This literature review has been conducted to inform the work of the National Standards for Quality Online Teaching revisions, a project led by a partnership between Quality Matters and the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance. It includes a short summary of the relevant research literature followed by an alphabetical listing of the resources correlated to the National Standards for Quality Online Teaching to which they apply. This review includes an appendix that lists additional standards sets, which can be consulted as resources, as well as abstracts for most of the references listed.
The National Standards for Quality Online Courses, Online Teaching and Online Programs have been the benchmark for online programs, districts and state agencies since their creation in 2007. The three standard sets were updated in 2019 and can be downloaded at the NSQ website (https://nsqol.org).
As the number of online learners across the country continues to grow and the group of stakeholders in online and blended learning expands – teachers, administrators, parents and legislators, commercial providers – the need for a common vocabulary increases. The field is becoming jargon heavy, with different segments of digital learning community using some unique terms interchangeably, or misrepresenting aspects on online and blended learning through a simply misunderstanding the most widely accepted definition of a key term.
A quick search of the web provides a number of truncated lists of key terms and definitions for online and blended learning. We have attempted to assemble a more complete list of key terms and definitions in an attempt to help standardize the language around online and blended, and make research in to digital learning space more convenient. The members of the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance hope you find this aggregated set of key terms and definitions useful.
Professional Learning for Effective Practice: Leveraging Title IIA is a free professional learning community that supports the effective implementation of the federal Title IIA program. The goal of the community is to highlight program implementation best practices, share examples of evidence-based professional learning opportunities and exemplary professional learning programs at the state and district levels.
The playbook is designed to be a “roadmap” for individuals and entities who desire to implement their own system of digital badges and micro-credentials. The links within this playbook references common resources, organizations and examples of digital badging.
This resource is a brief summary of various related digital badge articles and could be used as a basis for developing basic standards and criteria for badge use.
The California Way: The Golden State’s Quest to Build an Equitable and Excellent Education System discusses the new approach to education in the state that focuses on students developing 21st-century skills of critical thinking and problem-solving, among other issues. The educator preparation standards have been updated to provide teachers and principals with the skills needed to advance student learning in supportive and productive ways.
