UHI blended learning
standards checklist
Contents
General .............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Communicating expectations ............................................................................................................................ 2
Encourage active learning ................................................................................................................................. 3
Communication and collaboration .................................................................................................................... 3
Assessment and feedback ................................................................................................................................. 3
Keeping students on track ................................................................................................................................. 3
Framework......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Legal and academic issues ................................................................................................................................. 4
Guidance notes .................................................................................................................................................. 4
General .......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Communicating expectations ........................................................................................................................ 5
Encourage active learning ............................................................................................................................. 6
Communication and collaboration ................................................................................................................ 6
Assessment and feedback ............................................................................................................................. 6
Keeping students on track ............................................................................................................................. 7
Framework..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Legal and academic issues ............................................................................................................................. 7
Your blend should promote the UHI graduate attributes:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
active
responsive and adaptive
reflective
confident
rigorous.
Use this checklist to see if your blend meets the UHI blended learning standards.
Please note: guidance notes for completion of the checklist are appended to this document.
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UHI blended learning
standards checklist 2011
General
1. Delivery a. Chosen delivery methods are appropriate to the blend.
b. Technological requirements for delivery methods are identified and student
guidance provided.
c. Clear guidance and instruction is provided throughout.
2. Content
a. The content is appropriate to:
 subject
 level
 learning context
 the blend
 student cohort.
b. Individual activities are clearly structured and relate to the overall purpose
of the blend.
c. Activities and content are designed to meet learning outcomes and
objectives.
d. Contingency plans are in place in case technology, equipment etc. fails.
Communicating expectations
1. Induction a. Student induction materials appropriate to the blend are available.
b. The technical skills required by students are clearly indicated and
materials/support provided to meet these requirements.
2. Module
a. Staff information, photographs and contact details are provided as
appropriate.
b. Module information is comprehensive:
i.
module descriptor, learning outcomes, schedule of work, reading
lists etc.;
ii.
students are informed of the precise nature of the blend i.e. % of
each mode of delivery;
iii.
information regarding technical support for technologies used are
clearly indicated;
iv.
communication methods appropriate to the blend are clearly
identified and indicated.
c. Students are informed of the roles and responsibilities of staff and
students, for example, in a learning contract.
d. Clear information/instructions are provided for all online content.
e. Etiquette/netiquette guidance is provided as appropriate.
f. Students are provided with appropriate information/links on copyright,
plagiarism and study skills.
g. Relevant contact details are provided for:
i.
technical support;
ii.
the Personal Academic Tutor;
iii.
student support.
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UHI blended learning
standards checklist 2011
Encourage active learning
1. The
blend
a. The blend includes a variety of activities and tasks to meet different
learning styles.
b. The blend provides opportunities for interaction.
c. The blend provides opportunities for feedback.
2. Activities a. Activities and content are contextualised.
b. Activities are student centred and encourage:
i.
progression towards higher level thinking skills;
ii.
student engagement;
iii.
student independence;
iv.
student reflection.
Communication and collaboration
1. Preparation a. A welcome message is present.
b. Clear mechanisms and guidance for formal and informal discussion are
available.
2. During
delivery
a. Ice-breakers and group activities are introduced at an early stage.
b. Activities and tasks are designed to encourage communication and
collaboration.
Assessment and feedback
1. Assessments a. Formative assessments are available throughout.
b. All assessments:
i.
are appropriate to the set learning outcomes or objectives;
ii.
measure the set learning outcomes or objectives;
iii.
contain clear instructions.
2. Assessment
support
a.
b.
c.
d.
Assessment guidelines and marking criteria are clear.
Exemplars of assessments are available if appropriate.
Submission processes for assessments are clear.
Feedback mechanisms are in place and clearly communicated to
students.
Keeping students on track
1. Student a. Students are provided with tools and guidance to keep them on track.
2. Staff
a. Appropriate processes are in place to keep students on track.
b. Monitoring tools appropriate to the blend are available to identify ‘at risk’
students.
c. Processes for communicating with ‘at risk’ students are in place.
