Boosting eLearning Quality with the QM Rubric and Instructional Design

QM Rubric is an essential tool that you can use to boost the quality of your eLearning and Instructional Design. So, what’s the QM Rubric? And how can it it shape your Instructional Design and eLearning course quality?

At its core, the QM Rubric is a set of standards. It aids instructional designers in creating online courses that are effective, engaging, and accessible.

To learn more about it, you can either read the blog or watch the video below.

Writing QM Rubric Aligned Course Overview and Introduction as an Instructional Designer

As per QM Rubric standards, you should ensure that the course introduction provides learners with:

• The overall course structure
• What’s expected of them
• The learning environment, and
• Navigation instructions

For example, to align your Instructional Design strategy with QM Rubric standards, start with an engaging intro video, add a course navigation tutorial, and clearly outline prerequisites and introduce the instructor.

Present Learning Objectives with Effective Instructional Design Strategy and as per QM Rubric Standards. To define what students should gain from the course, craft clear, actionable learning objectives. Ensure these objectives align with course content and assessments. Your Instructional Design strategy to present Learning Objectives as per QM Rubric standards should:

• Develop clear, measurable learning objectives for the overall course and individual modules or units
• Use action verbs to state objectives
• Ensure alignment between course content, activities, and assessments

Assessment and Measurement as per QM Rubric Standards

Next, as per QM Rubric standards, include activities to assess students accurately based on learning objectives.

To do this as per QM Rubric standards:

• Use a variety of assessment types to measure different cognitive levels
• Offer clear rubrics or grading criteria for subjective assessments
• Align assessments directly with course and module objectives
• Ensure the weight of each assessment reflects its importance and complexity

QM Rubric Recommendations for Instructional Materials

Use materials that foster student achievement of the learning objectives. The learning resources should drive learning outcomes. In addition, you should avoid adding redundant learning resources. Adding redundancy can increase the cognitive load, which restricts retention, comprehension, and application.

As an Instructional Design best practice:

• Choose up-to-date and relevant readings, multimedia, and other resources
• Make sure materials are diverse and appeal to different learning styles
• Clearly relate materials to objectives and activities

Learning Activities and Learner Interaction to Align with QM Rubric Standards

Next, QM Rubric Standards recommended use of learning activities, interactions, and instructional strategies that stimulate active participation and connection.

So, to align your Instructional Design strategy with QM Rubric standards:

• Incorporate a mix of individual, paired, and group activities
• Use discussion forums, peer reviews, case studies, and real-world applications
• Facilitate opportunities for student-to-student and student-to-instructor interactions
• Ensure activities are meaningful and directly aligned with learning objectives
• Use web-based interactions and branching to keep learners engaged in eLearning courses

QM Rubric Standards for Course Technology

When choosing the technology for use in your learning experiences as per QM Rubric, don’t just go by what’s trending. Use technology that amplifies and supports learning experiences. For example, your instructional strategy when choosing technology should:

• Use reliable and easy-to-navigate platforms and tools
• Integrate multimedia (videos, podcasts, interactive modules) effectively
• Ensure tools and content are mobile-friendly
• Offer tech support resources and tutorials for specialized tools

The Need for Ongoing Learner Support as per QM Rubric Standards

Equip learners with essential resources and support processes to set them up for success. QM Rubric standards explain that when learning through modern learning experiences, the students may need ongoing support to overcome and technical or conceptual roadblocks. Hence, it’s necessary to provide efficient support to learners. To provide such support:

• Provide easy access to links of institutional support resources, such as the library, IT helpdesk, academic advising, etc.
• Offer a FAQ section addressing common issues
• Clearly detailed procedures for seeking help or addressing grievances

Instructional Design Strategy:

Highlight institutional support. Incorporate a detailed FAQ section. Outline clear help-seeking procedures.

Accessibility and Usability Standards Defined in QM Rubric

Accessibility and usability standards defined in QM Rubric require you to ensure all students can access and benefit from the course regardless of their ability. To do so:

• Follow web accessibility guidelines that are accepted globally
• Use legible fonts and ensure good contrast
• Provide alternative text for images and captions or transcripts for videos
• Use clear, consistent navigation and layouts

To conclude, don’t consider the QM Rubric as just a checklist. For instructional designers, it’s a roadmap to excellence. By harnessing its insights, courses become more engaging, relevant, and universally accessible. In the evolving realm of digital education, the QM Rubric remains a beacon, guiding instructional designers towards unmatched quality.

At Check N Click, we follow all Instructional Design best practices recommended by QM Rubric standards. That’s the reason why we get repeat enterprise eLearning customers who rely on our training design and development services. In addition, all courses that we sell on Udemy are rated 4+ stars. So, to learn more about our enterprise eLearning services and Udemy courses, check out the links in the description.

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