Measuring Quality in eLearning through 33 indicators

Quality Assurance (QA) hits all of us at some point, but QA in eLearning is fairly new.

I was looking for something else when coming across this nice quality assurance online manual that is the result of a European Research on quality assurance. Although I do have some constraints while reading through the benchmarks (the term quality assurance does that to me), some of the pointers are indeed helpful.

This online manual features six chapters each focusing on a specific eLearning part and in total it features 33 eLearning benchmarks. In the guide you can find criteria and indicators which are useful if you want to screen your own institutional eLearning. The structure of the instrument is identical to the sections in the guide and are organized into six sections.

• Preface
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Strategic Management
• Chapter 3: Curriculum Design
• Chapter 4: Course Design
• Chapter 5: Course Delivery
• Chapter 6: Staff Support
• Chapter 7: Student Support
  
  Annexes:
• Glossary
• Assessors notes

The authors recommend that we first do a quickscan of the manual. Based on the results of the quickscan, you can restrict your focus in the manual to certain chapters.

While the benchmarks sometimes stay a bit vague: benchmark
7. E-learning components should conform to qualification frameworks, codes of practice, subject benchmarks and other institutional or national quality requirements.

The manual is useful, I particularly liked the fact that they make a distinction between indicators and expert indicators. E.g. "At excellence level: There is extensive institutional experience of delivery using blended learning and this experience is widely shared through the organisation. Well informed decisions on the use of pedagogic components are made routinely and reflect institutional policies regarding the development of learner knowledge and skills."