November 2004 — Exclusive
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Guidelines for Selecting Quality K-12 Online Courses
This article contributes to that development and presents guidelines for selecting quality K-12 online courses in terms of curriculum, instructional design, teacher quality, student roles, assessment, management and support systems, and the technological infrastructure, as identified by the National Education Association (Fulton 2002). Lessons from the postsecondary experience inform this process. The guidelines are also intended to inform K-12 technology coordinators, curriculum directors, administrators, teachers, students and parents about online learning, as well as to assist online courseware developers.
Curriculum
D'es the curriculum meet and align with state/district academic standards? Are students able to deeply explore content for mastery? Are course expectations apparent? Is the course accredited by a recognized agency?
Curriculum and instruction can be more meaningful to students if they draw upon students’ pre-existing understanding, interests, culture and real-world experiences (National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine 2004). However, course content and assessments should also align with state academic standards (SREB 2000). Courses in reading, math and science are particularly subject to this provision. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation requires states to measure students’ progress in math and reading annually in grades 3-8 and at least once in grades 10-12 by 2005-2006. Students’ progress also has to be measured in science at least once in grades 3-5 and 6-8, as well as in grades 9-12 beginning in 2007-2008. Ultimately, schools will be held accountable for their students’ results.
A complete syllabus should be available for review (SREB 2000). The syllabus might contain the course description; learning objectives and outcomes; assignments with schedules and rubrics to assess quality; course-related resources and reference materials; policies for attendance, grading, participation, late assignments, tests, academic honesty, use of copyrighted material, Internet safety, and online behavior (Muirhead 2001).
Technical specifications for required hardware and software also should be stated, along with minimum technology skills that students should have. Students should be aware of the approximate total time per week that they should devote to online interactions, studying and assignments (Fulton 2002). They might benefit from statements of prerequisite content-knowledge expectations with suggested resources to help them fill in knowledge gaps, as well as examples of exemplary student work. Expectations for participation in asynchronous online discussions will be made clear if the syllabus also contains an exemplary response to a course-related discussion question and expectations for length, frequency and due days for student input and response to others (Deubel 2003b). A list of frequently asked questions about assignments and computer problems (e.g., what to do when technology fails), teacher contact information, and teacher biographical information with professional highlights also helps to establish the tone of the online environment (Muirhead 2001).
