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GMCTL Online Course Review

  • About
  • The Online Course Review
    • Learn More
    • Request a Review
  • Course Review Elements & Standards
    • 1. Course Overview & Information
      • Standard 1a: Getting started
      • Standard 1b: Overview
      • Standard 1c: Printable syllabus
      • Standard 1d: USask policies
      • Standard 1e: Learner success resources
      • Standard 1f: Course modality
      • Standard 1g: Access & participation methods
      • Standard 1h: Learning outcomes
      • Standard 1i: Contact information
    • 2. Course Technology & Tools
      • Standard 2a: Requisite technology skills
      • Standard 2b: Scaffolding of technical skills
      • Standard 2c: Access to technology
      • Standard 2d: Privacy policies
      • Standard 2e: Technology support system
      • Standard 2f: Tool compatability
    • 3. Design & Layout
      • Standard 3a: Course navigation
      • Standard 3b: Chunking
      • Standard 3c: Clear instructions
      • Standard 3d: Grammar & spelling
      • Standard 3e: Text formatting
      • Standard 3f: Blinking or flashing text
      • Standard 3g: Text font & size
      • Standard 3h: Tables for layout
      • Standard 3i: Figure titles & summaries
      • Standard 3j: Slide layout & titles
      • Standard 3k: Slide transitions
      • Standard 3l: Interactive elements
      • Standard 3m: Progress tracking
      • Standard 3n: Bandwidth considerations
    • 4. Content & Activities
      • Standard 4a: Variety in content & activities
      • Standard 4b: Higher-order thinking
      • Standard 4c: Authentic activities
      • Standard 4d: Diversity of voices
      • Standard 4e: Open educational resources (OER)
      • Standard 4f: Multimedia with purpose
      • Standard 4g: Copyright
      • Standard 4h: Multiple formats
      • Standard 4i: Culturally relevant & inclusive
      • Standard 4j: Current resources
    • 5. Interactions
      • Standard 5a: Timely & regular feedback
      • Standard 5b: Expectations for interaction
      • Standard 5c: Instructor presence
      • Standard 5d: Class community
      • Standard 5e: Learner-to-learner interaction
      • Standard 5f: Learner contributions
      • Standard 5g: Inclusive & respectful communication
      • Standard 5h: Synchronous opportunities
    • 6. Assessment & Feedback
      • Standard 6a: Course grading policies
      • Standard 6b: Frequent & appropriate assessment
      • Standard 6c: Grading criteria
      • Standard 6d: Formative assessment
      • Standard 6e: Timing & accommodations
      • Standard 6f: Gradebook
      • Standard 6g: Variety in assessment
      • Standard 6h: Student feedback
    • 7. Accessibility
      • Standard 7a: Heading formatting
      • Standard 7b: Text styling & colour
      • Standard 7c: Colour contrast
      • Standard 7d: Hyperlink anchor text
      • Standard 7e: List & table formatting
      • Standard 7f: Text accessibility
      • Standard 7g: Mathematical expressions
      • Standard 7h: Alt tags on images
      • Standard 7i: Captions or transcripts
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3. Design & Layout

Follow the links for more information, examples, and resources related to each standard.

Standards:

  1. A logical, consistent, intuitive, and uncluttered layout is established. The course is easy to navigate (consistent colour scheme and icon layout, related content organized together, self-evident titles).
  2. Learning material is organized and grouped into meaningful blocks of information (chunks) that are neither too lengthy, nor too fragmented and separated.
  3. Instructions provided are well written and free of jargon.
  4. Course is free of grammatical and spelling errors.
  5. Text is formatted with titles, headings, and other styles to enhance readability and improve the structure of the document.
  6. Flashing and blinking text are avoided.
  7. A sans-serif font with a standard size of at least 12 pt is used.
  8. When possible, information is displayed in a linear format instead of as a table.
  9. All tables, charts, graphs, etc. are accompanied by a title and summary description.
  10. Slideshows use a predefined slide layout and include unique slide titles.
  11. For all slideshows, there are simple, non-automatic transitions between slides.
  12. Interactive elements (quizzes, learning activities, polls, etc.) are easy to use and view, and are clearly marked.
  13. Includes a way for students to track their progress through the course (e.g.: module progress bar, checklist of completed assignments, visual map of course modules).
  14. Media is provided with consideration for file size and user bandwidth.

 

Licensing information:

Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching & Learning (GMCTL), University of Saskatchewan, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Page content adapted from the Online Learning Consortium, Inc. (OLC) OSCQR Course Design Review Scorecard, originally developed by the State University of New York (SUNY Online), made available with a CC BY 4.0 license.

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