Unlock the power of AI to revolutionize your online course design and evaluation process with a Pre-conference Master Class on Monday, November 18 at OLC Accelerate 2024. Engage in hands-on activities to train AI models, craft precise prompts, and scale the continuous improvement of your online and blended courses, ensuring high-quality, consistent, accessible, and inclusive learning experiences.

Embracing AI in Course Design

The demand for scalable, efficient, and effective course design and review processes is growing rapidly. At the same time, institutions are under immense pressure to deliver high-quality online courses that engage and support diverse learners. That’s why I’m so excited to invite you to join us at this year’s OLC Accelerate 2024 conference for a special Master Class, “Mastering AI for Scalable and Effective Improvement of Online and Blended Courses” to meet this challenge. 

This session is all about exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) can transform the way we design, evaluate, and improve our courses, making our work more efficient and impactful. I will be joined by my colleague, OLC’s VP of Innovation and Programs, Dylan Barth, as we discuss how AI can be incorporated into the design process, providing you with the knowledge and tools you need to implement this technology effectively.

As the Coordinator of the Quality Scorecard Suite here at the OLC, I regularly consult with institutions and organizations to design, develop, and evaluate their courses and programs for continuous improvement. However, the number one challenge we hear from these professionals related to the course development process is a lack of time or resources to do all of the things that need to be done to ensure that all courses are of the highest quality possible. 

Why are we focusing on AI? The potential of AI to enhance many aspects of course design and review is immense. By leveraging AI, we can work towards ensuring consistency in course quality, support continuous improvement, and free up valuable time for instructional designers and faculty to focus on more personalized or time-intensive aspects of course development. 

Hands-On Learning Experience

We’ve planned a variety of interactive elements to make sure you get the most out of this session, so we recommend bringing a laptop or capable mobile device and a desire to dive into AI. You’ll engage in hands-on exercises, where we’ll work together to input sample course materials into AI models and learn how to train these models with specific objectives in mind. This practical experience is not just about learning how to use AI tools—it’s about building your confidence in applying these tools to your own courses and programs.

One of the key components of our session will be focusing on crafting effective prompts. This might sound technical, but it’s really about learning how to communicate with AI in a way that gets the most useful feedback. You’ll practice writing prompts that help the AI give you meaningful and actionable insights, which can then be used to drive course improvement.

After we’ve received some AI-generated recommendations, we’ll break into small groups to interpret these recommendations and discuss how they can be applied to improve course design. This collaborative activity is a great way to share diverse perspectives and ideas on the potential applications of AI in education. We’ll also have a larger group discussion on the potential and challenges of integrating AI into course design and review processes, allowing everyone to share their experiences and insights.

And of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions and get clarifications during our dedicated Q&A segment. Our goal is to ensure that everyone leaves with a clear understanding of the concepts covered, ready to apply them to your professional life.

Key Learning Outcomes

By attending this session, you will be equipped to:

• Evaluate the various applications of AI in online course design and review, understanding how it can be a game-changer in our field.
• Integrate AI tools into your course development processes to automate repetitive tasks and provide personalized feedback, making your work more efficient.
• Develop strategies to align AI-generated recommendations with your course objectives and institutional or industry quality standards, ensuring that your courses meet the highest standards.
• Implement scalable AI-enhanced course design and review processes across multiple courses, programs, or departments, enabling a more streamlined approach to quality assurance.
• Promote continuous improvement in your online courses by using AI to support ongoing evaluation and enhancement, ensuring that your courses stay current and effective.

Practical Applications and Takeaways

During this session, you’ll have the chance to:

• Work hands-on with AI tools to review and improve course content, learning how to ensure high-quality online learning experiences.
• Train AI models with specific objectives, such as aligning with an OLC Quality Scorecard or other evaluative rubric, giving you a clear framework for course improvement.
• Craft effective prompts to guide AI in providing relevant and actionable feedback, a skill that’s crucial for getting the most out of AI tools.
• Analyze AI-generated recommendations and discuss how to apply them to enhance your course design, providing practical insights and strategies you can use immediately.
• Engage in discussions about the potential and challenges of integrating AI into course design and review processes, sharing and learning from the experiences of your peers.

We are looking forward to sharing this exciting journey with you and exploring how we can revolutionize online course design and evaluation together. Let’s transform our approach to development, enhance learning experiences, and ensure that our courses meet the highest standards of quality. See you at Accelerate 2024!