From the Every Learner Everywhere Blog:
Too often, students who open the LMS to their hybrid or remote course for the first time are landing in a maze of tabs, broken links, inaccessible images, and unclear due dates. These are seemingly minor points of friction that can quickly cause students to check out.
Instructors who are familiar with the content and workflow of their course can underestimate the accumulated impact of these small points of friction and inconsistency, says Phil Denman, Coordinator of the Quality Scorecard Suite for the Online Learning Consortium (OLC). The quality scorecards provide consistency in evaluating online courses and are built on a foundation of peer benchmarks, accreditation standards, and evidence-based practices.
“Students might not use the word ‘standards’ like we do in academia,” Denman says, “but they do know when one course is organized and supportive and another feels like a scavenger hunt.”