Intro
Indicators
Canvas Tools
Examples
Try It!
Resources

Introduction

The purpose of this standard is to encourage you to reflect on the relevance and variety of instructional materials in your course. A lot can change over time and the content in your course should reflect the most current thinking for your discipline. As society and the world around us changes, you may need to update your course materials to help prepare students for the ways we use or do things today vs. last year or several hundred years ago. Students also relate better to materials that have relevance to their lives and the world in which they live. In addition to ensuring your content is current and relevant, it is also important to provide learning resources in multiple formats. Doing so will help ensure students with a wide variety of learning needs have options for interacting with course materials as they learn.

Why it Matters to Students ...

G is taking an online Calculus class. The class is required but G isn’t sure how it relates to anything in real life and frequently wonders “When the heck will I ever need to use this again?” (4.2.a) G thinks it’s boring to have to keep solving equations without knowing how learning to do so might be used outside of the class. G thought some of the background information about how Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz developed Calculus was kind of interesting but is having a hard time figuring out how many of the mathematical concepts might apply to future employment or real world skills. (4.2.a) G also doesn’t have a lot of time to study and wishes the instructor would add more than just text-based examples of how to solve the problems. After working all day, G is usually tired which makes reading difficult. Some captioned videos G could watch later in the evening while the kids were sleeping would be fantastic. (4.2.b)

Consider This ...

When was the last time you updated your course content? What strategies do you use to ensure that the content and other learning materials in your course are kept current and relevant?
What types of learning materials have you included in your course? How do you ensure the diverse learning needs of your students are met?
How could harnessing the power of open educational resources (OER) and open pedagogy help improve your course?

Indicators Explained

The Indicators for Standard 4.2 are organized by Essential and Next Steps. Click the menu bars below to expand and read about the Indicators in each section.

Essential

Applying all Essential Indicators demonstrates that your course design includes the basic foundational elements that must be present for students to succeed in an online course.

4.2.a - Course materials are current to the discipline.

Science, technology, research findings, rules/regulations/laws, teaching and learning strategies, terminology, and processes all evolve over time so you will need to plan to refresh your course content occasionally to ensure it reflects current thinking, modern practices, and changing industry or regulatory standards for your discipline. Having to make extensive updates to the learning materials in your course can be overwhelming and also time-consuming, so a good practice for keeping your course materials current is to create a plan for making smaller updates more frequently. Routinely searching for and reviewing new materials for your course also has the added advantage of engaging you more deeply in your content area.

Updating your course materials doesn’t necessarily mean upgrading to the newest edition of the textbook each year - which can be expensive for students. Instead of requiring a high-priced textbook or other paid publisher content, you might consider exploring the wide variety of high-quality and affordable open educational resources (OER) that are available. Most OER are frequently updated and are typically free to use. Many faculty also curate course packs consisting of OER which is much less expensive for students than purchasing a textbook. As an added benefit, course packs can be easily updated simply by swapping out materials as needed. If historical or ancient texts are considered seminal for your discipline, consider how applying current events, modern concepts, or new ways of thinking to these materials could help students deepen their learning. Replacing old lecture videos referring to due dates, times, and activities from previous terms also helps keep your course current. And, as with other elements of your course, students will engage more with materials that have relevance to their lives and the world in which they live, so be sure to refresh images, videos, and readings to reflect a diversity of people and perspectives.

4.2.b - Course materials include resources in a variety of mediums and formats.

The students in your course are diverse and they will have different, and sometimes, changing learning needs. Because there is no single medium or format for content that can support the varied needs of all of your learners simultaneously, it is very important to thoughtfully plan for the needs of a diverse student population when selecting the learning materials for your course. You can support the diverse needs of your students by providing content alternatives such as text, audio, video, and/or other visual representations of information such as tables, charts, images, or other diagrams and graphics whenever possible. By doing so, you are practicing the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principle “Multiple means of representation” which refers to presenting information to students in more than one format. Including learning materials in a variety of mediums and formats allows students the flexibility to use and explore the resources that work best for them.

4.2.c - Course includes one or more opportunities for students to reflect on and make meaningful connections between course materials and their educational, life, or career goals.

