Content
Content is the third category in our checklist. Learning material should be presented in a logical manner, chunked, and with a consistent layout. Learning resources should be a variety of presentations, videos, websites, journal articles, texts, as deemed appropriate. Last but not least, it should be ADA compliant.
Content and Credit Hours
There are two key differences between online asynchronous (OA) and face-to-face (f2f) courses: the lack of seat time and the self-guided nature of online courses. A standard calculation of credit hours accounts for 3 hours of seat time each week, for 15 weeks and 2 - 6 hours of preparation outside of the class (depending on the academic discipline). Online courses are able to budget between 6-9 hours of self-guided, instructional and activity time for the students to complete. In Dr. Aquila’s workshop (29 mins, it includes an index), he provides an overview of how to align program, and/or course outcomes, with activities, and how to calculate their “Time-on-Task” using RICE’s workload estimator.
Logical
Organizing and arranging information in a systematic way that allows you and the students to define the relationships between parts and the hierarchy of information. This can vary per academic discipline, or even based on the pedagogical learning strategy.
As discussed in navigation, logical organization can be based on chronological order, from concrete to abstract, or from theory to application.
Chunked
A cognitive strategy used to improve memory and understanding by breaking down larger pieces of information into smaller, more manageable units or “chunks”. These chunks are not just the modules in which you place the material, but also the way material is presented within these modules. Individual paragraphs for each main idea. A topic lecture broken into distinct 10 to 15 minute presentations. Breaking up activities into stages, e.g., annotated bibliography, outline, first draft, final draft.
Modules
Identify a Unit of learning, how many modules comprise that unit, and what are the topics that the students need to engage with. Align the modules with learning outcomes or course objectives so you and your partner instructional designer can identify how to assess within the module.
Use a consistent layout within the module to reduce navigation challenges for you and for your students, when it comes to navigating through the material each week.
Content Activities
Active learning strategies have students engage with, think through, experience, or create content.
📌 Try These
Use a workload estimator to design your students' activities and learning events. (D.A.)
Let students know the expected time each activity will take by noting it in the intro to the module. (V.R.)
Provide choices in activities to accommodate learning preferences. (V.R., B.G.)
Have students submit to their assignments to discussion boards for peer critique. (D.A.)
ADA Compliance
Materials must be accessible to students. Anthology Ally, available in your Blackboard course, will notify you of the accessibility score for items as you add content. Native Blackboard elements—such as Documents, Assignments, Tests, and Discussion Boards—already have pre-set accessibility features. Images, file attachments, and other items will receive an accessibility score ranging from 0-100%.
Guidelines and resources for maintaining accessibility are available based on the type of media or format of your material.
| Type of Content | ||
|---|---|---|
| Text |
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| Slide decks |
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| Images |
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| Video |
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| Hearing | Close captioning and descriptive audio captions. | |
| Tables | Header and Row names. |
Blackboard Ally
Upon uploading or attaching content to your course, Blackboard Ally generates a comprehensive accessibility report for each item, evaluating it against WCAG standards. This report offers targeted recommendations for enhancing accessibility, with the potential to significantly improve the item's rating based on the nature and extent of the implemented changes.
Furthermore, Blackboard Ally empowers all users with the capability to access course materials in diverse formats. This feature facilitates the conversion of text into braille or audio narration, enables language translation, and provides downloadable options, thereby enhancing the overall accessibility and usability of course content.
Resources
Works Cited / References