Quality online courses are more than a well-organized Canvas course. They effectively balance pedagogy-informed instruction and optimized tools to facilitate an enriching online learning experience.
While there are many ways to gain knowledge about online teaching and learning, we recommend focusing on the three pillars of online learning: The QLT rubric, the Community of Inquiry framework, and Universal Design for Learning:
QLT Rubric
First, let's discuss how the QLT rubric can help you create effective online courses. The Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT) is the official rubric adopted by the CSU in 2011 and implemented to help support and identify exemplary practices for designing and delivering online and hybrid courses.
Explore the nine sections of the QLT rubric, with examples and best practices:
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles provide instructors with a framework for designing educational environments that allow all learners to gain the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm of learning.
Want to know more about UDL? Explore the What's UDL?guide.
CoI Framework
The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework for online teaching centers on three core elements: Social presence to foster meaningful connections, cognitive presence to engage students intellectually through diverse methods, and teaching presence to design, facilitate, and support the learning experience effectively. Learn more about the CoI in our Foster Community and Connection Online guide.
If you're interested and want some guidance, we highly recommend signing up for our Self-Paced Online Training (SPOT) ProgramLinks to an external site.! The SPOT course is offered in Fall and Spring semesters, and guides participants through the steps for designing a new online or hybrid course, as well as creating a structure for reviewing and improving existing courses, structured around the QLT rubric objectives.
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