Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Meet Quality Matters[TM] (QM) Requirements.

1. QUALITY MATTERS [TM] COURSE DEVELOPMENT Quality assurance is always a concern when dealing with online delivery. Quality Matters[TM] (QM) is a set of standards designed to provide the best practices in instructional design for courses that are delivered fully online or with a significant portion delivered online, i.e. hybrid courses (Lorenzetti, 2004). In this discussion, we will use the term "online course" to mean both online and hybrid course. The focus of QM is to promote student learning, and is essentially a faculty-driven, peer reviewed process. As described on its own web site (QM, 2008): Quality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses and online components. Sponsored by MarylandOnline, Inc., Quality Matters has generated widespread interest and received national recognition for its peer-based approach to quality assurance and continuous improvement in online education. Originating from a FIPSE grant, Quality Matters is now a self-supporting organization offering institutional subscriptions and a range of fee-based services including Quality Matters-managed course reviews and an array of trainings. Currently there are 204 subscribers in 38 states, with nine states adopting the QM standards statewide. To meet QM standards, a course does not have to obtain 100% in the peer review; at a level of 85%, an online course is considered to be of high quality. However, course development and peer review to enhance quality improvement should be a continuous process. Figure 1 illustrates this process. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] QM focuses on course design, rather than on course delivery or the academic content of the course. A set of forty specific elements, distributed across eight broad categories, have been identified. The eight categories, which are used to evaluate the design of online courses, are: 1) Course Overview and Introduction--The course design helps students understand how to get started in the course. 2) Learning Objectives--Course and module learning objectives are easy to understand and help students focus their efforts in the course. 3) Assessment and Measurement--Assessments measure the learning objectives and are an integral part of the learning process. 4) Resources and Materials--Instructional materials are prepared by qualified personnel and are sufficient to cover the learning objectives. 5) Learner Engagement--The course is designed to encourage interaction between instructor and students, among students, and between students and the course materials. 6) Course Technology--Navigation in the course ensures student access to instructional materials and technology is used to foster student engagement. 7) Learner Support--The course offers resources to institutional services to ensure student success. 8) Accessibility--All students have access to the course components. These eight broad categories are further refined into forty standards, which are assigned different point values, ranging from three (3) points for essential, two (2) points for very important, to one (1) point for important elements. At the heart of the QM process is the QM Rubric, which provides a quantitative measurement for evaluating the quality of the online course. There is a total of 80 possible points for the entire rubric (shown in Appendix 1). These standards provide a checklist for developing an online course. QM does not specify where these elements should occur, but rather that the elements should be included somewhere within the course materials. The QM review process is applicable for courses in which a Course Management System (CMS), such as Blackboard [TM] or Web CT is utilized. After completion of the course development, the course is then reviewed by a qualified QM Peer Review team. …