Online Learning Opportunities

Online and Distance Learning Support

This page provides policies, procedures, information and resources specific to faculty working in the College of EHHS who develop and facilitate online, hybrid and supplemental courses using Blackboard Learn.

You can access Blackboard Learn through the link in Flashline OR by typing Learn.kent.edu into your browser address bar.

Blackboard Learn is the course management system (CMS) that is used at Kent State University for both face-to-face and online courses. Blackboard Learn allows instructors to share a variety of course materials in a secure online space for each of their classes. 

This site provides links to Kent State University Blackboard Learn materials as well as EHHS specific documentation required for all online and hybrid EHHS programs and courses. The material will also be helpful for instructors who use Blackboard Learn as a supplemental resource for face-to-face classes.

If you require any assistance with your online/hybrid courses or with educational technology in general, please do not hesitate to contact one of the EHHS Educational Technology Designers.

 

Online Program Approval Process  Online Course Approval Process

Getting Started: Design & Development

The following documents provide useful information and resources as you begin to plan your course and design content. We  recommend you view these documents before you begin to create content. The EHHS Educational Technologists can assist you with using these documents at any point in the process.

  • Time Students Should Spend Studying in an Online Course - this PDF provides information regarding the study hours required for a 3-credit course of various durations.
  • Online Course Development Worksheet - this Word document provides a template for faculty to conceptualize, structure, and note information needed for an online course. The worksheet also includes essential elements crucial for meeting the Quality Matters Rubric and visual prompts to help align objectives, activities and assessments. 
  • The Fundamental Features of a Successful Online Course - a reference guide to the recommended features/components that should be included in an online course to promote a quality online learning experience for students.

A Note on Copyright

As we move toward providing more and more content online, there are many questions that arise regarding copyright issues. For example, if you show a DVD to your face-to-face class are you legally able to provide a recording of that video to your online students?

There are few easy answers in the copyright field, and while the EHHS Distance Learning team can help guide you on copyright questions, Kent State University has experts who concentrate on these issues. If you are unsure about whether you can use materials/videos in your online course, we recommend that you first explore the KSU Library FAQs on copyright:http://libguides.library.kent.edu/copyrightFAQ.

Quality Matters in EHHS

Kent state University and the College of EHHS subscribe to Quality Matters for our online education. "Quality Matters (QM) is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its peer-based approach to continuous improvement in online education and student learning. The program features:

  • Faculty-centered, continuous improvement models for assuring the quality of online courses through peer review
  • Professional development workshops and certification courses for instructors and online learning professionals
  • Rubrics for applying quality standards to course design"

*Source: Quality Matters Website - https://www.qualitymatters.org/

Quality Matters Rubric Guide

You can access an abbreviated version of the Quality Matters rubric here. Your Educational Technologists will go through the rubric with you during course development. If you have any questions, please contact your distance learning support team.

When you begin working within the Quality Matters framework you will create a Quality Matters worksheet. Follow these instructions for guidance on how to create a Quality Matters account and worksheet.

Tutorials and Guidance

Course Combine Form

Follow this link to the course combine form.

All faculty have the option to combine multiple sections of one course or multiple courses in Blackboard Learn. Remember: course combination is only appropriate if the content for multiple sections will be the same.

In order to complete a course combine, you will need the following information for each course you wish to combine:

  • The Course Name
  • Course ID
  • Course Section
  • CRN (course number)

You can find this information in Flashline [login to Flashline (flashline.kent.edu > Faculty and Advisor Tools > My Course Schedules > then locate the information for each course/section).

Follow this link to the course combine form. Please note: it can take up to 48 hours for the system to process a course combine request. You will receive an e-mail confirmation when the process has been completed. The new combined course will then appear in your Blackboard course list and can be edited as you wish.

Student Orientation and Tutorials 

The College of EHHS understands that orientating students to Blackboard Learn is just as important as helping faculty and instructors navigate the Virtual Learning Environment. While students can access the KSU 24/7 helpdesk with any technical or Blackboard Learn issues, we are in the process of creating a site of resources and tutorials that instructors can use to help orientate students to the Blackboard Learn Virtual Learning Environment.

 

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