Course Design and Development
All new online courses at the university must go through course development. The course development process generally takes about four to six months from the initial assignment until final completion. This includes approval of the course for development, completion of the course template, and finally the review of Quality Matters standards. Support is available in all developmental phases: course design, content creation with technology, and the Quality Matters review process. If your course is selected for development, an instructional designer will contact you with next steps.
Course RevisionsAfter three years, previously developed courses become eligible for revision. When this happens, the Division of Digital Learning will notify the department to recruit faculty developers. The revision process is very similar to the development process, but generally only takes two to four months. If your course is selected for revision, an instructional designer will contact you with next steps.
Instructional Design
Lamar University instructional designers are available to assist in developing educational materials, such as online courses, training programs, and educational resources. Their role is to create effective and engaging learning experiences that meet the needs of the university.
Whether you are new to online learning, or a seasoned veteran, we have the instructional design services in place to support you.
Analyze
Ask yourself the following questions about your course.
- How do you want to use Blackboard?
- What is the purpose in using technology?
- What challenges make you want to put this online?
- What improvements do you expect in student learning?
- What technologies are appropriate for your students, your discipline, and your instructional style?
Design
This step involves using a course blueprint. Identify your learning objectives.
- What activities/assignments should you use to achieve student learning?
- What are the appropriate technologies to engage students in these activities/assignments?
- What assessments will be used to demonstrate student learning? Learning objectives, activities/assignments and assessments should be aligned.
- Do the activities/assessments all directly relate to the objectives?
- Do the assessments measure what the students are expected to learn?
Develop
Ask yourself the following questions about your course.
- What tools will be used to create content for the course?
- How should the content look?
- How do I use these tools to create visually appealing and instructionally sound course materials?
Implement
Ask yourself the following questions about your course.
- How do I prepare my students to effectively engage in this instructional experience?
- What is my role as faculty in this course?
- How do I promote student to materials, student to instructor, and student to student interaction?
- How do I establish my social, physical, and intellectual presence in the course?
- What support do my students need to be successful in this course?
Evaluate
Ask yourself the following questions about your course.
- How can I give prompt, effective feedback to students?
- What are appropriate assessments for the student learning objectives?
- Do I have both formative and summative assessments?
- Did I test exactly what I taught?
We hold our Courses to the highest standards
The university has selected Quality Matters as the main form of quality assurance in online courses. It is a research-based system, driven by best practices, and backed by a community of learner focused professional educators. Meeting the standards outlined within the QM rubric helps Lamar University achieve the goal of ensuring quality for learners.
Have Questions?
Distance Learning support is available 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. We are committed to providing quality services and support to our faculty.
For information about Blackboard and other software questions:
blackboard@lamar.edu
For information about Quality Matters and course design:
qm@lamar.edu