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
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