Instructor Sample Site Quick Guides
Introduction
Here at Distance and Online Education Links to an external site. (DOE), we strive to increase access to the University of Iowa beyond the physical borders of campus. In partnership with university colleges and departments, we provide high quality academic courses to both traditional and nontraditional students using a variety of locations, schedules and technologies.
DOE provides resources, such as this Course Sample for Online Instructors, to allow faculty to explore new online teaching strategies and course redesign benefiting both on‑ and off‑campus students.
We encourage you to browse this Sample Course to find data-driven best practices that can guide your own online course design!
Quick Guide: Introduction to Instructor Sample Course Links to an external site.
Sample Site Navigation
Use Modules to examine the sample course.
Use these Quick Guides to learn the strategies used in the course.
Course Homepage
A custom course homepage provides you an opportunity to establish your presence as the course instructor, as well as increase student engagement and motivation.
Quick Guide: Course Homepage Links to an external site.
Getting Started
A Getting Started course module reduces student cognitive load by scaffolding pre-course tasks. It furthers your instructor presence, ensures students know technical requirements in order to access and engage in your course, and builds social presence by encouraging students to introduce themselves to the class.
Quick Guide: Getting Started Links to an external site.
Course Modules
Course modules ensure alignment of objectives, assessments and instructional strategies by sequencing and scaffolding student learning to foster a student-centered learning environment.
Quick Guide: Course Modules Links to an external site.
Module Overviews
Modules overview pages contextualize student learning and build your instructor presence. They provide you an opportunity to explain to students your instructional strategy, connect the module to their prior knowledge, and clearly explain learning objectives and tasks.
Quick Guide: Module Overviews Links to an external site.
Resources
Here are the collected Quality Matters (QM) online course design standards and research articles that inform the data-driven strategies used in the Distance and Online Education Links to an external site. (DOE) instructor sample course.
Quick Guide: Quality Matters Standards Links to an external site.
Quick Guide: Research Links to an external site.