Quality Essentials 1

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ELIGIBILITY
Completion of either ATS' Online Learning Studio or Go Virtual is a prerequisite of this program. In addition, program participants who fall under one of the following categories may not qualify for the stipend:

• College of Continuing and Professional Education (CPIE) Instructor for Self-Supported (Non-Academic) programs or courses
• Academic Advisors, Teaching Assistants, and Student Assistants
• CSULB Staff and Students

You are still able to participate in the program and access the course content, resources and work closely with the Instructional Design team.

STIPEND REQUIREMENTS:
Participants must complete the following requirements to receive the $1750 stipend:

1. Complete the Quality Essentials 1 BeachBoard course, including quizzes. View the Course Syllabus [PDF]
2. Complete the Quality Essentials 1 Checklist [PDF].
   This document is intended to provide accountability and serve as a measurable guideline that helps meet defined program standards. Successful completion of this document will review and help satisfy all (23) rubric standards as they pertain to course design, accessibility, and student success.
3. Complete the Course Alignment Blueprint [PDF]:
   This document ensures that assigned Course Learning Objectives (CLO's) and faculty-designed Module Learning Objectives (MLO's) express a clear connection to course content, learning activities, and assessments as applicable. The purpose is to help identify desired results and determine acceptable evidence of learning as students progress through your course. Successful completion of this document will facilitate appropriately designed learning experiences and instruction.
4. Build 4-5 Weeks of your BeachBoard Course.
5. Attend three (3) Course Enhancement Sessions (listed below)
6. Complete one (1) of the following CSU Chancellor's Office Programs:
   NOTE:  Register through the Chancellor's Office, NOT through the Quality Matters org site directly.
   • Designing Your Online Course (DYOC): July 5-25
   • Improving Your Online Course (IYOC): June 7-27  ~or~  July 5-25  ~or~  July 26-August 15

OPTIONAL (NOTE: these options do not fulfill program requirements):

• Course Peer Review Program:
  Work individually with a certified CSULB faculty Peer Reviewer, who will provide valuable feedback. Stipend available.
• Hyflex and Hybrid Instructional Techniques:
  Learn how to use the equipment in our "Hyflex (hybrid-flexible)" classrooms and best practices for teaching in this format.
• ATS Tech Talks (listed below):
  Sign up for any of these workshops and discover how to use new instructional technology tools!

TO REGISTER:  Visit the dedicated web page links below.

• You may register for as many sessions as you like; only three (3) are required to meet program requirements.
• Recordings of the sessions will be available on their dedicated web page one week after the event.
   

Designing Effective Grade Books  |  June 8  |  @10am & 2pm
Building your grade book as part of your initial course development will make the rest of your online course simpler to design. In this session, we will introduce BeachBoard tools and techniques for designing an effective, self-calculating grade book with automatic weighted scoring to make grading easier and more transparent for your students. 

Collaboration During Synchronous Zoom Sessions |  June 10  |  @10am & 2pm
Use Zoom tools effectively to increase engagement and interactivity in the course.

Best Practices for Accessibility  |  June 15  |  @10am & 2pm
Looking to enhance course and content accessibility? This session will review best practices for document creation and promote accessibility tools supported by Academic Technology Services including Zoom, Labster, BeachMedia, and Blackboard Ally. Among the learning activities, this session will review how to enable and manage live captioning via Zoom and BeachMedia, add the Accessibility Report to your BeachBoard Navbar, interpret Ally generated scores of course content, and identify accessible Labster simulations. Join this session if you are interested in learning these tools and elevating accessibility for your course.

Ice-breakers: A Community Building Tool  |  June 17  |  @10am & 2pm
We are all tired of Zoom silences in our classes. In this session, you will participate in three fun ice-breakers that you can take and use with your class right away. Although a tall task, by developing peer-to-peer relationships, your students feel more comfortable sharing in your learning environment.

What's in That Teaching Bag?   |  June 23  |  @10am & 2pm
Are you looking to move beyond the breakout room discussions? Come join us in a session to review tips for teaching strategies, share ideas as a community, and reflect on how we can improve motivation through engagement.

Active Learning / Evidence-based Pedagogy  |  July 1  |  @10am & 2pm
Active learning comprises a wide range of teaching techniques.  Their common theme is to get students to actively think and interact. This workshop will present a clear and quick-to-implement technique called Contrasting Cases, taken from the research-based book The ABC's of How We Learn. The presentation will take less than 50% of our time, and you will spend the rest finding applications of the technique to your class(es) and getting feedback.

Leveraging Technology Tools for Student Success  |  July 6  |  @10am & 2pm
This session is developed for those who are comfortable using BeachBoard. We will go in-depth on tools (e.g., knowledge checks, intelligent agents, news items, etc.) that are commonly used to review student's progress in a course. We will share some ideas on how to leverage these tools to increase student retention in a course.

