Internet Learning Volume 4, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 49

Internet Learning Journal – Volume 4, Issue 1 – Spring 2015 DISCUSSION The results of this study validate the standards and indicators for assessing the quality of online courses included on the Quality Matters rubric. The mean student rating for each item was at least 1.0, indicating that students value the QM criteria as important to a course’s success. Students do discriminate among the items with their mean value ratings ranging from 1.00 to 2.66 on a scale of 0 to 3. While students’ ratings on all but one item differ in statistical significance from the QM rankings, the practical significance of the differences varies. Several items were rated highly by both the participants in this study and QM. As is supported by research and considered to be a best practice in online courses (Chen, 2007; Conrad, 2002; Ko & Rossen, 2010), students in this study emphasized the importance of having clear instructions for how to get started in the course and find various course components. In fact, the item related to this (QM 1.1) received the highest rating of all survey items, with 72% of respondents rating it as Essential to their success in an online course. Often times, courses include a “Start Here” or “Welcome” area that provides an obvious starting point for the course. The findings of this study suggest that including such an area or communicating to students in another way exactly what they need to do to get started in the course is something that students view as critical to their success in an online course. Related to this, participants in this study were in agreement with QM about the importance of a course’s navigation being logical, consistent and efficient (QM 6.3). Principles of instructional design support ease of navigation in an online environment as being critical to a successful learning experience (Ko & Rossen, 2010; Swan, 2012). When navigation becomes an issue in a course and students cannot locate necessary course components within a course site, student satisfaction--as well as student learning, are in jeopardy (Miller, 2012). It’s possible that participants in this study encountered navigational issues at some point in their educational careers, and therefore fully appreciate the ease of course navigation as critical to their success in an online course. To ensure consistent and efficient navigation, institutions and/or programs should consider applying a common navigation system to all courses, as much as possible. A course design with common names and consistent location of common elements reduces the learning curve between courses (Dykman & Davis, 2008). Students who take more than one course in the program/institution do not need to spend time learning to navigate each course’s unique setup and can instead, focus on learning content. When creating a common navigation system within a learning management system, students should be consulted to 47!