QM

Fifty QM Course Reviews

Paula McDougald from Virtual Arkansas and Dr. Brandie Benton (Virtual Arkansas) presented a QM session I watched tonight entitled “My Circus and My Monkeys: Sharing What We’ve Learned Through Simultaneous QM Reviews.” Virtual Arkansas is funded through the Department of Education to provide supplemental instruction in the state. They have 130 teachers and students from […]
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Supporting Teachers to Create Better Learning Experiences Online

Tonight I watched the QM recording for the session entitled “Student Connection and Rapport in the Virtual Environment,” presented by Lisa Pizzuto, Program Specialist/Coordinator at Fulton County Schools. Pizzuto has been teaching online for seventeen years! Pizzuto’s objective was to share ideas for how we can personalize a generic course and develop connections with students. […]
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AGILE and Inclusion in Education

The QM webinar “Inclusivity, Engagement, Differentiation – Have It all Using AGILE” was presented by Kat Biacindo, Associate Professor, California State University, Fresno. Biacindo spoke about connectivism theory citing Siemens 2007: “through a network, web, or internet, learners can (a) acquire new content that is continually updated, (b) identify credible resources, and (c) draw distinctions […]
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Micro-Credentials

Dr. Valerie Morphew, Professor, Fairmont State University, presented a session for Quality Matters on “Trends in Micro-Credentials for Professional Development.” They defined micro-credentials using the NEA 2021 definition: “A micro-credential is a short, competency-based recognition that allows an educator to demonstrate mastery in a particular area.” Recognition may be a digital badge upon demonstration of […]
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Positive Feedback in Online Courses

Patrick Dempsey, Director of the Office of Digital Teaching & Learning, Loyola University Maryland, presented a Quality Matters session last November entitled “Feedback Strategies: 5 Practices to Increase Student Success and Decrease Instructor Workload.” Dempsey asked: explain how anyone gets “good at anything.” This was followed by Dempsey sharing research that to improve performance it […]
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ReadSpeaker and Accessibility in QM Courses

On February 2, 2022, Kathy Wood, ReadSpeaker; Jim Snyder, Quality Matters; Beatriz Flores-Martinez, Laredo College; and Candice McPherson, Virtual Arkansas, presented “Addressing Accessibility in Course Design and Practice with QM and ReadSpeaker TTS. Flores-Martinez from Laredo College spoke about how they are constantly searching for instructional technologies to incorporate into their online courses. McPherson is […]
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The Research on Quality Online Experiences

The 2022 QM Online Research Conference session entitled “Beyond Assumptions: putting Research into Practice to Document Quality Learning Experiences” was the second session from this conference that I watched. Dr. Andrea Schwegler is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Texas A&M Central University. Schwegler has been in education for thirty years, starting in K-12. The […]
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OER Selection Resources for QM

Dr. Charlotte Russell Cox from North Carolina Central University spoke about “Free For All: OER Selection Strategies and Structure” as part of the Quality Matters QM April 2022 conference. They defined Open Educational Resource (OER) using the EDUCAUSE 2021 reference by Kimmons & Rogers: “OERs are resources that are free materials that educators can use […]
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Team-based Learning in Large Online Courses

“Team-Based Learning to Facilitate Active Learning in Large-Size Online Courses” was the title of the presentation by Sarah Arrington from Appalachian State University. They spoke about using Team-Based Learning (TBL) and creating effective teams. They used InteDashboard, which I had never heard about. It seems that Arrington has been teaching online since 2011 and was […]
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Parent-Teacher Communication

Dr. Kayla Ward from Oakwood University has extensive experience teaching various age groups. Ward presented at the QM conference about “Teach Talk: Reaching out to Parents Before Parents Reach Out to You” and began the session by showing a funny video about parents teaching during the pandemic. They then had an activity to share parent […]
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