Engagement Framework for Online Learning  |  July 12  |  @10am & 2pm
This session will explore the five key elements of a research-based engagement framework for online learning in higher education and a variety of aligned learning activities using technology tools inside and outside of BeachBoard for courses across the disciplines. This online engagement framework approaches learning design from a conceptual, practical, and research basis to support you in creating opportunities for high levels of engagement in your courses.

Designing Effective Grade Books  |  July 13  |  @10am & 2pm
Building your grade book as part of your initial course development will make the rest of your online course simpler to design. In this session, we will introduce BeachBoard tools and techniques for designing an effective, self-calculating grade book with automatic weighted scoring to make grading easier and more transparent for your students. 

Designing Group Work  |  July 14  |  @10am & 2pm
Thinking of assigning group work? Join us as we discuss tips on designing and evaluating group work. We will go over activities to ensure the group work is fair.

Best Practices for Accessibility  |  July 21 |  @10am & 2pm
Looking to enhance course and content accessibility? This session will review best practices for document creation and promote accessibility tools supported by Academic Technology Services including Zoom, Labster, BeachMedia, and Blackboard Ally. Among the learning activities, this session will review how to enable and manage live captioning via Zoom and BeachMedia, add the Accessibility Report to your BeachBoard Navbar, interpret Ally generated scores of course content, and identify accessible Labster simulations. Join this session if you are interested in learning these tools and elevating accessibility for your course.

Recognizing Common Challenges Facing Online Learners  |  July 22  |  @10am & 2pm
Supporting students in the era of remote and hybrid instruction is a challenge in itself, but much has now been written about identifying and navigating these issues. We will consider topics including digital literacy, technical issues, time management, mindset, and the need for the “social process” of education.

Leveraging BeachBoard for Outcomes and Alignment  |  July 27  |  @10am & 2pm
Is your course aligned? Do you have measurable outcomes? In this webinar, you will learn how to use BeachBoard to create and measure learning outcomes in a logical, easy-to-read format. BeachBoard has all the features you need to assess your students' learning and demonstrate the alignment of your outcomes to students, faculty, and administrators.

Ice-breakers: A Community Building Tool  |  August 2  |  @10am & 2pm
We are all tired of Zoom silences in our classes. In this session, you will participate in three fun ice-breakers that you can take and use with your class right away. Although a tall task, by developing peer-to-peer relationships, your students feel more comfortable sharing in your learning environment.

Active Learning / Evidence-based Pedagogy  |  August 4  |  @10am & 2pm
Active learning comprises a wide range of teaching techniques.  Their common theme is to get students to actively think and interact. This workshop will present a clear and quick-to-implement technique called Contrasting Cases, taken from the research-based book The ABC's of How We Learn. The presentation will take less than 50% of our time, and you will spend the rest finding applications of the technique to your class(es) and getting feedback.

Alternative Assessment Strategies  |  August 5  |  @10am & 2pm
Measuring students’ learning beyond traditional methods such as multiple-choice quizzes and essays can seem like a daunting task. During this session, we will explore examples for designing more assessment types. Join us as we look at various ways to evaluate learning during formative and summative assessments.

Engagement in Discussions  |  August 10  |  @10am & 2pm
This will be an introduction to creating discussions, best practices, and demonstration of how to use the Discussion board tool in BeachBoard to create engaging discussions with students. This will be best for first-time users or users who have not had a chance to explore this tool.

Tricky Learning Objectives  |  August 12  |  @10am & 2pm
Learning objectives can sometimes feel constraining and frustrating to write. This session presents practical ideas for writing learning objectives effectively and explores the limits of measurable learning objectives. For further discovery, more can be found in Design For How We Learn.

• Please note:  These workshops are optional and do not meet the requirements for the Quality Essentials 1 program.
• TO REGISTER:  Visit the dedicated web page links below.

Blackboard Ally   |  June 18  |  @1pm
Blackboard Ally assists faculty in the development of inclusive and accessible learning materials. The primary functions of Ally include converting course materials, check course content, and guidance to ensure accessibility.

Introduction to BeachBoard  |  June 22  |  @10am & 2pm
This training will include an overview of effective practices to help faculty learn how to utilize BeachBoard for remote and hybrid teaching. Participants will emerge from the session with a better understanding of BeachBoard, specifically on how to organize course materials, keeping students engaged, communicating with students, and assessing student learning using various tools within the LMS (Learning Management System).

Getting Started With Zoom  |  June 29  |  @10am & 2pm
This training will introduce faculty to the web-conferencing tool, Zoom, and how to use it effectively to hold class sessions and office hours. Participants will learn how to manage Zoom class meetings, create recordings, share screens, set up recommended Zoom settings for asynchronous and synchronous classes, and learn how to keep students engaged with all of the various engagement tools that Zoom has to offer.

