This is an informational document providing an overview of Anthology Ally and its features for improving accessibility of digital course content in higher education. It covers background on accessibility regulations, a history of Anthology Ally, key terms and concepts used in the tool, and ways Ally enables engagement between instructional designers, faculty, students, and administrators to enhance inclusion. The document was created with assistance from an AI tool.

The goal of this adapted version of BC Campus's Accessibility Toolkit - 2nd Edition is to provide resources for each content creator, instructional designer, educational technologist, librarian, administrator, and teaching assistant to create truly open textbooks and online academic experiences—ones that are free and accessible for all students. The original source was a collaboration between BCcampus, Camosun College, and CAPER-BC.

The document is a rubric for evaluating the core functions and skills of instructional designers. It outlines performance levels across different competencies.Summary:The rubric evaluates instructional designers across several core competencies, including building relationships, project management, task management, time management, scope management, listening skills, knowledge of fundamentals, and self-improvement.For each competency, there are 4 levels describing the degree to which expectations are met - Level 4 (Exceeds), Level 3 (Meets), Level 2 (Generally Meets), and Level 1 (Does Not Meet).The rubric aims to provide a standardized framework for assessing the performance of instructional designers in key areas. It enables benchmarking against standards and identification of strengths and development areas. 

This book provides an updated look at issues that comprise the online learning experience creation process. As online learning evolves, the lines and distinctions between various classifications of courses has blurred and often vanished. Classic elements of instructional design remain relevant at the same time that newer concepts of learning experience are growing in importance. However, problematic issues new and old still have to be addressed. This handbook explores many of these topics for new and experienced designers alike, whether creating traditional online courses, open learning experiences, or anything in between.

This guide explores the value of student workers in higher education institutions and provides strategies for effectively managing and integrating them into departments. It emphasizes the importance of onboarding, fostering an inclusive environment, professional development, open communication, focused skill development, strategic offboarding, and talent retention. By implementing these strategies, departments can enhance their performance, diversity, and alignment with institutional goals while providing valuable opportunities for student workers' growth and development.

This customizable Excel template provides a master framework to plan and organize learning activities for online courses. The template contains sheets to outline course modules, schedule weekly learning objectives and activities, plan assessments and assignments, and track student progress. Columns are provided to capture activity details like name, type, description, duration, assignments, and more. The template is fully editable so course designers can add or remove sheets as needed to match their planning process. By providing a structured planning template, this Excel file aims to help streamline the instructional design process for online learning. Use it to map out engaging and effective learning experiences for modern online courses.

This book is the result of a co-design project in a class in the Masters of Education program at the University of Calgary. The course, and the resulting book, focus primarily on the safe and ethical use of technology in digital learning environments. The course was organized according to four topics based on Farrow’s (2016) Framework for the Ethics of Open Education and discusses Artificial Intelligence (AI) , social networking services (SNS), 3D printing, resource sharing, adaptive learning systems, STEM, assistive technologies, admissions, and communications. In each of the nine chapters, the authors discuss the connection to the value of technology in education, and practical possibilities of learning technologies for inclusive, participatory, democratic, and pluralistic educational paradigms.

Everyday Inclusivity: Creating Accessible Digital Communications and DIY Digital Ergonomics
Learn how to use elements of Digital Accessibility, Universal Design (UD) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) concepts to make your life easier in this special interactive lunch & Learn event. Professional Development and Education for Nursing Instructional Design Consultant (Instructional Learning Senior) Irene Knokh demonstrates how to get the most out of Windows and Microsoft accessibility tools to better engage and communicate with all your stakeholders. She shares her favorite tools, links for accessibility, and answers your questions about how to communicate clearer in daily emails and through Slack/Teams. This session will be closed-captioned.

This issue of the Women’s Empowerment Council newsletter explores recent thought leadership on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, featuring research, statistics, and tips from Dr. Rachel Cubas-Wilkinson on closing the gap between intention and results when it comes to harnessing diversity of thought across staff, teams, and leadership.

