Cultural implications for accessible and quality online learning have been discussed in the online distance education literature for more than a decade. McLoughlin (2001) called the ability “to teach effectively online to a multi-cultural group of learners an imperative” (p. 9). This presentation examines the cultural implications in the design of e-learning courses. Culturally influenced teaching/learning dimensions from an online course design perspective will be outlined. The presentation centers on applying design strategies to e-learning course development, especially those suggested by the current QM Rubric.

Kay Shattuck, Ed. D., was a member of the initial group of Maryland distance educators, who in the early 2000s, developed what would become the Quality Matters program.  As director of research for Quality Matters she continues to analyze and document research related to course design issues, specifically as they inform the Quality Matters RubricTM (see http://www.qmprogram.org/latest-research-support-rubric-standards).    She provides direction to QM in furthering research that is focused on online course design topics and on the effectiveness of the QM process.  

 

Carrie Main, M.A., has been an instructional designer for LearningU since 2010. Prior to joining the team at LearningU, she designed and delivered the first online Spanish language courses at the University of Northern Colorado. Main has seven years of teaching experience in higher education (online and face to face).  Presently, she is pursuing a graduate degree in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology (OLIT) at the University of New Mexico. Her research interests include online course evaluation and global elearning design.

 

Li Wang, Ph.D., is an Instructional Designer in the Faculty Technology Center at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She is leading the course redesign Institute at CSUN and strives for implementing quality principles in online/hybrid and other types of courses. She has been facilitating faculty development since 1999 in Instructional design, development, and research. She maintains an active scholarly record, and is a certified Quality Matters peer reviewer and trainer.