-person learning contexts. Centre for Teaching Excellence. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/encouraging-academic-integrity-remote-online-and-person

University of Waterloo (n.d.) Quality guidelines. Centre for Extended Learning. https://uwaterloo.ca/extended-learning/teach-online/creating-online-course/quality-guidelines