Sharing a course map or course outline with students that explains how course components relate to course learning goals is a practical way to illustrate connections for students. Without a clearly defined path, students may focus on learning incorrect skills and/or may not master the skills you intended at the desired level. Having a clear understanding of where they are expected to go and how they are expected to get there helps students monitor their progress and work toward success. Your course map gives students a clearer idea of what they will learn, how they will learn it, the content and resources that will support their learning, and the technology tools that will enhance their learning. It also helps you and your students better understand the purpose and structure of the course.

Beyond sharing your course map document, outline, or other graphic illustrating how all of the components of your course work together, you can also provide space for students to reflect on and share about how the course materials are relevant to students' lives outside of the classroom. Consider including a class discussion, assignment, or quiz for students to think about and make connections between the course materials and their educational, life, or career goals.

Next Steps

Applying all Essential Indicators for this Standard combined with one or more of the following Next Steps Indicators demonstrates that your course design includes the basic foundational elements necessary for students to succeed in an online course plus additional elements that are intentionally designed to increase student success in your online course.

4.2.d - Course includes openly licensed and/or student created course materials.

As defined by the Hewlett Foundation, open educational resources (OER) are educational materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. In other words, these resources are available for you to use for free without violating copyright laws as long as you attribute the author(s). Many OER are labeled using a Creative Commons license that indicates under what conditions the work may be reused, retained, revised, remixed, and redistributed. As an addition to, or as a replacement for your textbook or other learning materials, using OER can help you provide a variety of up-to-date and high-quality learning materials for your course that include textbooks, whole courses, content modules, assessments, videos, tools/technologies, and many other tools, materials and techniques used to support open access to knowledge. Using OER is also an excellent way to easily and inexpensively customize your course through the curation of low cost course packs, writing your own textbook, combining OER content from a variety of sources to create a textbook, or including openly licensed, student created resources.

Engaging students in the creation of open learning materials that will live beyond the course or add value to the world can be highly motivating for students. Authoring content builds student confidence, allows students to explore topics in relation to their own interests, adds relevance to their work, and often increases the amount of effort students invest in their learning. Exploration and use of critical open pedagogy practices can also help you remove bias and correct perpetuated stereotypes and inaccurate information within your learning materials. To learn more about OER, copyright and open licensing please visit SBCTC’s Open Washington website or OER 101 course materials.

4.2.e - Course includes opportunities for students to explore beyond the required content.

Some students may enjoy the challenge of exploring topics beyond the required course content and outcomes. You can support these students by providing optional, additional resources that dig deeper into course topics or explore additional related topics that pique student interest and encourage them to continue learning. Some additional resources you might consider adding include: additional readings; case studies; cutting edge research articles; opportunities to assist with research; virtual field trips; opportunities to attend professional events or network with professionals; links to topic specific webinars, podcasts/vodcasts, or other recordings; and links to relevant websites, blogs, discussion forums. When selecting additional learning resources for your course, be sure the materials you choose not only provide additional information but are also accessible and provided in a variety of formats.

4.2.f - Course includes an invitation for students to offer feedback on the currency and format of course materials.

X

Canvas Tools

These Canvas tools can help you meet this standard and make your work easier:

Modules + Pages: Use a Page added to a Module to introduce each learning technology. For example, an introductory page dedicated to explaining how the learning technology connects to learning materials, assessments, module-level objectives, course-level outcomes, and possibly even program requirements or employer valued skills
Rich Content Editor: Use the Rich Content Editor to add multimedia content to your course. For example to link or embed video recordings from external sources, like YouTube.
Media Recorder: Use the built-in media recording tool to add multimedia content to your course. For example to add an audio or video recording of text-based content to your Canvas Syllabus, Announcements, Pages, Discussions, Quizzes, and Assignments.
App Center: Use the App Center to add multimedia features to your Canvas course. For example, to add an integrated learning tool to your course, like MyOpenMath.
Canvas Commons: Use Canvas Commons to search for OER created by other Canvas users. For example, to add updated content and learning materials to your course.

Examples of Standard 4.2

Want to see how other instructors have applied this Standard in their course? Check out these examples!

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Example 2

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Ways to Apply Standard 4.2

Need some ideas for how to apply this standard to your course? Try one of these!