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UHI blended learning
standards checklist 2011
Framework
1. Interface
design
The interface design is:
a. clear and easily navigated;
b. informative;
c. has a logical layout of content.
Legal and academic issues
1. Legal
All content and resources:
a. are accessible;
b. meet copyright and CLA legislation;
c. meet Data Protection and Internet requirements;
d. meet IPR requirements;
e. meet equality legislation.
2. Academic a. All resources and materials are appropriately referenced according to the
UHI referencing guide.
Guidance notes
General
1. Delivery
a. Your blend will depend on a variety of factors such as module content, student/staff
location, delivery methods available etc.
b. Technological requirements for delivery methods will include identification of:
i. UHI core and other technologies that will be used as appropriate to your blend;
ii. student computer and Internet access requirements;
iii. the level of access to colleges and learning centres and appropriate technologies
available to them.
c. Clear guidance and instruction will need to be made available for:
i. any technologies used (VLE, blogs etc.) and
ii. when using written materials for activities requiring access to technologies. For
example if asking students to use a blog as part of an activity, full instructions
need to be provided.
2. Content
a. You will need to pay careful attention to how you select and present your content. It
should be appropriate to:
 subject – does the content reflect the subject knowledge requirements?
 level – are the learning materials pitched at an appropriate level?
 the blend – have you chosen an appropriate blend of face-to-face/online
components?
 learning context – have you chosen appropriate delivery methods? That is,
synchronous and asynchronous delivery; use of the VLE and blogs etc.
 student cohort – does you content reflect the needs of your student cohort as
regards their age; whether full- or part-time students etc.
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UHI blended learning
standards checklist 2011
b. Individual activities are clearly structured and relate to the overall purpose of the blend.
Do all your learning materials support the purpose of your blend? Are the structure and
layout of information clear and transparent?
c. Activities and content are designed to meet learning outcomes and objectives. Is your
content structured in such a way that it will facilitate students in attaining these? Do you
include an appropriate blend of learning materials for presentation, practice and
formative assessment?
d. Contingency plans are in place in case technology, equipment etc. fails. What will you
do, for example, in the event that access to the VLE is temporarily suspended or if there
are technical problems with access to video conferencing?
Communicating expectations
1. Induction
a. Student induction materials appropriate to the blend are available. Have you prepared
or provided access to suitable induction materials? You will need to take into
consideration introduction to the module, UHI academic requirements, plagiarism etc.
b. The technical skills required by students are clearly indicated and materials/support
provided to meet these requirements. Have you clearly specified any technical
requirements and expectations, skill levels etc.
2. Module
a. Staff information and contact details are provided as appropriate. Do they know who the
tutors on the module will be and the role they will play? How and when can students
contact staff?
b. Module information is comprehensive:
i.
module descriptor, learning outcomes, schedule of work, reading lists etc. – are
these all present?
ii.
students are informed of the precise nature of the blend i.e. % of each mode of
delivery – have you provided this?
iii.
information concerning technical support for technologies used are clearly
indicated – do students know what to do in case of problems with the VLE, video
conferencing etc.?
iv.
communication methods appropriate to the blend are clearly identified and
indicated – do your students know when, how often, under what circumstances
and how you will contact them / expect them to contact each other?
c. Students are informed of the roles and responsibilities of staff and students for example
in a learning contract – do you have a learning contract that you expect your students to
agree to? If not, how will you inform them of their roles and responsibilities?
d. Clear information/instructions are provided for all online content – is all content
accompanied by appropriate information/guidelines?
e. Etiquette/netiquette is provided as appropriate – have you provided your own or given
access to suitable materials?
f. Students are provided with appropriate information/links on plagiarism and study skills
– have you provided links to / information on UHI materials and use of and use of
plagiarism software?
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UHI blended learning
standards checklist 2011
Encourage active learning
1. The blend
a. The blend includes a variety of activities and tasks to meet different learning styles – do
you have an appropriate blend of textual, multimedia and interactive activities?
b. The blend provides opportunities for interaction – do you have activities for
student/tutor and student/student interaction, peer review etc.?
c. The blend provides opportunities for feedback – these should include: student/tutor
and student/student feedback.
