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Course Design Models

•  (PDF)
•  (PDF)

Creating Syllabi & Learning Objectives

• (Drexel University Center for Academic Excellence). Resources include a Learning-Centered Syllabus Checklist and Rubric along with sample syllabi.
• . Use this to find verbs for your learning objectives. Ideas for assignments, activities and assessments that align with these verbs are also included.
• (Penn State University)
• – (UCF)

First in the list below is the С����Ƶ College of Continuing Studies Faculty Guidelines for Online Teaching. This instructor's manual, written by Marie Cini and Boris Vilic is "filled with real examples of how to plan for the online experience and then how to actually 'behave' as an instructor online" (4). The next documents are a collection of "Best Practices" and "Tips" created by Dr. Judith Boettcher that she has customized for Rider faculty in consultation with Boris Vilic, former Dean of Rider CCS, Dr. Kathy Browne and Tim McGee, formerly of the Teaching and Learning Center.

• Faculty Guidelines for Online Teaching, 2e. (PDF)
• Ten Best Practices (PDF)
• Tip #1: Getting Started (PDF)
• Tip #2: Three Presences (PDF)
• Tip #3: Building Community (PDF)
• Tip #4: Feedback (PDF)
• Tip #5: Discussion Wraps (PDF)
• Tip #6: Closing Experiences (PDF)

Best Practices

Assessment and Feedback

• : Carnegie Mellon explains what rubrics are and provides examples
•  for cooperative learning, research reports, and other assessments, compiled by the University of Wisconsin, Stout
•  (a Faculty Focus article)
•  Carnegie Mellon’s resource on assessments to measure student learning and aligned to instruction so that they reinforce one another

• : a curated collection of free and open online resources, including reusable learning objects.
•  (a Faculty Focus article)
• : Idea Works’ quick slideshare overview of interactive technologies
•  (a Faculty Focus article)
• - This paper will highlight a number of issues concerning distance learning and what teaching methods may be implemented by professors to facilitate student engagement in online courses.

Tech Tools @ Rider

• - Learning Management System is Rider’s campus supported web-based teaching and learning tool. Canvas enables professors to provide students access to course materials, communication tools, online assessments, and grades, as well as the ability to submit assignments electronically.
• Google Apps for Education - Google Apps for Education is a free, efficient, convenient and collaborative suite of web based or cloud applications that work together seamlessly. Gmail, Drive, Docs, Calendar and other Google Apps for Education tools are available to all students, faculty, staff and emerti.
•  - Kaltura is a cloud-based video content management system for storing, publishing, and streaming videos, video collections, and other media. The system is integrated with RIder's Canvas via MyMedia, allowing instructors to create, upload, and share multimedia content with ease. Ideal for any class structure, Kaltura enables the easy creation of videos at home, in the office, on campus, or on the go.
• – Turnitin is a cloud based service that helps instructors detect and prevent plagiarism, grade online, provide feedback and improve student learning.  Integrated with Rider’s Canvas LMS.
• – EvaluationKIT is Rider’s online course evaluation system that is used to administer course evaluations in online & hybrid classes. The system integrates directly into Canvas, allows for custom questions, and guarantees student anonymity.

Other Resources

Rubrics & Checklists

• - The Quality Matters™ Rubric is a set of standards used to ensure that online and blended courses are encompassing best practices and procedures.
• (Illinois Online Network). Offers two versions of a rubric for online courses: a comprehensive rubric with room for comments and a shortened version with only a checklist.
• . Evaluates online or mixed mode courses with six domains along a spectrum of three rankings (Basic, Effective, and Exemplary).

Articles & Other Resources

• - This paper presents a practical framework based on eight principles that helps practitioners systematically evaluate online teaching to determine if you are doing the things you can to improve communication and create an effective learning environment.
• . A free report when you sign up for Faculty Focus, a free e-newsletter for higher education faculty published three times per week by Magna Publications.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to course and syllabus design based on principles that enable faculty to design and teach their courses in ways that make learning accessible to all learners.

• (DO-IT Project at University of Washington). A 13-minute video plus accompanying publications, demonstrating strategies for making instruction accessible to all students.
• . The portal for information on Universal Design for Learning pre-K through college. A comprehensive site including research, online tutorials, and publications.
• - Visit this site for disability modules, self-advocacy resources and activities, and information on Universal Design for Instruction.

Creating online content and materials that are accessible ensures a quality learning experience for all learners – including those with a disability. Below are some resources to help you get started.

Articles & Other Resources

• (a Faculty Focus article)
• - This set of cheat sheets from the National Center on Disability and Access to Education covers accessibility best practices for Word, PowerPoint, and PDF documents.
• WebAim Resources

Checklists and Guides

• : A resource from University of Central Florida for faculty teaching online/blended courses and dealing with ADA and 508 compliance.
• : A checklist by WebAim to determine if your online materials and courses are compliant.

• (The Council of Writing Program Administrators). Defines plagiarism; suggests causes; proposes shared responsibilities for students, faculty and administrators; and recommends specific practices to reduce plagiarism.
• : This site provides systematic data, discussion, and resources to help instructors and administrators with developing plagiarism policies and with developing effective instruction methods for the ethical use of sources.
• – Free source of information on plagiarism and best practices for ensuring originality in written work
• - VAIL includes guides, tutorials, bibliographic information, and survey research on academic integrity issues in higher education.
• “,” 2004, Robert Harris. Discusses why and how students plagiarize; presents specific strategies for prevention and detection, including links to sites that provide term papers and sites that detect plagiarism.
• McNabb, L., & Olmstead, A. (2009). Communities of integrity in online courses: Faculty member beliefs and strategies. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 5(2). Retrieved from

•  publishes articles on effective teaching strategies for the college classroom — both face-to-face and online.
• : a free, peer-reviewed electronic quarterly journal with a specific focus on the management of distance education programs.
• : double-blind peer reviewed journal that promotes the development and dissemination of new knowledge at the intersection of pedagogy, emerging technology, policy, and practice in online environments.
• : a free refereed, open access e-journal that aims to disseminate research, theory, and best practice in open and distance learning worldwide.

This next collection of links leads to readings that have been recommended for various reasons. In each case, the link leads either to an external site where the file is hosted or to a downloadable .pdf. The brief annotations are intended to give you some notion of the content of each reading.

• Course Design Factors Influencing the Success of Online Learning (PDF). Abstract: This paper looks at factors affecting the success of asynchronous online learning through an investigation of relationships between student perceptions and course design factors in one of the largest asynchronous learning networks in the country. It finds that three such factors -- consistency in course design, interaction with course instructors, and active discussion – have been consistently shown to significantly influence the success of online courses. It is posited that the reason for these findings relates to the importance of building community in online courses.
• The authors advocate that faculty "adopt a philosophy of teaching and learning that is appropriate for online instruction. . . . [that] should build on a combination of learning theories rather than be confined to one preferred perspective" (33).
• Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). . Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
• Medina, John. . Seattle, WA: Pear Press, 2009.
• Moore, A. H., Fowler, S. B. & Watson, C. E. (2007). . EDUCAUSE Review, 42(5), 42-61.
• Moskal, B. M. (2000).  Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(3).