Blackboard Blogs

Rubric as a “Road Map” for Collaborative Development Team

By Dede Nelson, Instructional Designer, North Carolina State University

A key part of Blackboard’s Exemplary Course Project (ECP) is the detailed rubric that must be completed for each nominated course. However, course developers in North Carolina State University’s Training and Development Online (TD Online) graduate program find that the rubric serves as more than just a tool for facilitating the evaluation of web-based or web-supplemented course sites. In my role as instructional designer on the development team, I find that the detailed criteria included in the ECP rubric highlights the need for multiple areas of expertise in online course development and delivery; it also provides a common focus for the contributions of individual development partners. The rubric can help to achieve “buy-in” from all team members for important best practices in online course design.

"Organization & Operation of Training & Development Programs," named as a 2008 Blackboard Greenhouse Exemplary Course, is part of a totally online master’s level degree program, known as TD Online. Course development, and to some extent course delivery and support, within the TD Online program is a team approach involving the shared expertise of faculty, an instructional designer, and a distance education librarian in addition to guidance from a hands-on program director and strong support of a upper level graduate assistant.

What Makes a Difference?

By Susan M. Zvacek, Ph.D., Director, Instructional Development and Support, University of Kansas

I’m writing this blog post from my “visiting professor lodging” in Prague and have been pondering the differences between e-learning here (that is, Central Europe) and in the United States.  It occurs to me that the differences I’ve encountered reflect minor characteristics, but there are some interesting parallels between categorizing e-learning geographically and designating e-learning as separate and distinct from more traditional forms of instruction. 

I’ve long argued that e-learning (and before e-learning, any form of distance education) should be evaluated rigorously, using criteria based on what we know about human learning and instructional design.  This call for serious scrutiny of online courses is not at all unusual; we hear it from educational administrators, accrediting bodies, and department chairs, for example.  What we don’t typically hear, however, is the second part of my argument: that all courses – face-to-face, blended, online, and everything in between – should be evaluated rigorously with less regard for the instructional environment than for factors that are more likely to influence learning and achievement.

Our Blackboard Exemplary Course and How We Got There

Karen Kaemmerling, CCCOnline Director of Training and Professional Development, Colorado Community Colleges Online

It seems like a long time ago when my Academic Dean suggested I submit a course -- that was still in redevelopment -- for evaluation by the Blackboard Exemplary Course Program (back then called the “Greenhouse Program”).

While flattered, I immediately started fixating on the pressure of submitting a course and whether or not we would be recognized by the program as being exemplary.  (Silly, I know, but I am a bit competitive and high strung.)  Specifically, I worried about what people would think of us and our course if we weren’t selected as a finalist.  My advice now?  Don't let similar thoughts you may have keep you from submitting a course

I began by reviewing the ECP Rubric (download it here) and considering what qualities our course already had, and what I could add to meet the rubric’s standards.  This was the most valuable part of the whole process and one that I now recommend to faculty members whether or not they intend to submit a course for review by the program.