MEDT 7472 Online course review instrument

Adapted from University of West Georgia 5-Star Online Course Review and National Standards for Quality Online

Course : Music for Wellness (BerkleeX: OMTHR-001x)

Grade Level: None
Teacher(s) of Course: Suzanne and Annette
Date of Review: 1/21/2018
Reviewer: Emily Rhinehart

Rating Scale
0 Absent - component is missing
1 Unsatisfactory - needs significant improvement
2 Somewhat satisfactory - needs targeted improvements
3 Satisfactory - discretionary improvement needed
4 Very Satisfactory - no improvement needed

Standard A: Introduction and Information Score

The goals and objectives clearly state what the participants will know or be
able to do at the end of the course. The goals and objectives are
measurable in multiple ways, and are aligned to National/State standards
A1 0

The course content and assignments are of sufficient rigor, depth and
A2 breadth to teach the standards being addressed. 0

Students are encouraged to introduce themselves to the class

A3 4

The course syllabus is easily located, and provides complete and clear
information pertaining to ALL of the following: course objectives, grading,
instructor contact information, required materials, the nature of distance
A4 1
learning, and honesty policies ensuring the integrity of student work.

Course requirements are consistent with course goals, are representative

of the scope of the course and are clearly stated.
A5 1

Information is provided to students, parents and mentors on how to

A6 communicate with the online instructor and course provider. 0

Minimum technology requirements and prerequisite technology skills are

A7 clearly stated. 0

Expectations for academic integrity, use of copyrighted materials,

plagiarism and netiquette (Internet etiquette) regarding lesson activities,
A8 0
discussions, and e-mail communications are clearly stated.
 The instructor provides a biography/photograph, a welcome message, and
an appropriate self-introduction which presents the instructor as
A9 4
approachable and engaged.

Privacy policies are clearly stated.

A10 0

Content Notes

Overall, in the areas of instruction and information, the course seriously lacked in outlining expectation, grading, stating objectiv
will be measured. The instructors also did not include any structure pertaining to policies, plagarism, or privacy. These are simp
from a well developed syllabus, which this course was lacking. The instructors could correct these standards by including the m
syllabus.

Standard B: Instructional Design Score

Course design reflects a clear understanding of all students’ needs and
B1 incorporates varied ways to learn and master the curriculum. 3

The course is organized by units and lessons that fall into a logical
sequence. Each unit and lesson includes an overview describing
B2 objectives, activities, assignments, assessments, and resources to provide 4
multiple learning opportunities for students to master the content.

The course instruction includes activities that engage students in active

B3 learning. 4

The course and course instructor provide students with multiple learning
B4 paths, based on student needs that engage students in a variety of ways. 2

The course provides opportunities for students to engage in higher-order

B5 thinking, critical reasoning activities and thinking in increasingly complex 3
ways.

Readability levels, written language assignments and mathematical

B6 requirements are appropriate for the course content and grade-level 4
expectations.

The course design provides opportunities for appropriate instructor-

student interaction, including opportunities for timely and frequent
B7 feedback about student progress. 2

The course design includes explicit communication/activities (both before

and during the first week of the course) that confirms whether students are
engaged and are progressing through the course. The instructor will
B8 3
follow program guidelines to address non-responsive students.

The course provides opportunities for appropriate instructor-student and

student-student interaction to foster mastery and application of the
B9 material. 0
 Each activity and assignment is well-written, providing students with a
clear understanding of what is expected and how they should submit their
B10 work. 4

Students have access to resources that enrich the course content.

B11 4

Instructional Design Notes

In the area of instructional design, the instructors created course materials and resources that are meaningful and enhance the
major concern is the lack of instructor communication missing from the course. This could easily be corrected through adding c
syllabus and communicating through each module. The only other standard lacking is BF addressing differentiation, which in an
difficult to do. I would reccommend offering multiple avenues for presenting information not only videos but articles and blogs, w

Standard C: Student Assessment Score

Student evaluation strategies are consistent with course goals and
C1 objectives, are representative of the scope of the course and are clearly 0
stated.

The course structure includes adequate and appropriate methods and

C2 procedures to assess students’ mastery of content. 4

Ongoing, varied, and frequent assessments are conducted throughout the

C3 course to inform instruction. 4

Assessment strategies and tools make the student continuously aware of

C4 his / her progress in class and mastery of the content. 4

Assessment materials provide the instructor with the flexibility to assess

students in a variety of ways.
C5 2

The grading policy and practices are clear and easy to understand.
C6 0

Student Assessment Notes

The instructors did a good job in designing effective assessment that went well with the content being taught; however, with obj
was difficult to measure alignment. Also, the assessments were too similar in structure. In the future, instructors could modify th
students were required to analyze songs rather than write a song for every module. Also, objectives need to be stated in the sy
instructions for each assignment.

Standard D: Technology Score

Clear and consistent navigation is present throughout the course.
D1 4
The course is complete (does not have any section under construction).
D2 4
All external links are functional
D3 4
Supplementary resources and links are available to students and are
D4 labeled as required or optional. 4
 Rich media are provided in multiple formats for ease of use and access in
D5 order to address diverse student needs. 3

The course uses content-specific tools and software appropriately.

D6 4

Technology Notes
Overall, in the area of technology, I though the course was well put together. The links were all effectively working, the flow of e
a pattern in the design was present. The resources tab was optional but websites were relevant to the topic of the course. The
make was the standard D5 rich media in multiple formats because much of the instruction was in the form of videos and I think
articles and other technological resources that would have many the course more interesting for the learner.

