Course Design and Preparation

STANDARD: inclusiveness-related aspects should be considered from the initial course preparation stage. This encompasses the technical and equipment requirements, the digital literacy skills that students must master beforehand to take full advantage of the course, and the modalities of course participation. Challenges encountered by students at risk should be considered. The course should be designed to facilitate interaction between students and faculty and between students themselves.

CRITERIA

TECHNICAL & FINANCIAL

3.1. Efforts are made to minimise financial costs for students.

Examples of such practices may include the use of licence-free software, or giving priority to widely available equipment and tools…

3.2. The course is designed taking into consideration the fact that it may be attended by students with limited bandwidth. Materials are kept of a reasonable size to ensure easy access and/or download. The course platform should be easily accessible even with limited bandwidth.

3.3. Students are informed of which equipment (in particular computer/mobile device) should be used to follow and participate to the course. If mobile phone is considered, materials (presentation and access) should be adapted.accessible even with limited bandwidth.

COURSE STRUCTURE & INTERACTIVITY

3.4. A careful evaluation of the course workload is conducted.

For existing courses that are transferred online, one should be aware that it may differ compared with a face-to-face equivalent.

3.5. Whenever possible, materials are shared in advance to avoid technical problems for downloading and/or offering the possibility for the students to prepare in advance.

3.6. The course incorporates real-time and/or asynchronous interaction between the students and the faculty and provisions are made to facilitate interactions between students.

Examples of such practices include (non-exhaustive list) flipped classroom organisation, fora, virtual spaces for meetings and discussions, online office hours, online team work, simulations, using polls and other interactive technologies to get a sense of students’ experience, comprehension, and reactions (“reading the room”), inviting specific students’ answers (warm or cold calling), opening
the floor to general discussion of particular questions, having students engage in small “buzz group” conversations via breakout rooms, creating opportunities for synchronous or asynchronous
student collaboration via tools such as Google Docs, Miro, etc.

INFORMATION

3.7. The syllabus clearly describes the prerequisites (material, software and digital skills and competences).

3.8. The syllabus provides information on the organisation of the course, the expected participation and contribution, and the organisation of the assessment(s). It includes the description of the digital etiquette/netiquette that applies.

Examples of such practices may include (non-exhaustive list) camera on policy, use of virtual backgrounds, video and audio participation, modalities of intervening in the course, modalities of taking notes, moderation rules in the forum and discussions, provisions for course recording, expected availability of students and faculty, expected deadlines for answering from faculty and students, right to disconnect, dress code with “classroom-ready clothing”, etc.

3.9. Students are informed on the technical/pedagogical/psychological support that they can expect from the institution/the instructor or the pedagogical team or from other students, and how to take advantage of it. In addition, sharing of experience between students is encouraged.

EVALUATION

No information is available or no evidence had been encountered. It is not possible to define whether inclusiveness is taken into consideration at the course design stage.

Partial evidence has been encountered; it indicates that inclusiveness is taken into consideration at the course design stage, but further progress could be made.

Much concordant evidences indicate that inclusiveness is an important aspect and efforts are made take it into consideration at course design and preparation stage.