4.2.a - Current materials

(4.2.a) Review the learning materials in your course to determine if they are current and relevant to students. Make adjustments to your materials as needed to update your course materials.
(4.2.a) Search for current OER resources to replace outdated learning materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed. (4.2.a) Work with a colleague(s) to review and compare course resources to determine if they are current and relevant to students. Make adjustments to your materials as needed to update your course materials.
(4.2.a) Add an opportunity to your course for students to compare historical or ancient texts or events with modern texts or current events. (4.2.a) Record new videos to replace outdated videos that may refer to dates, times, and activities from previous terms. Tip: When recording videos for continued use, be sure not to mention dates, times, and activities from previous terms. Be sure to caption your videos!
(4.2.a) Review your course for places where you can remove bias and correct perpetuated stereotypes and inaccurate information in your course content. Replace learning materials as needed.
(4.2.a) Use the concepts of critical open pedagogy to review your course for places where you can remove bias and correct perpetuated stereotypes and inaccurate information in your course content. Search for open resources or develop your own open resources to replace any inaccurate learning materials as needed.
(4.2.a) Contact industry leaders in your discipline to find out about new skills, regulations, or certifications required for your discipline. Adjust your learning materials as needed to reflect any changes.
(4.2.a) Add an opportunity to your course for students to collaboratively help research, curate, or develop updated open learning materials for your course and the world.
(4.2.a) Search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.a) Explore the Open WA website to learn how to search for open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.a) Take SBCTC’s OER 101: How to Use Open Educational Resources course to learn more about open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources or develop and openly license your own materials to replace outdated content in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.

4.2.b - Variety of mediums and formats

(4.2.b) Explore your course materials to locate places you can support student learning with multimedia. Add content alternatives such as text, audio, video, and/or other visual representations of content like tables, charts, images, or other diagrams and graphics as needed.
(4.2.b) Add transcripts or captions to your learning materials as a text alternative to course videos.
(4.2.b) Add short captioned video explanations to your learning materials as a visual alternative to text-based content pages and other course documents.
(4.2.b) Use the built-in media recorder in Canvas to add audio recordings of course content to your learning materials as an auditory alternative to text-based content pages.
(4.2.b) Add images supporting course content to your learning materials as a visual support on text-based content pages. Be sure to include alternative text for your images!
(4.2.b) Add charts, tables, graphs, diagrams, or other graphics to your learning materials as an information processing support on text-based content pages. Be sure to include alternative text and/or captions on your graphics!
(4.2.b) Search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.c) Explore the Open WA website to learn how to search for open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.c) Take SBCTC’s OER 101: How to Use Open Educational Resources course to learn more about open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources or develop and openly license your own materials to replace outdated content in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.

4.2.c - Opportunities to reflect and make meaningful connections

(4.2.c) X

4.2.d - Openly licensed and/or student created materials

(4.2.d) Explore the Open WA website to learn how to search for open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.d) Take SBCTC’s OER 101: How to Use Open Educational Resources course to learn more about open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources or develop and openly license your own materials to replace outdated content in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.d) Search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.d) Explore the Open WA website to learn how to search for open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.d) Take SBCTC’s OER 101: How to Use Open Educational Resources course to learn more about open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources or develop and openly license your own materials to replace outdated content in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.d) Search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.d) Add an opportunity for students to collaboratively help research, curate, or develop additional open learning materials for your course.

4.2.e - Opportunities to explore beyond course materials

(4.2.e) Explore the Open WA website to learn how to search for open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources or develop and openly license your own materials to add advanced or exploratory materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.e) Take SBCTC’s OER 101: How to Use Open Educational Resources course to learn more about open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources or develop and openly license your own materials to add advanced or exploratory materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.e) Search for current OER resources to add advanced or exploratory materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.

4.2.f- Invitation to offer feedback on currency and format of materials

(4.2.f) X

Move to ?

(4.2.b) Search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.c) Explore the Open WA website to learn how to search for open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources to replace outdated materials in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.
(4.2.c) Take SBCTC’s OER 101: How to Use Open Educational Resources course to learn more about open resources to include in your course. Use what you learn to search for current OER resources or develop and openly license your own materials to replace outdated content in your course. Add new resources to your course as needed.