Overall feedback
I thought the course was enlightening and very calming in how it was self paced and the gentleness of the instructors both writt
audience would be any student regardless of age who was interested in the effects of music on the body. The major weaknesse
syllabus and outlining the expectations of the course and the learning objectives. Communication was missing in the course. W
peer discussion they never provided any contact information for themselves. Again, these are simple syllabus modifications. Th
course were in the development of the content and the assessments. Both were well developed and followed a clearly designed
learned a great deal from the course. The way content was presented was informative and engaging but giving multiple formats
would reach multiple types of learners. Communication and course objectives were the major missing elements that need to be
course materials were well designed and the content is very intriguing.

Assignment requirements (to be filled by Professor only) NOT APPLICABLE TO Score

PROJECT 1 ANALYSIS OF ONLINE COURSE

A syllabus that tells the students the objectives of the lesson and provides
detailed and clear instructions on how to complete the week’s activities
and explains how the learners will be evaluated. It also must include
instructor’s contact information and office hours

The course is complete

At least two well-thought-out discussion topics pertaining to the lesson

Some type of pedagogically-sound project the student must complete

pertaining to the lesson.

Some form of advanced technology on display. This might include a

narrated PowerPoint lecture, podcast, video or movie cast, interactive
tutorial, etc.

Some form of assessment (quiz, rubric, checklist, etc).

The integration of the interactive tool (blog, wiki or digital storytelling) you
chose in the “Tools for online engagement and communication”
discussion, with instructions on how to access and the activities your
students will develop.

Total points 80
Standards for Quality Online

Comments

The course objectives were not directly stated. If you look

at the syllabus it reads more like a schedule of the
modules. For students to be able to understand the
standards they will be measured as meeting it should be
listed under the course tab or under an objectives tab.
This should be the first thing students read in the course
after the description.
While I thought the content and assignments were well
developed and rigorous I cannot fully answer this
question as the standards the course covered were never
listed.
Students were asked to join in on an introductory forum
using a group facebook page.

The course syllabus was easily located but all it contained

was the schedule. To correct this the instructors need to
include their contact information, objectives, grading scale
and expectations, required materials, and policies for
netiquette and work submission.

The goals of the course are not clearly stated. The

opening post to the class discusses some expected
outcomes but does not explicitly state goals or objectives.
This should be stated in the syllabus.

There is no information provided on how to contact the

instructors. This should be provided on the syllabus.
The technology or skills required is not stated anywhere
in the course. This should be clearly defined in the
syllabus.

Plagarism, netiquette or class expecations were not

discussed. The syllabus should include these items.
 The instructors did a great job of introducing themselves
and the course.

Privacy policies are not stated in the syllabus.

ning expectation, grading, stating objectives and goals and how they
es, plagarism, or privacy. These are simple corrections that all stem
orrect these standards by including the missing elements in a revised

Comments

Other forms of media or instruction could be present. The

majority of content was presented via video.

The course is organized by module and each module has

a theme. The content, activities and assessments all
correlate to the theme of the module.

The course activities were engaging and insightful.

Material was presented in one way and minimal

differentiation was provided. The assessments to allow
some choices to the learning.
The assignments and discussions provoked higher order
thinking skills and provided learning opportunities for
students by applying knowledge through a variety of
contexts.

Although a grade level was not prescribed the readability

and curriculum provided was appropriate.

The instructors never provide contact information in the

course. This could easily be corrected on the syllabus.

The first week of the course requires an assignment and

sharing it with the class via a discussion post.

The instructors never provide contact information in the

course. This could easily be corrected on the syllabus.
 The assignments were well designed and correlated with
the information and curriculum covered in the module.
There was a resources tab with excellent selections that
mirrored the content being taught.

ces that are meaningful and enhance the learning experience. One
ould easily be corrected through adding contact information to the
BF addressing differentiation, which in an online course is something
n not only videos but articles and blogs, wiki pages, etc.

Comments

Although the assignments were rich and well developed I

cannot fully answer this question as no learning
objectives were provided to the learner.

The course materials are well designed and promote

student mastery of content.

Each module contains an assessment that is well

matched with the content from the module.

After each module there is a cut off date in which the

instructors will grade the assignments and give feedback.

Although each assignment was modified to address the

topic of the module, the assessments were all similar in
that the learner was required to write a song, record it and
share it and then respond in a discussion.

There was no clear explanation of the grading scale and

no rubric was provided.

e content being taught; however, with objectives never being stated it

. In the future, instructors could modify the assessments so that
so, objectives need to be stated in the syllabus and possibly in the

Comments

The course is easy for the learner to navigate.

The course is complete and does not have any parts
under construction.

All external links are functional in the course.

There is a resources tab that contains optional resources
which are all functional.
 While rich media is present in all modules, curriculum is
only presented via videos and I would like to see the
implementation of articles, text, infographics, etc.
The course has videos and tools available to students
that apply to the content and are easy to access.

were all effectively working, the flow of each module worked well and
e relevant to the topic of the course. The only suggestion i would
tion was in the form of videos and I think they could have found some
resting for the learner.

k
he gentleness of the instructors both written and auditory. The target
music on the body. The major weaknesses of the course lied in the
munication was missing in the course. While the instructors promoted
ese are simple syllabus modifications. The major strengths of the
developed and followed a clearly designed pattern. Overall, I feel I
and engaging but giving multiple formats like articles and blogs
e major missing elements that need to be added but overall I think the

Comments

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