III. A Model to Apply or Judge eLearning Curriculum

Introduction

This set of guidelines and resources identifies important criteria to evaluate and share eLearning curriculum content and courses. The Curriculum Development Work Group reviewed essential eLearning curriculum criteria from various states including Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Texas, and a variety of professional organizations including the Southern Region Education Board (SREB) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

The 2004 NLI Curriculum Development Work Group discussed programs that states already had in place and their methods of digital curriculum evaluation. The work group presents a model selection tool for all consumers of eLearning curriculum to evaluate online courses and essential eLearning elements.

Because each state and locale has different learning objectives and contextual constraints, the Curriculum Development Work Group recommends that eLearning stakeholders use this model course evaluation as a reference to create their own standards to evaluate the quality of online courses. Some course components and criteria provided here may not be applicable while others should be added. Similarly, point values and cut-offs for selection should be made by state and local eLearning stakeholders.

Online & Electronic Course Evaluation Tool

This tool is available to assist the selection or approval of online and electronic courses. This evaluation has two parts:

Phase I addresses critical components that should be present in a quality eLearning course.
Phase II addresses the quality of components of the eLearning course.

If the eLearning course in question does not exhibit all of the critical components in the Phase I review, the evaluation should progress to Phase II only after careful consideration.

Online & Electronic Course Evaluation Tool [51 KB]

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Resources and Additional State Examples

Andriole Stephen J. (1997). Requirements-Driven ALN Course Design, Development, Delivery & Evaluation. JALN, Volume 1, Issue 2 - August 1997. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Berman, S.H. and Pape, E. (2001). A Consumer's Guide to Online Courses: What you need to know before allowing your students to enter virtual classrooms. The School Administrator Web Edition, October, 2001. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

GreaterNET, Inc. & Missouri Distance Learning Association (September, 2002). Recommended standards, guidelines, and resources for K-12 two-way interactive television networks. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Hirsch, J. (2001). Sorting through Vendors: Before committing your dollars, consider quality of offerings, graduation credits, staff support and likely burdens. The School Administrator Web Edition, October, 2001. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Higher Education Program and Policy Council of the American Federation of Teachers (2000). Distance Education: Guidelines for Good Practice. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

The Institute for Higher Education Policy (2000). Quality on the Line: Benchmarks for success in internet-based distance education. Retrieved on January 7th, 2005.

International Society for Technology in Education (2004). CARET – Questions and Answers Topic: Curriculum and Instruction. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

International Society for Technology in Education (2004). CARET – Questions Topic: Online Teaching and Learning. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Lindeman, Michael & Varvel, Virgil (2002). Qualities of Exemplary Online Courses. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Maryland State Department of Education (2002-2006). Checklist for Evaluating Online Courses for Middle and High School Students. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Massachusetts Department of Education (2002). Recommended criteria for evaluating instructional technology materials. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Massachusetts Department of Education (2003). Massachusetts recommended criteria for distance learning courses. Retrieved on January 7th, 2005.

Michigan Virtual University (2002). Standards for Online Quality Courses. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

National Education Association (2002). Guide to Online High School Courses. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

SETDA (2003). Virtual School and Distance Learning: Standards and Quality Guidelines. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

SREB – Educational Technology Cooperative. (n.d.). SREB Essential Principles of Quality Checklist for Web Based Courses. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Texas Education Agency (2003). Investigating Quality of Internet Courses (IQ) Project. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Washington Education Department (n.d). First-Look: Evaluation Form for K-12 Online Products, developed by Debbie Tschirgi, ETSC Director at ESD 112. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Washington Education Department (n.d.). Resources for evaluating online curriculum. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (2001). Policy and Advisory 01.1: February, 2001 – Subject: Virtual Education – New Opportunities, New Challenges. Retrieved January 7th, 2005.

To download this page, this chapter or the entire toolkit, go to "Downloads" section located in the upper-right side on each page of each chapter.

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