Quality in Distance Learning Free

When considering whether a particular online course is right for you, it is important to consider the course design or layout. When designing an online course, the course designer should follow an instructional design methodology. The course should not simply be course notes converted into a Web page.

High-quality online courses need a layout that makes sense. Luckily, many online course management systems like Blackboard, eCollege, or Moodle are being used today. These systems help the course designer put together a course with a consistent design and navigation. The use of a course management system does not guarantee that a course will be high quality, but it is a good sign.

If you are taking multiple courses from the same provider, it is always good if the course layout and navigation is similar between courses. Therefore, the learner needs to learn the navigation system once and can carry that knowledge forward to other courses. If the layout is different for each course, the student will need to learn something different for each course. This is a barrier to learning that can simply be eliminated with a good course design.

At first thought, most people would probably say that course content is the single most important factor in the quality of a course. They are probably right. Even though there are many other important things to consider when designing a quality course, content is at the top of the list. How can you tell if the content is high quality or not?

One of the first things to consider is how up-to-date the materials are. Depending on the topic, the timeliness of the course material can vary. For example, if you are studying classic literature, then Romeo and Juliet is written the same today as it was written by Shakespeare in the 1500s. However, if you are learning about how to create a Web page, course materials developed 5 years ago may be out of date. Therefore, when considering the timeliness of the course materials, keep in mind the course topic. Because of the wide variety of topics being offered, the individual online learner will need to be the judge of the currency of the course materials.

Another item to consider when examining course content is the external links within the course. Since many online courses link to outside resources, if several of those links are broken or not working, that is a sign that the course has not been recently updated. A high-quality course will have few, if any, broken external links.

Also, under the course content umbrella falls the type of instructional activities that take place. It is important to examine the items that make up the course. For example, if the course is simply made up of written notes for the learner to read and a test at the end of the course, then most learners would say the quality is fairly low.

High-quality courses make use of the tools available and use them appropriately. The old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” can sometimes be true in online course materials. For example, if the course is teaching something that requires a picture or video to assist in the learning process, then a higher-quality course would contain the picture or video. A lower-quality course would simply discuss it with written materials.

This doesn’t mean that a course filled with video is the highest-quality course. In fact, if too much video is used, it can detract from the course. The key is using the right tools (video, in this case) at the right time.

Another key course content area is interaction. Interaction can occur between the instructor and learners, among the learners, or between the computer and the learner. Distance learners crave interaction. Higher-quality courses offer the opportunity for the learner to interact. The interaction results in increased involvement in the course, including online discussions and social presence (Tu & Corry, 2003).

As with courses taught in any format, the course instructor plays a major role in the quality of the course. Therefore, the first thing to consider is who is teaching the course. It is someone who is well known in the field? Is it an adjunct or a full-time professor? Has he or she taught online before? If so, how long? The answers to each of these questions are important to the quality of the course. If you take an online course from someone who has never taught online, the odds are that the quality will be lower as they “learn the ropes” of distance education. If you take a course from someone who has never taught the topic before, again the course quality probably will be lower than if you take it from someone who has taught it many times.

It is not uncommon to find out that online course content was developed by someone other than the course instructor. That may or may not cause problems for the online learner. The key is whether the instructor understands the course design and content. If the instructor is teaching course content developed by someone else for the first time, there is bound to be bumps along the way.

Support for online learning is many times an afterthought. That is unfortunate, because support is one of the keys to a high-quality distance learning experience. Support can come in three main areas. The first is academic support. This support is typically offered by the course instructor or instructional assistant. This consists of answering questions about course content and assignments. Not only is the type of feedback important, but also the timeliness. If a learner gets an answer to a question two weeks after he or she asked the question, then the quality is fairly low. The same holds true about feedback on assignments. If feedback is consistently late, then students lose the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and apply that learning later in the course.

The second type of support is administrative in nature. Since many distance learners are separated by distance from the entity offering the course, they sometimes have unique needs that are more difficult to address without a helping hand. That helping hand is in the form of administrative support. For example, if face-to-face learners needed help with financial aid forms, they would simply walk to the financial aid office and sit down with a representative. If distance learners need the same help and they live 2000 miles away from campus, they can be greatly benefited if they have a local contact who is trained to work with distance learners. The same can be true when dealing with ordering books, registering for classes, advising on course selection, graduation, etc. Therefore, when looking for a high quality distance learning course or program of courses, it is important to have trained administrative support available.

The third area of support is technical support. There is nothing more frustrating to distance learners than when they are experiencing technical difficulties with the course. It would be similar to a face-to-face student being locked out of a classroom. In accordance with the other two forms of support, not only is the availability of technical support important, but also the timeliness of their response. If distance learners have to wait long periods of time for technical support, they will become very frustrated. Lastly, when considering technical support it is important to understand the scope of the support. Does the technical support team have the capacity to simply reset a password, or can they delve deeper into more complex issues?

In summary, not all distance education is created equal. There is a quality spectrum where each course falls. As distance learning becomes more popular and more offerings are available, learners need to consider several items when seeking a high-quality course. Four areas of key importance are course design, course content, course instructor and support. As distance learners carefully consider each of these areas, they will be better-informed consumers and have a higher-quality learning experience.