Blackboard Ally   |  July 16  |  @10am
Blackboard Ally assists faculty in the development of inclusive and accessible learning materials. The primary functions of Ally include converting course materials, check course content, and guidance to ensure accessibility

Playposit  |  July 20  |  @10am & 2pm
PlayPosit is an interactive web-based video platform that allows for the embed of questions, discussions, surveys, and other interactions into videos from BeachBoard Media/Kaltura, YouTube, and Vimeo. This session will explore the basics for using PlayPosit along with strategies and use cases for maximizing learning with this powerful but simple tool.

Gradescope  |  July 29  |  @10am & 2pm
Gradescope helps you administer and grade your assessments, whether online or in-class. It saves you time, drives consistency, and gives you a clear picture of how your students do.  In this workshop, we’ll go through the basics of setting up and using Gradescope and demonstrate the specific ways that Gradescope can make grading less annoying and more informative. We will leave lots of time for Q&A.

Poll Everywhere  |  August 3  |  @10am & 2pm
Poll Everywhere is an engagement tool that can be used for live or asynchronous classes/ sessions to get feedback from an audience.

Blackboard Ally   |  August 17  |  @1pm
Blackboard Ally assists faculty in the development of inclusive and accessible learning materials. The primary functions of Ally include converting course materials, check course content, and guidance to ensure accessibility

Labster   |  August 18  |  @10am & 2pm
This training session is intended to introduce Labster virtual simulations as a tool for teaching remotely embedded in BeachBoard. Labster uses gamification and storytelling approaches to engage and assess students in course materials. See inside a virtual lab, experience different simulations, and discover exactly how educators are using Labster to improve learning outcomes in STEM courses.

New Technology at ATS  |  August 19  |  @10am & 2pm
An overview of new and existing tools integrated into BeachBoard.Focusing on existing and new tools that will be deployed to the LMS

How do I know if I need to opt-out of the stipend for this program?
Please contact your College/Department’s Administrative Services Manager (ASM). 

What if I have previously taken and completed the Quality Matters course “Applying the QM Rubric”(APPQMR)? Can this be substituted for the Chancellor's Office courses, Designing Your Own Course (DYOC) or Improving Your Own Course (IYOC)?
Yes, if you have taken the APPQMR course this can be substituted to meet the requirement of taking the DYOC or IYOC.

What if I have already taken the Chancellor's Office courses, Designing Your Own Course (DYOC) or Improving Your Own Course (IYOC)?
If you have already taken one of these programs, you have met the requirement for this program and do not need to take these again.

If I was enrolled in the previous Quality Essentials program but did not complete it, can I enroll again in this program?
Yes, if you enrolled in this program before but did not submit the required deliverables or complete the program, you can enroll again in the program a second time.

What if I completed the QE 1 program last year but did not work with a Certified Peer Reviewer and instead worked with a peer colleague? What are my options?
If you successfully submitted your deliverables and completed the Quality Essentials 1 program last semester, you qualify to work with a Certified Peer Reviewer and you can also register to move forward to our QE II program.

When will registration for this program close?
June 27th @11:59 pm

What are the prerequisites for this program?
Completion of one of the following ATS Programs:  Online Learning Studio or Go Virtual.

What is the duration of this course?
The course will run for 6 weeks. The start date is June 28th and will end on August 6th. This means that after August 6th, the Instructional Design team will not be actively checking the discussion board posts or students' progress in the Quality Essential I BeachBoard course.

What are the estimated hours to complete this program?
45-50 hours

Is orientation mandatory?
Orientation is not mandatory but strongly encouraged to attend.

When are the deliverables due for this program?
The due date to submit your deliverables is Friday, August 6th.

Where do I submit the program deliverables?
You will upload and submit your document files inside BeachBoard using the Dropbox feature on or before the due date.

If I am interested in working with a Certified Peer Reviewer, what does that entail?
After you have completed the Quality Essentials I program requirements, you will have the opportunity to work closely with a Certified Peer Reviewer who will review and provide you feedback on your course. This process is estimated to take an additional 7 hours to complete within a 2- month period.

What does it mean to be a certified Peer Reviewer?
To be a certified Peer Reviewer one must successfully complete an intensive three-week Quality Matters course that consists of reviewing the foundational principles of Quality Matters 42 standard rubric and complete practice reviews.

After I participate in this program, will I be able to access the content of the Quality Essentials I BeachBoard course after the course has ended?
Yes, absolutely! Although the course will end it will always be active, therefore you can always access the information at your convenience.

Can I enroll in more than one ATS professional development program?
You can participate in more than one ATS professional development program if the dates of the programs do not overlap with each other.

Who can I contact for assistance with the Quality Essentials I program?
Please send your email inquiries to ATS-InstructionalDesign@csulb.edu.