Elements of exemplary course design are well documented and readily accessible from various resources. Most notable are the Blackboard Exemplary Course Program (http://bit.ly/2jCURRd) and the Quality Matters Rubrics and Standards (http://bit.ly/2jdtwTG). While these are excellent resources that outlines the goals and standards to improve the learning experience of students in an online or blended course environment, workload associated with its deployment and management is difficult to evaluate. With increasing strain on teaching and learning support teams within institutions, this exacerbates the challenge faced by instructors and academics of HOW to approach improving their courses in a scalable and manageable way. This workshop will focus on facilitating participants in the development of a course evolution and management framework. The goal is to guide participants in establishing a unique set of foundations for course design, upon which iterative improvements can be planned and executed in a manageable manner. These can then be mapped against relevant Exemplary Course Design Rubric elements to create short-, mid-, and long-term milestones.

1. Setting the Foundations for an
Iterative Course Evolution Model
A Practical Guide to Exemplary Course Design
Alex Wu, PhD
Senior Educational Consultant (APAC)
Blackboard Global Consulting Services

2. 22
Workshop Introduction and Dynamics
• Originally a 3-day workshop…
• In 90 minutes, this workshop is designed to:
– Raise awareness of a framework and roadmap approach to course development that is executable
and implemented at a personal level.
– Facilitate the process of direction-setting in the planning, deployment, and evaluation of course
improvements.
• Dynamics:
– Brief introduction
– 4 activities: some group, some individual
– Summary and wrap up

3. 33
Personal Experiences
• Senior tutor and casual lecturer in Chemistry (UNSW) 2006 – 2011
• Research Group Leader/Lecturer in Chemistry (UniMelb, T&R Academic) 2011 – 2015
• Observed shifts in graduate attribute/skills:
– Critical thinking and analysis skills
– Effective research and curation skills
– Professional communication and presentation
– Etc…

4. 44
Our Responsibilities as Teachers/Academics
“Expecting teachers to be instructors, content experts, distance
education instructional designers, and technology experts, in
addition to their other responsibilities, is asking too much”
“The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the
Web.” Techtrends, Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008)

5. 55
Our Responsibilities as Teachers/Academics
“Expecting teachers to be instructors, content experts, distance
education instructional designers, and technology experts, in
addition to their other responsibilities, is asking too much”
“The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the
Web.” Techtrends, Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008)
While this is true and is a sizeable request, it is inevitably our responsibility.

6. 6
How would we tackle this?
What can we do?
How do we succeed?

7. 77
Practice Activity: Let’s Climb Mount Everest!
As a team, name and briefly describe 3 things you
believe will be critical to the success of your team
in reaching the summit of Mount Everest.
Time allocated: 5 minutes

8. 88
Roadmap to Success
• Where am I starting from?
• Where am I going?
• What do I need?

9. 99
Roadmap to Success – Everest vs Course Design
• Where am I starting from?
• Where am I going?
• What do I need?
• My proficiency/confidence
My current course setup
• Requirements
Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes
Course Design Rubrics
• Time
Resources
Professional Development

10. 1010
Coming Back to our Responsibilities…
• Instructional Guidance/Facilitation/Mentoring
• Content Expertise
• Instructional Design
• Technology Expertise
• Data Analysis
“Expecting teachers to be instructors, content experts, distance education
instructional designers, and technology experts, in addition to their other
responsibilities, is asking too much”

11. 1111
Activity 1: Where am I Starting From?
Individually, please look at your score sheet.
The first two entries of each section has already been filled out.
Feel free to write 2-3 additional priorities/requirements that are
relevant to your needs.
Rate your own level of proficiency/confidence from 1 – 10 for
each individual item, and then rate yourself overall for each
section.
Time Allocated: 10 minutes

12. 1212
Activity 2: Where am I Going?
In Groups
Write down 3 goals or outcomes relevant to a course you are
currently teaching or have taught.
Time Allocated: 10 minutes

13. 1313
Activity 3: What Do I Need?
In Groups
What do you need in order to succeed in delivering or achieving
the given learning outcomes/goals?
Consider:
Technology
Tools
Proficiency
Time investment
Time Allocated: 20 minutes

