Not only should a quality online course be consistent, it should be connected. What do we mean? Student feedback has indicated that students prefer a “single source of truth” in online courses. Students want everything that they need to complete in a module of instruction to be located within that module. For example, students do not want to access the Quiz tab, the Assignment tab, and the Discussion tab in a course to find these items. In fact, we recommend not even including these items in the course navigation bar. Instead, students want to see all of these items added to the content module so they have a single place within the course that they need to go to find everything they need for that module.

When adding your assignments, quizzes, and discussions to your content module, be sure to include descriptions, calendar links, due dates. While adding the assessments themselves is certainly student-friendly, going the extra step to provide descriptions, links to resources that students might need, including due dates, and providing the rubric, if applicable, is another way to take your course to the next level, and one that students will definitely appreciate! When due dates are provided for assessments, they automatically populate in the course calendar. Additionally, students are provided with a notification of upcoming due items when they access the course. And, if you really want to take your course to another level, include these due dates as reminders in pre-scheduled announcements and/or intelligent agents.

One of the most commonly expressed concerns we hear in CETLOE course development pertains to timely feedback on assessments and assignments in a course. When developing courses in iCollege, assessments and assignments fall into one of three categories: assignments, discussions, and quizzes. Quizzes is the generic term for any test, quiz, or exam and while we do not recommend the use of objective-based testing (i.e., multiple choice exams), the nice thing about these quizzes is that iCollege and grade them immediately. Additionally, so long as the quiz is connected to a grade item, iCollege can also update the gradebook right away! So convenient! However, when using these assessment types, we do recommend to use them sparingly and provide substantive feedback for wrong answers within the quiz. Our instructional design team can help you configure quiz items in your course to maximize the student learning experience and minimize potential learning gaps while also maintaining academic integrity.

In contrast to quizzes, assignments and discussions are a bit more challenging to grade. However, there are some great features built right into iCollege that can make grading less painless and more efficient. The first is rubrics. With iCollege rubrics, you can develop as many levels and criteria as you would like, assign custom points to each level, and link the rubric right to the assignment. When it comes time to grade, simply open the assignment submissions and click the desired level for each criterion on the rubric. Also, as with quizzes, so long as the assignment is linked to a grade item, iCollege will update the gradebook once you publish your feedback for students. With rubrics, you can create a rubric for each assignment or a general rubric such as one you might use for all discussions or reflection papers in a course. Also, so long as your levels and criteria are detailed, then substantive feedback is provided. You can easily link rubrics to all assessment types right in the descriptions and instructions for easy student access. Have an existing rubric in Word or PDF format? Those can be quickly copied and pasted right into the rubric tool. No need to rewrite the rubric!

It seems like students are always asking about grades, which is why a well developed gradebook is so important in iCollege. Having grade items with the same name as their corresponding assessment minimizes student confusion and allows for seamless updating as you evaluate student submissions. When coupled with assignments, discussions, quizzes, and rubrics, grade items give students quick access to their current performance and help them plan for future course events. Also, with all assessments connected to grade items, there is no need for manual grade entry. With a connected course, faculty are able to work smarter, not harder, while still providing a meaningful student learning experience steeped in rich faculty feedback. We understand that creating a connected course may seem like a lot of work so we want to assure you that we are here to help. Our learning technology team can always provide technical support on any aspect of iCollege. Additionally, our learning experience team can review your entire course or just specific aspects of the course and tailor feedback to help you meet your instructional goals. Let us know how we can help you develop a meaningful, transparent, and connected course.

Quality online courses have three forms of interaction: student-content interaction, student-student interaction, and student-instructor interaction. This last one is the form of interaction that students, especially online undergraduate students, consistently report as the most important of the three forms of interaction. However, this is also the one form of interaction that is most lacking from online courses. Here at CETLOE, we strive to create student-centered courses that are full of student-instructor interaction and one of the most effective ways to develop this form of interaction is through consistent and transparent communication. Fortunately, iCollege also provides us with ways to have consistent communication without constantly being online.

One of the first ways to establish presence in your course is through the use of media. Course introductions, module introductions, faculty introductions, and course tours are a great way to engage the student while also establishing your presence. Also, developing scheduled emails and announcements are a great strategy for front-loading the course and automating communication. At a minimum, we recommend scheduling announcements for the beginning of the course and for each module/unit/week of instruction. Developing a consistent layout for these announcements is another way to increase course consistency while also establishing presence through communication!

While facilitating the course, iCollege will send automated reminders based on your course calendar, which is why we stress the importance of providing due dates for all assessments and assignments in the course. These reminders can be enhanced through the use of intelligent agents that send out customized reminders, feedback, and other information based on how you configure those agents. Once established, these agents can run throughout the semester, streamlining your workload while maintaining instructor presence! Additionally, the use of other tools in iCollege such as Checklists provide an interactive activity for students as they move through each module of instruction while also maintaining instructor presence by reminding students of all tasks for a module as well as when those tasks should be completed. It’s a win-win!

Finally, there are some other strategies that you can employ in an online course to remain student-focused while also establishing instructor presence. For example, you might hold scheduled synchronous sessions through WebEx or provide students with the opportunity to schedule virtual office hours with you. You can even predetermine virtual office hours and allow students to drop-in as they might in a traditional office hours situation. Just remember, if you plan to conduct scheduled, mandated synchronous sessions, this information needs to be included in Banner so students are aware of this fact when they register for your course.

Like everything else in online courses, regular, transparent communication requires a level of effort above what might be necessary in a traditional, face-to-face classroom. Fortunately, iCollege and other technological tools allow you to work smarter, not harder while establishing and maintaining a level of course presence on par with a traditional classroom experience. Whether your preference is to incorporate media, hold synchronous sessions, or simply provide information through announcements and notifications, there are tools and strategies available to help you meet your goals, and, as always, CETLOE is here to help and support you!