In online courses, students must grapple with many different issues. They not only have to learn the content of the course but they must also figure out how to navigate around the learning management system. Additionally, they must learn how to use the different tools an instructor introduces into the course. Instructors must take care to properly scaffold the introduction of these tools into the course. The OSCQR rubric provides tips for successfully including tools and technology into a course.
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In this episode, we are continuing our exploration of online quality reviews. We are continuing to look at a specific tool called OSCQR. It is a rubric for reviewing online courses.
We will be focusing on the 5 Technology and Tools standards.
OSCQR Standards
By attending to these standards, you can help ensure that you have the necessary supports in place for student success as well as clear access to needed tools. The specific standards include:
- Requisite skills for using technology tools (websites, software, and hardware) are clearly stated and supported with resources.
- Technical skills required for participation in course learning activities scaffold in a timely manner (orientation, practice, and application – where appropriate).
- Frequently used technology tools are easily accessed. Any tools not being utilized are removed from the course menu.
- The course includes links to privacy policies for technology tools.
- Any technology tools meet accessibility standards.
In this episode, I will discuss each of these standards.
Resources
Here are some of the resources I talked about in this episode:
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- OSCQR Rubric
- OSCQR – Technology and Tools Standards
- ITC: 19 – Exploring the Overview and Information Standards for an Online Course Review
- ITC: 21 – Exploring the Design and Layout Standards for an Online Course Review
- ITC: 22 – Exploring the Content and Activities Standards for an Online Course Review
This episode of the podcast was put together with the assistance of:
- Music credit: Purple Planet
- Editing assistance: Lost Recording Studio
- Sponsored product: Audible
Adapted from: The OSCQR Rubric, Dashboard, and Process are made available by Online Learning Consortium, Inc. (OLC) under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC By 4.0).
As an ID, online learning is my passion! Not only are these tools great resources, but I feel they are essential. When I first began taking online courses back in 2009 at U of Louisville, I needed to invest a lot of time and effort into discovering how to navigate and use technology within their LMS. It was early days for that program, and it seemed that the instructors were a bit confused about how to integrate traditional brick and mortar students with the online learners. There was little explanation or guidance from the instructor sand it became obvious that they were a little lost as well. Years later, I earned an MS in ID Technology and had gained the tools needed to help online learners succeed. It’s essential to use these resources when designing online instruction. I also believe it would be beneficial to both instructors and students in an online program to have access to a mini tutorial eModule in using both the LMS and the technology utilized in the course(s).
Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it. I agree with you 100% that there should be some mini-module to explain how to successfully navigate the LMS and course technology. Thanks for listening to the podcast!
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