In this article, published on Entrepreneur.com, Dr. Rachel Cubas-Wilkinson explores why the fundamental characteristics of an inclusive organization must be implemented at both leadership and managerial levels — and how to ensure they are. Read on to learn more about: What does an inclusive culture look like?The critical role of leadership in an inclusive cultureTop-down vs. bottom-up inclusionCreating an environment of psychological safetyThe rise of company culture as a differentiator

This guide is designed to help educators navigate the Digital Instruction Hub on OERTX and discover how to incorporate Open Educational Resources (OER) into their courses to foster interactive and inclusive learning experiences.

In a technology-driven environment, we assume most people are comfortable learning online. The ubiquity of digital communication, automated assistance, and constant connectivity support this assumption, but many of us lack the skills needed to navigate digital resources and technologies in an academic setting. Learning in a Digital Age (LiDA) is a credit-bearing course designed to improve digital learning literacies for higher education and help learners gain more value from open educational resources (OER).

In this course, you will develop the digital and learning literacies to maximize their learning in a contemporary digital learning environment for higher education. You will develop the academic skills to discern the credibility, accuracy, and integrity of open access resources available on the Internet and corresponding digital tools to research, analyze, and present information for academic purposes.

You will also develop competence in a range of digital tools, including social media, communication and collaboration tools, and publishing tools to support learning in contemporary society. This will include knowledge of copyright, open licensing, media literacy, and digital citizenship.

This course is offered concurrently in partnership with OERu. You are more than welcome to work through all four sections at your own pace, but you may be able to interact with more students if you follow the schedule used by OERu and their community of learners.

This course includes the following sections:

Digital Skills for Online Learning (LiDA101)
Digital Citizenship (LiDA102)
Open Education, Copyright, and Open Licensing in a Digital World
Critical Media Literacy and Associated Digital Skills (LiDA104)

When choosing a small team to keep your department running during slow periods, consider what's truly essential. Though every department has different needs, focus on covering critical tasks. Select people who can handle the core functions that must continue even with reduced staffing. This will help maintain operations until business picks up again.

Welcome to Texas Learn OER! Your learning includes a series of self-paced online learning modules. The first nine modules will serve as an introduction to open educational resources (OER) and as an opportunity for further exploration and discovery of open education practices. The tenth module serves as a final assessment of your learning. Throughout the modules there are opportunities for you to test your knowledge and further explore a concept. The modules allow you to learn at your own pace.

This infographic provides an overview of different rubrics and standards used to evaluate the quality of online programs and course design at universities. It lists 7 major rubrics/standards:Quality Matters Rubric - Widely used rubric to improve and certify quality of online courses.Anthology Exemplary Course Program Rubric - Rubric focused on student experience and outcomes.University of Illinois ION Professional Programs Rubric - Rubric tailored for evaluating professional development programs.SUNY Online Course Quality Review Rubric - Rubric used within SUNY system to review online courses.SHSU Online Course Design Rubrics - Custom rubrics used at Sam Houston State University.Cal State Online Course Rubrics - Custom rubrics used within California State University system.Penn State Online Course Design and Review Rubrics - Custom rubrics used at Penn State.The infographic provides a useful overview of the different standards used to evaluate online course and program quality.

The attached file serves as an exemplary template for structuring an online course into modules over a 15-week semester. The outline demonstrates effective course design principles including:- Organizing content into manageable weekly modules - Incorporating diverse learning materials - Building in recurring assignments- Scaffolding assignments to develop skills over time- Aligning objectives, activities and assessments following Bloom's taxonomy for higher order critical thinking.- Providing a clear learning arc through the sequence of modules and summative comparative assignment.

This document provides a checklist tool for managers and leaders in distance education centers and online departments to utilize when prioritizing projects and determining workload allocation. It includes sections on assessing project alignment with organizational goals, evaluating resources needed, considering risks and constraints, and scoring/ranking projects. The checklist encourages objective analysis of proposed initiatives to aid in decision-making on what projects should move forward.

This “School Leader Digital Learning Guide” is a resource to help you consider, plan, fund, implement, maintain, and adapt learning programs that meet the unique needs and requirements of the students and teachers that you serve.