2. Activities
a. Activities and content are contextualised – are all learning materials part of the
‘whole’?
b. Activities are student-centred and encourage:
i.
progression towards higher level thinking skills;
ii.
student engagement;
iii.
student independence;
iv.
student reflection.
Have you checked your activities to see that they meet the above requirements?
Communication and collaboration
1. Preparation
a. A welcome message is present – this message should be designed to welcome students
and indicate what they should do next. The message could be textual or in a multimedia
format.
b. Clear mechanisms and guidance for formal and informal discussion are available – have
you provided these as regards any use of the VLE, discussion boards, wikis etc.?
2. During delivery
a. Ice-breakers and group activities are introduced at an early stage – see the section on
Encouraging collaboration in the Introduction to Blended learning module for
suggestions.
b. Activities and tasks are designed to encourage communication and collaboration – do a
sufficient proportion of activities do this?
Assessment and feedback
1. Assessments
a. Formative assessments are available throughout – these should be designed to promote
learning and provide constructive feedback.
b. All assessments:
i. are relevant to the learning outcomes or objectives;
ii. measure the learning outcomes or objectives;
iii. are equitable and fair;
iv. contain clear instructions.
Do formative and summative assessments meet these criteria?
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UHI blended learning
standards checklist 2011
2. Assessment support
a. Assessment guidelines and marking criteria are clear – are these clearly communicated
to students?
b. Exemplars of assessments are available if appropriate – do students know where to find
these?
c. Submission processes for assignments and assessments are clear – provide clear written
instructions or a short video on how to do this.
d. Feedback mechanisms are in place and clearly communicated to students – have you
checked that they meet student needs?
Keeping students on track
1. Students
a. Students are provided with tools and guidance to keep them on track – have you
informed students about these and how they can use them?
2. Staff
a. Appropriate processes are in place to keep students on track – have you identified the
most appropriate methods; for example, the VLE tools, targeted emails? Do staff know
how to use these – do you need specific guidelines for staff as well as students?
b. Monitoring tools appropriate to the blend are available to identify ‘at risk’ students –
are these in place and functioning? You may need to check these.
c. Processes for communicating with ‘at risk’ students are in place – do you know how you
will identify ‘at risk’ students?
Framework
1. Interface design
The interface design should:
a. be clear and easily navigated – your students will need to find their way around with
ease.
b. be informative – you will need to provide information about the contents of specific
areas and folders.
c. have a logical layout of content – ensure content is where students will expect to find it.
Legal and academic issues
1. Legal
a. Content and resources are accessible – if any core materials are not accessible, you
must either provide an alternative accessible version or make the materials accessible.
Wherever possible, ensure that all supplementary materials are accessible.
Supplementary materials are those that are not essential for the achievement of
learning outcomes / objectives.
b. All content and resources meet copyright legislation and licence terms and conditions
(e.g. CLA, ERA Plus, JSTOR and other online e-resource subscriptions) – you are
responsible for ensuring the learning and teaching materials do not infringe copyright
legislation and licence terms and conditions.
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UHI blended learning
standards checklist 2011
c. Meet Data Protection and Internet requirements – if you are working with Web
software, you will need to ensure that your students’ personal data is not compromised.
You need to check, for example, what information the service provider will collect and
keep about users. Can it be removed once the module ended?
d. Meet IPR requirements – if you are working on the Internet, ensure that you are
complying with your college’s, UHI’s, your students’, your own and other users’ IPR
rights;
e. Meet equality legislation – ensure your materials and content meet equality
requirements. For example, issues are taught in a way that will not subject students to
discrimination or harassment. You should attempt to challenge stereotypes and address
inequality, for example through positive representations of under-represented groups.
2. Academic
a. All resources and materials need to be appropriately referenced – refer to UHI’s
referencing guide on the UHI Library Web site (http://www.uhi.ac.uk/referencing).
If you have any questions, contact [email protected].
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