Adjusting the modality of your courses can make a big difference for students and teachers.
Online and Hybrid offerings allow:
- more flexible schedules
- access to courses onsite and offsite
- student engagement in more self-directed and project-based learning
- students to develop their technical and digital collaboration skills
- instructors to deploy asynchronous elements to better engage students
- instructors to personalize their student interactions and respond to individual student needs
- more variety of online and Open Educational Resources
- Departments to run courses with fewer students, including over summer and winter sessions
- Departments to conserve classroom space
- UMES to satisfy the USM out-of-classroom experiences/non-traditional learning mandate
Quality Online/Hybrid Instruction and Digital Teaching and Learning Standards
To ensure the quality of online, hybrid, and digital-enhanced courses at UMES, the Office of Academic Affairs and Center for Instructional Technology and Online Learning (CITOL) have developed guidelines and requirements for the review of Quality Online Instruction (QOIUMES). Online and hybrid courses can be reviewed according to these UMES Quality of Online Insruction standards—which address such areas as course navigation, accessibility, alignment, and engagement.
Instructors developing online and hybrid courses for the first time must request a course modality change/addition, which involves completing the Modality Change/Addition Request Form and may include RSI training, course design assistance, and technical support. A special emphasis is placed on facilitating regular and substantive interactions (RSIs) in all courses.
For more information on RSI visit these informative websites:
- Regular and Substantive Interaction Primer, Everett Community College
- Regular and Substantive Interaction, St. John’s website
- Regular and Substantive Interaction (PowerPoint)
Although Instructors at UMES are not required to be certified to teach online, CITOL recommends Instructors complete the UMES Online Teaching Certification Course before starting their online courses.