Resources

Recommended Reading

Webpage: Universal design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines by CAST includes suggestions for optimizing course design for the benefit of all students
Website: Open WA by SBCTC provides information about copyright and learning to use, find, and license open educational resources (OER)
Webpage: OER 101: How to Use Open Educational Resources training from SBCTC provides information about copyright and learning how to use, find, and license open educational resources (OER)
Webpage: OER Enabled Pedagogy by the Open Education Group provides examples of how faculty have implemented open pedagogy
Webinar Recording: Open Pedagogy to Support EDI featuring faculty librarians Jennifer Snoek-Brown and Kathy Swart discussing how using open pedagogy can support equity, diversity, and inclusion
Webpage: From consumer to creator: Students as producers of content from The University of British Columbia details how Dr. Simon Bates helped physics students master difficult topics by engaging them as content creators

References

4.2.a - Current materials

Hai-Jew, S. (2010, December 15). An Instructional Design Approach to Updating an Online Course Curriculum. Educause Review. Retrieved August 2, 2021, from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2010/12/an-instructional-design-approach-to-updating-an-online-course-curriculum#TB_inline?height=500&width=630&inlineId=sidebar5&modal=false
Medhat, S. (2014, September 28). Colleges must stop delivering irrelevant courses with poor careers advice. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/28/college-courses-careers-advice-youth-unemployment
Roberson, R. (2013, September). Helping students find relevance. Psychology Teacher Network. https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/ptn/2013/09/students-relevance

4.2.b - Resources in a variety of mediums/formats

CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 1.1 Offer ways of customizing the display of information. UDL Guidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation/perception/customize-display
CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 1.2 Offer alternatives for auditory information. UDL Guidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation/perception/alternatives-auditory
CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 1.3 Offer alternatives for visual information. UDL GUidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation/perception/alternatives-visual
CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 2.5 Illustrate through multiple media. UDL Guidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2018, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation/language-symbols/illustrate-multimedia
CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 4.1 Vary the methods for response and navigation. UDL Guidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/action-expression/physical-action/response-navigation
CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 5.1 Use multiple media for communication. UDL Guidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/action-expression/expression-communication/use-multimedia
CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 5.2 Use multiple tools for construction and composition. UDL Guidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/action-expression/expression-communication/construction-composition
Feldstein, A., Martin, M., Hudson, A., Warren, K., Hilton, J., & Wiley, D. (2012). Open textbooks and increased student access and outcomes. European Journal of Open, Distance and E–Learning, 2, 1-9. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ992490
Ljubojevic, M., Vaskovic, V., Stankovic, S, & Vaskovic, J. (2014). Using supplementary video in multimedia instruction as a teaching tool to increase efficiency of learning and quality of experience. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Education, 15(3), 275-291.
Martin, F., & Bolliger, D. U. (2018). Engagement Matters: Student Perceptions on the Importance of Engagement Strategies in the Online Learning Environment. Online Learning, 22(1), 205-222. http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/olj.v22i1.1092

4.2.c - Opportunities to reflect and make connections

X
X

4.2.d - Openly licensed and/or student created resources

CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 7.1 Optimize individual choice and autonomy. UDL Guidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/engagement/recruiting-interest/choice-autonomy
CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 7.2 Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity. UDL Guidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/engagement/recruiting-interest/relevance-value-authenticity
CCCOER - Community College Consortium for OER. (n.d.). Why Open Education? CCCOER - Community College Consortium for OER. Retrieved July 29, 2021, from https://www.cccoer.org/learn/
Hilton III, J. (2020). Open educational resources, student efficacy, and user perceptions: a synthesis of research published between 2015 and 2018. Education Tech Research Dev, 68, 853-876. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-019-09700-
The University of British Columbia. (2015, February 18). From consumer to creator: Students as producers of content. Flexible Learning. Retrieved August 3, 2021, from http://flexible.learning.ubc.ca/case-studies/simon-bates/

4.2.e - Exploring beyond required content and outcomes

CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 8.2 Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge. UDL Guidelines. Retrieved July 13, 2021, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/engagement/effort-persistence/demands-resources-challenge

4.2.f - Invitation to offer feedback on currency and format of materials

X
X

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