OCDP

Part I: Course Development

The steps below give an outline of the course development process. After going through the steps on this site and working with your instructional designer, you will develop a quality online course.

Step 1: Plan Your Course

Blueprint your whole course starting with course objectives and ending with the assessments that will evaluate those objectives. We use a variety of planning documents, talk with your instructional designer about the best way to do this. There are also some considerations that we must address as we plan: quality, regular and substantive interaction, accessibility, and copyright.

Click to expand and collapse the topics below.

Learning Objectives

Objectives provide the foundation for course development and allow you to keep your course more focused and organized. Well-written objectives make it easy to develop assessments to measure student outcomes. Learning objectives should be student-centered, simple, specific, and measurable. Strong objectives are consistent with the course goals and appropriate for the level of the students.

Help Writing Learning Objectives

Examples of Learning Objectives

Before and After Examples

Deliverables

You may have more or fewer course objectives or lesson objectives but do strive to keep things simple. Remember to use S.M.A.R.T. to ensure your objectives are appropriate and contain one measurable verb. You can work together with your instructional designer on your learning objectives. Make sure they are aligned and measurable before you continue with your course design. Please complete the learning objective section of the course development plan and share with your instructional designer.

Quality Matters ™

The University of Arkansas has adopted the Quality Matters rubric as a resource to help our online courses meet national standards and best practices. The rubric focuses on the form and function of the course while allowing a lot of flexibility for instructors regarding the content and how the course is taught. We believe using these standards will help bring our courses to a higher level of quality and aid in student success. If you have any questions about the rubric and how to apply it to your course, feel free to contact your instructional designer.

Regular and Substantive Interaction

The Department of Education requires Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) in online (distance) courses and delineates federal financial aid eligibility (Title IV funds) based on the use of Regular and Substantive Interaction to distinguish between online (distance) and correspondence (self-paced) courses.

Correspondence (self-paced) courses are where students can proceed through content at their own pace within the semester, with little or no instructor interaction, and little or no student-to-student interaction.

Distance (online) courses are delivered online through “appropriate” media, use accredited instructors, contain at least two forms of substantive interaction, have “scheduled and predictable” opportunities for instructor/student interaction, and include instructors that are responsive to students’ requests for support.

Your instructional designer will help guide through RSI as you build a quality course.

Two methods of regular interaction between instructors and students are required:

Providing the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and scheduled basis commensurate with the length of time and the amount of content in the course or competency; and
Monitoring the student’s academic engagement and success and ensuring that an instructor is responsible for promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student when needed, on the basis of such monitoring, or upon request by the student.

Two of the methods listed for substantive interaction between instructors and students are required:

Providing direct instruction;
Assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework;
Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency;
Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency; or,
Other instructional activities approved by the institution’s or program’s accrediting agency.

Read more about Regular and Substantive Interaction

Accessibility

Accessibility is part of Universal Design. Designing to remove all possible barriers for all differently abled people is imperative as a higher education entity committed to equal access for all. Web accessibility includes all disabilities that affect access to the Web and online education, such as: visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities as well as those with a “temporary disability” such as a broken arm or other injury. Keeping accessibility in mind from the beginning of course development is key to creating an equal opportunity educational experience. It is better to create accessible content from the start than to wait until a student with a disability enrolls in the course. Universal Design principles are easy once you know the basics.

Copyright

Consideration of copyright is a little different for online classes. Students have a different level of access to course materials than they do in a face-to-face classroom. Copyright violations are also easier to detect in an online class. Use of materials protected by copyright must meet the criteria of the TEACH Act or “Fair Use” for the instructor to include them in the course without the written consent of the copyright owner.

Step 2: Model Your Course

You and your ID will talk more to decide on the design
Your ID will request a development course (shell) for you
You and your ID will build a few lessons together
If you need any technology training, it will be arranged

Step 3: Refine Your Course

Stay in contact with your ID as you build remaining course lessons
ID performs a QM review of the top 23 standards
Final revisions – course content 100% complete
Development course is copied into the official Blackboard course
Result: Course opens on the Thursday prior to the first day of classes

Part II: Evaluation and Revision

After you teach the course for the first time, you will meet with your ID again:

Review student performance, engagement data, and student feedback
Make revisions for continuous improvement
Create a “Course Document” in Blackboard for future instructors and offerings

Online Course Development Process