14. 1414
Activity Summary
• Activity 1: Confidence/Proficiency evaluation
– Identifies knowledge gaps
– Clarity over barrier to implementation
– Contextualizes future training and skills development
• Activity 2: Identify specific goals and requirements
– Encourages holistic analysis over course requirements
– Prevents tunnel vision into tools and features
• Activity 3: Detailed evaluation of barriers to implementation
– Time investment
– Knowledge gaps
– Alignment with requirements

15. 1515
An Iterative Course Evolution Approach – Expected Outcomes
Objectives
Students will:
 Learn how to
navigate your
course with
appropriate
guidance.
 Understand course
expectations.
 Begin to develop
independence in
online learning
 Learn to provide
feedback on overall
course experience.
Phase 1: Content and Layout
Objectives
Students will:
 Begin developing a
sense of ownership
in their learning
with respect to
online courses.
 Explore avenues of
communication
with other students.
 Develop deeper
analytical thinking
through new
assessment
approaches.
Phase 2: Learner Interactions
3 – 6 months
Objectives
Students will:
Develop the ability
to utilize rubrics for
guidance and self-
evaluation in
assessments.
Receive a ‘reward’
or ‘instant
gratification’ upon
completion of
specific tasks.
3 – 6 months
Phase 3: Fostering Learner
Independence

16. 1616
An Iterative Course Evolution Approach – Expected Outcomes
Objectives
Instructors will:
Have time to develop
high quality content
that is simple and
consistent.
Reduce time spent on
weekly and ongoing
course maintenance
and monitoring
Collect baseline data
on course satisfaction
for future reference.
Phase 1: Content and Layout
Objectives
Instructors will:
Divert efforts to
fostering
communication
between students.
Have a clear view of
student progress.
Begin to shift focus
from course
management to
learning
management.
Phase 2: Learner Interactions
3 – 6 months
Objectives
Instructors will:
Have time to focus on
refining course materials,
assessments/assignments
.
Rely on the LMS to
provide notifications of
students at risk.
Become mainly focused
on learning management
rather than course
management.
3 – 6 months
Phase 3: Fostering Learner
Independence

17. 1717
An Iterative Course Evolution Approach
Expected time
commitment:
~2 weeks
To-Do Checklist:
 Design a ‘welcome’
landing page.
 Provide course
overview and
introduction.
 Provide learning
objectives for each
major course
component.
Phase 1: Content and Layout
Expected time
commitment:
~2-3 weeks + weekly
monitoring
To-Do Checklist:
 Review course.
 Upskill in:
 Adaptive
release
 Discussion
Boards
 Blogs
 Course groups
 Revise assessment
types.
Phase 2: Learner Interactions
3 – 6 months
Expected time commitment:
~2-3 weeks
To-Do Checklist:
 Review course.
 Upskill in:
 Rubrics
 Achievements
 Retention center
 Advanced grade
center configurations
Phase 3: Fostering Learner
Independence
3 – 6 months

18. 1818
An Iterative Course Evolution Approach
Expected time commitment:
~2 weeks
To-Do Checklist:
 Highlight where help and
support is available.
 Upload/prepare
instructional materials.
 Create relevant major
assessments and
assignments.
 Design and deploy course
evaluation survey for
students.
Phase 1: Content and Layout
Expected time commitment:
~2-3 weeks + weekly
monitoring
To-Do Checklist:
 Deploy learning assurance
gates.
 Deploy simple adaptive
release rules.
 Deploy discussion boards,
and blogs with appropriate
guidelines and monitoring.
 Deploy group assignments.
 Deploy course evaluation
surveys.
Phase 2: Learner Interactions
3 – 6 months
Expected time commitment:
~2-3 weeks
To-Do Checklist:
 Deploy at least 1 rubric in an
assessment/assignment.
Provide guidance to students.
 Deploy at least 3 achievements
within course. Provide
guidance to students.
 Establish simple retention
center rules
 Configure grade center using
smart views and colour coding.
Phase 3: Fostering Learner
Independence
3 – 6 months