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Instructional Design with eLearning

The eLearning department is here to serve you in the pursuit of quality, accessible, and engaging online, hybrid, and on-ground courses.  If you have questions, email eLearning@pepperdine.edu or schedule a consultation with an eLearning instructional designer.

Table of Contents

Quick Links Online/Hyrbid Course Templates
Online/Hybrid Course Policies Teaching Online
Latest eLearning Updates (updated October, 2024) Course Development Support
Course Consultations LMS Troubleshooting

Course Development

In the process of developing or refreshing a hybrid or online course? Meet weekly or biweekly over 12-14 consecutive weeks for consultations with an instructional designer. We offer course development support in the areas below. 

Alignment

Alignment is the integration between the course learning outcomes and student assessments and learning activities. Stemming from this integration, an aligned course design unifies all learning activities, assignments, and assessments whether graded or ungraded. A student should be able to see the relationship between the course learning outcomes, instructional materials, assessments, learning activities, and course tools. During a consultation focused on alignment, faculty and an instructional designer will work on a Course Map together. 

Online Course Build

Do you have the content gathered and ready, but are not sure where to begin in building the course in the LMS? Instructional designers can ensure the course blueprint is developed in the LMS meeting quality assurance and accessibility standards, and ensuring course learning objectives are met. 

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance at PGBS is derived from the latest Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric for Online and Hybrid courses. PGBS eLearning completes a review of sampled courses at the beginning of each term to arrive at trends in the achievement of eLearning standards. These are not course evaluations.  Faculty are encouraged to collaborate with eLearning with attention to quality assurance for continuous improvement. 

Video Recording

In the process of developing or refreshing your course, you may wish to integrate recorded video content into the online portion of the course. Collaborate with an instructional designer to develop the slides and script for the videos, and receive support in ensuring your recordings meet recording standards. 

Course Consultation

In the process of preparing to teach a course? Whether it is your first time teaching this course or you are making minor changes to a course you have taught many times, eLearning instructional designers are available to support you in the following ways. 

New Faculty Support

New to teaching at Pepperdine? Schedule an eLearning consultation to learn more about setting up your course site and preparing to teach using our Learning Management System (LMS), Panopto (video recording tool), and Zoom.  

Syllabus Review

Faculty members are responsible for updating and posting the Syllabus before the term launch. When creating or developing a syllabus, please use the PGBS syllabus template. If you would like someone to review your syllabus with an eye for alignment with the PGBS template and accessibility, schedule an eLearning consultation or reach out elearning@pepperdine.edu. 

Student Engagement and Integrating Technology

Teaching an online or hybrid course for the first time and wondering how to engage students in the same way you can in person? Trying to integrate technology into your course in meaningful ways? Wondering how to translate an activity traditionally done in person into an online or hybrid course? Schedule an eLearning consultation or reach out to elearning@pepperdine.edu.

Accessibility

Course Accessibility is not only encouraged but is also required of all courses at PGBS, as it is federal law. PGBS courses must be Section 504 compliant; see Pepperdine University ADA Compliance. PGBS eLearning is dedicated to partnering with faculty to create accessible courses for all students. For general information on digital accessibility, check out this resource. For assistance in accessible course design and course content, please schedule a time to meet with eLearning. 

Learning Management System (LMS) Troubleshooting

Experiencing a challenge or a bug in Courses? eLearning may be able to help. 

After reviewing  Courses Faculty Guide, if you are still facing challenges in Courses, please email elearning@pepperdine.edu. An instructional designer will respond and coordinate with you to resolve your issue. 


Quick Links

Links containing answers to frequently asked questions are below.

Online Course Policies

Resources related to online course design processes and standards can be found below. If you are in the process of redesigning a course, tasked with building one for the first time, or looking to record videos for inclusion in your course these resources are for you.

Online Course Templates

Below are the course and syllabus templates we recommend using in order to ensure online courses meet eLearning quality assurance standards. These templates also save you time and effort in the course preparation process.

 

Teaching Online

The resources below are meant to provide guidance on enhancing your online teaching practices beyond the technical aspects of eLearning. These resources range in focus from suggestions on encouraging student engagement in online courses to leveraging AI in your course.

Teaching Online with Courses
Teaching Online with Canvas

eLearning Latest Updates

We have completed our review of hybrid and online courses for the fall term. To learn more about how we conduct these, you can review this document.

  • Here is a concise summary of our findings:
    • Overall eLearning Course Index Score: 3.69 out of 5
    • Online Programs: 3.9
    • Hybrid Programs: 3.18
  • Strengths
    • Consistent structure and navigation across courses
    • Operable course content
    • 50% of courses scored 3+ on all eLearning standards
    • 60% of courses have an eLearning index score of 4+
  • Areas for Improvement
    • Sharing course and weekly learning objectives within the course
    • Some courses need improvement in structure/navigation, content operability, and accessibility

For a deeper dive into these results, particularly the areas for improvement, watch our video overview (10 minutes long). Here is the slide deck used in this video, which contains resources in the appendix.

To learn how to improve your Start Here and Course Overview pages, view our demonstration video (4 minutes long).

Schedule a 1:1 Consultation with eLearning