About the QM Standards Unit in this course . . . .
Please locate the Annotated QM Rubric in the Resources section of our course content in Carmen (near the bottom of the list). It is long, 22 pages, but you may consider it worthwhile to save and/or print that document because you will be referring to it often during this course.
For our QM Standards unit, I will present each of the 8 general (or broad) standards in a separate SoftChalk lesson. Each of the specific standards is on a separate page in the lesson.
- You should begin by reading the broad standard first.
- Then, read the specific standards. Each specific standard has its own page in the lesson. Note the relative importance of the standard you are studying. Standard 1.1 is considered by QM to be "essential" and is worth 3 points. That means that is must be met (at the 85% level) by a course under review for that course to meet QM standards overall in a formal review.
- Next, read the Stated plainly section. These sections are my own words and not those of QM. It is sometimes helpful to explain in "plain English" what the standard means to a course developer. Since the QM rubric is written with course reviewers in mind and not course developers, this Stated plainly section puts the standard in simple terms, as I see the standard, for people who are developing courses.
- The next item on each page and for each standard is Why does it matter? This section is my statement of why the standard is important to student success in any online course.
- Next, you'll find the official QM annotation of the standard. These are quoted from the annotated version of the QM Rubric and should not be copied or shared outside of QM-subscribing institutions. I've indented all text that is quoted directly from the rubric and I've entered the annotations in brown font to help all of us remember which pieces are directly quoted and which pieces are my own words.
- The last section you'll need to read is How have others met this standard? The most common request I get from instructors and course designers is examples of how others have designed online courses to meet a particular standard. None of these standards are as difficult to meet as they may seem! You'll see and read about examples, some simple and others more complex, that allow a course to meet the QM standards and earn the QM seal.
- And finally, at the bottom of most specific standard pages, you'll find a self-check quiz which gives you an opportunity to check your own understanding. The quiz questions should be visible, but if they aren't, click on the icon to open them. It is important to read the hints and feedback associated with each question because there are important tips there. A grade is not recorded in the Carmen gradebook for the quizzes in Softchalk, but they are good preparation for the quiz in Carmen that *will* be graded.
